University has become ‘collateral damage’ for regeneration plans – cllrs

Town councillors in Shrewsbury say the loss of a higher education institution is a “massive blow”, following Chester University’s announcement that it is set to quit the town.

The university says its Shrewsbury campus is no longer viable after landlords Shropshire Council told them they could no longer continue to use the Guildhall rent free.

Chester University has been told to leave by the autumn with the council eyeing up the building as potential office accommodation, as it negotiates it’s own exit from an ageing Shirehall across town.

The future of the University Centre Shrewsbury project remains unclear although Shropshire Council said it would continue to work with the university to find alternative accommodation.

In a letter read out to Shrewsbury Town Council’s March meeting, Chester University’s Deputy Provost Paul Johnson thanked the town council for their support – but said the university’s Shrewsbury campus was no longer financially sustainable in its current format.

Shrewsbury Town Council leader Alan Mosley said he was “disappointed” that the university seemed to be blaming Shropshire Council for the situation.

“I can remember the buzz when the university first came here and it was seen as a step forward – Shrewsbury was catching up with many other large towns and cities in the country,” he said.

“I don’t know where the blame lies in the handling of this, I know the cost of it is some damage to Shrewsbury’s reputation, some disruption to students, a great loss to the cultural life of the town and a great loss to some of the businesses who were relying on the specialist academical knowledge and work of the staff at the university and their postgraduate students. So it’s sad times for the town.”

But Bowbrook councillor Alex Wagner said he believed the university had become “collateral” in Shropshire Council’s decision to leave Shirehall, with the university’s departure opening up the potential for Shropshire Council to reoccupy the Guildhall later this year.

Earlier this month the authority said it was considering using the building as a stop gap while plans for a new “multi agency hub” building were drawn up as part of the regeneration of the Smithfield area of the town centre. However, a sum of £1.4m previously intended for design and planning work for the new building is set to be reallocated by a decision of full council later this week.

“It’s beginning to dawn that the plan to spend £30, £40, £50m of Shropshire Council money at the Riverside to build a multi-agency hub for a new council headquarters is not a sensible use of money,” he said.

“We’re going to end up with no university in town most likely, the Shirehall building sold to developers, and no council premises on the Riverside which is essentially the worst combination you could possibly get to out of the deck of cards that Shropshire Council, the university and everyone involved could have played.”

A spokesperson for Chester University said it was looking at alternatives to ensure current students would be able to complete their qualifications.

“We are committed to ensuring that all our current students at UCS will be supported to complete their qualifications and are looking at the best ways for this to happen at other locations, preferably in Shropshire, and using alternative delivery modes. We are also discussing how we might use existing specialist facilities to deliver these courses. A range of options is under review and we will be sure to keep students regularly updated.”