SLP KDBH Extracts - Flipbook - Page 49
Shirley Town Centre
134.
Shirley Town Centre is the Borough’s second largest shopping centre and an important
centre for commercial activity and services to a broad local catchment. The Centre faces
competition from nearby out of centre retailing in the A34 corridor and from increased offer in
Solihull Town Centre. It is a long, linear centre arranged either side of the A34, with a
number of foodstores anchoring mini-clusters. It has a variety of convenience and
comparison goods retailers and continues to maintain its vitality and viability.
135.
The Centre lacked a substantial retail core that will help to provide a ‘heart’ for the Centre
that could strengthen its competitive position. To remedy this weakness a mixed use scheme
(known as Parkgate) anchored by a food-based superstore, and including a variety of
comparison retail units designed to meet modern retailer requirements and residential
accommodation, was developed and is now trading. The scheme also improves links to
Shirley Park as an important local amenity that improves the attractiveness of the Centre to
shoppers.
136.
Nationally, the traditional high street faces numerous strategic challenges, including the
growth of on-line retailing in particular and post COVID home working. Consequently, there
is a need for town centres to reinvent themselves as places to visit, with attractive public
realm, open spaces and core retail offer supported by a mix of civic and leisure facilities.. An
Economic Plan for Shirley is being refreshed, supported by the Greater Birmingham and
Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership to support the economic development and recovery of
the centre. . This includes considerations of future investment in Shirley,, and plans to
maximise the centre as a ‘destination’ to support a buoyant day and night time economy.
137.
Additionally, a project to address improvements to connectivity, accessibility and congestion
is being undertaken as part of the UK Central development programme, assessing the A34
corridor as a key transport route.
138.
The A34 Stratford Road is a strategic and busy radial route linking the M42 via Shirley to
Birmingham with access points to Solihull town centre and Blythe Valley Business Park. The
route is included in the West Midlands Key Route Network (KRN) and DfT’s Major Road
Network (MRN). It currently experiences significant congestion at some locations which is
likely to be exacerbated as a result of future development.
139.
The key objectives for the project are:
Improve journey reliability through improved public transport and active travel
infrastructure and smarter choices engagement.
Addressing safety for all users including improved facilities for pedestrians and
cyclists and addressing accident hotspots.
Improve conditions for pedestrians including tackling severance and improving the
public realm through community engagement.
Support economic recovery by improving the efficiency of the highway network
through a range of interventions and technology improvements.
Chelmsley Wood Town Centre
140.
Chelmsley Wood Town Centre is the main centre for North Solihull and is an important
centre of commercial activity and services and for its public transport accessibility. The main
part is a purpose built precinct that opened in 1971 to serve the Birmingham overspill estates
that are now part of North Solihull. The performance of the Centre deteriorated between
1998 and 2006 but then improved following increased investment in and management of the
Centre. The Centre is anchored by a recently constructed food-based superstore that is part
of other improvements that have included a new library, housing/social services offices, bus
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