It was a day which literally shook Shrewsbury to its core – and the town has been suffering the after-effects of the January 3 explosion ever since.
The shocking events at Welsh Bridge have undoubtedly brought out the best in the people of Shrewsbury – many hurried to the aid of those injured in the blast and now a benefit show is planned for actor Kiley McDonnell, who will never walk again due to the injuries he sustained. 
But ever since the explosion the town has resembled a building site, with multiple road diversions and the main junction of Smithfield Road, Barker Street and the Welsh Bridge closed completely while repairs were carried out.
It’s hit trade in the town centre hard. Business owners were quickly describing Shrewsbury as a ‘ghost town’ and reporting a massive downturn in their takings as shoppers opted to stay away from the long queues and diversions.
On Friday the day they had all been waiting for arrived when the Welsh Bridge junction was fully re-opened to traffic. But their joy has proved short-lived.
As of today new parking charge increases brought in by Shropshire Council take effect, which traders fear will only serve to convince people to stay away from the town centre.
It even prompted Quintin Morgan, owner of Morgans at the Exchange in Bellstone, to tell Shropshire Council he would be witholding his business rates for April in protest at the planned price hikes. The parking charges apply to all car parks owned by Shropshire Council, and those in Shrewsbury town centre include Abbey Foregate, Ravenmeadows multi-storey, Frankwell, Strand, Bridge Street, The Tannery, St Austin’s, St Julian’s Friars and the Quarry. Prices have risen by as much as 20 per cent at some car parks, and all day parking has risen from £2 to £2.50 at Abbey Foregate, from £2.50 to £3 at St Julian’s Friars and from £3 to £3.50 at Frankwell. Sunday parking charges have also gone up from £2 to £2.50 on town centre car parks.
Mr Morgan said: “Talking to a lot of my friends and owners of other small businesses around town it became clear that many of them feel the same but that no-one had done anything about it. I believe bringing in these charges will either encourage people to park out of town or drive potential trade to other towns and cities with better parking arrangements.
Queueing
“The council wants to encourage a night-time economy and make Shrewsbury the cultural capital of Shropshire but they have done nothing to support that. I think that parking charges should be scrapped on Sundays and made free after 5pm or 6pm in the week. Sitting above our pub it has been noticeable how much traffic has been queueing during the roadworks and it does put people off. We want people to know the town is very much open for business and there are plenty of unique places to go shopping, but the council is not encouraging that.”
Doug Blackmore, who runs Cafe Frank next to the Welsh Bridge in Frankwell, said: “We haven’t noticed it as much as other businesses which operate during the day time but it’s good that the work has been finished swiftly to get that corner of town back open.”
John Hall, chairman of the Shop in the Loop traders’ group, is ‘optimistic’ about the immediate future now there are no roadworks in the town centre and is keen to emphasise the town is very much open for business. But he claims the timing of the parking charge increases is ‘insensitive’.
He said: “We were not consulted about the parking charge increases which was pretty irritating. In many ways the council is very helpful and I’m aware the charges raise much-needed revenue, but given the difficulties the town has faced this is a bit insensitive and is certainly bad timing.
“I am pretty optimistic that now work has finished things will get back to normal – already there are more people and visitors around the town. But there will be a time lag and I think it will take time getting locals back in. I have suggested to the council that next time there are roadworks like this they should carry out a full economic impact assessment first.
“We believe the roadworks were costing the town up to £100,000 a day and it was not beyond the wit of man to realise the roadworks would be very disruptive.”
The Shop in the Loop group already plans to carry out a number of initiatives to woo town residents back, including printing new banners to go on lampposts on routes into the town.
Bad timing
Nick Pitt, manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said footfall was up by between 15 and 18 per cent on Saturday, boosted by a fashion show.
But while he was cautious about the immediate impact of the end to the roadworks, he was keen to issue a rallying cry to townsfolk. He said: “There has never been a better time to come into town – it’s far easier to get through town now.
“But it will take some time to recover from the roadworks and I would suggest retailers may have to wait a couple of months to see a difference.
“Our footfall was up significantly on Saturday and it is promising. As for the parking charges, it’s bad timing but ultimately the council has its own agenda.”
James Walton, Shropshire Council’s assistant director for strategy and business support, said parking tariffs had not been increased for at least two years.
“We regularly work with traders in Shropshire to promote tourism and economic development and we encourage traders to contact us on 0345 678 9006 if they have any concerns about the new parking charges,” he said.
“People are currently able to park for free between 8am and 11am every day in Bridge Street, St Austin’s and The Tannery car parks from Monday to Sunday and we have recently extended this until Sunday April 18.”
By Peter Kitchen
