2. Preamble

In the last fifteen years the Borough Council has addressed with considerable success the issue of indoor sporting opportunities for residents of the Borough. The provision of three 'joint use' sports centres during this period is evidence of commitment. The planned opening of a further 'joint use' centre at Mary Webb School, Pontesbury within the next year also illustrates commitment and the excellent working relationship with Shropshire County Council in leisure issues. The commitment in capital programme to a sum of £5,000,000 to community projects has revolutionised recreational/community projects in both rural and urban areas and has resulted in the opportunity for communities and groups to proceed with schemes which otherwise would have remained dormant. The allocation of £1,000,000 to Children's Play has also allowed a major refurbishment of play areas and the development of new ones. Major investment has also taken place in the refurbishment and maintenance of existing Council owned facilities which will result on completion in a well maintained leisure property portfolio. The major HLF/SHS part funded Quarry Refurbishment Scheme is well under way and prioritised spending has commenced on works to the River Severn.

In post also are a Sports Development Officer and an Arts Development Officer to encourage use of the facilities provided.

All in all on the sport/community/recreation side major advances have been made in the last ten years. The proposed development of a Sports Village will further enhance this development and the production of an Open Spaces/Recreation Strategy will allow continued, controlled development in this area.

In entertainment/arts/culture the Borough Council continues to invest in the running of a museum service and the Music Hall, which delivers an agreed programme. Grant aid is also distributed to various bodies for the promotion of events in both the performing and visual art spheres. The employment of an Arts Development Officer has significantly heightened the profile of the arts and its contribution to the Borough.

The Council adopted the current Tourism Strategy in early 2000. Since then funding has been maintained at current level but no real progress of tourism development, marketing campaigns, product development etc has been able to be achieved as financial resources have not been made available in successive budgets. The emphasis has been on partnership working with Shropshire Tourism, Shrewsbury Tourism Association and the Town Centre Management Partnership to deliver marketing and promotion.

The delivery of the tourism information service has been significantly improved and this has been well used and well regarded within Shropshire.

The Council made a significant investment in the Shrewsbury Quest site and buildings. Unfortunately the Quest closed in November 2000 due to low visitor numbers and visitor spend but it did have a significant impact in tourism terms. Lessons need to be drawn from this private sector venture in the context of new visitor attraction proposals that might be brought forward. Fortunately the use of the site by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust is seen as a positive benefit for the town and a satellite TIC operates from the premises.

The Consultants Team Tourism have been appointed by the Council to prepare a Visitor Economy Strategy and Action Plan. This will be market focussed which optimises resources and identified priorities. The Consultants will also develop a broad image for Shrewsbury and will report in January 2004.

In sporting and cultural terms the majority of investment has been to deal with local needs. In visitor terms concentration has been on servicing the needs of the visitor rather than the promotion of the product. The only major regionally significant facilities provided by the Borough are the Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre and the Roman Road Synthetic Pitch. If an Indoor Bowls Provision is developed as part of the Sports Village, this will also be a regional facility. The development of the Tennis Centre by private enterprise will be a regional facility. The Music Hall, whilst endeavouring to provide both a balanced and economical programme and to provide a performing venue for local groups, is in some instances regarded as a venue of county-wide significance by default, ie there are no really satisfactory public performing venues of capacity in the county. The Museum Service currently endeavours to provide an all embracing museum service in both display and collection areas.

It is suggested that Shrewsbury needs to address its role as the county town. The town is also looking very seriously at a major capital investment into new and enhanced facilities. Many of these developments are highly relevant to the leisure, cultural and visitor economies. If these issues begin to be addressed now, when there is a major opportunity to secure additional external funding to supplement direct funding by SABC, the future of Shrewsbury as a vibrant living county market town will be secured for the foreseeable future. The purpose of this report is to identify decisions needed now to provide the platform for the delivery of these projects; to provide a time scale against which they can be delivered and to provide a financial equation which can lead to their delivery over an acceptable number of years.

This report also attempts to identify a corporate approach to what is surely a corporate matter in both political and service terms. The report also acknowledges and supports the involvement of the community and the private sector in making this happen.

In addressing these issues and in common with the more objective and visionary towns of the UK, and to secure maximum external funding, it is suggested that some of the current economic problems of the town can also be tackled insofar as:-

The intent is to make Shrewsbury and its environs such an attractive and environmentally excellent place in which to work and live that business enterprises wish to operate in such a vibrant area. Their work force wishes to live and recreate in Shrewsbury. This element of the 'economic development' equation is vital in the very competitive world of attracting new business enterprises to the area and retaining its current ones.

In 1994 the then Director of Health, Tourism and Leisure submitted to Council a report entitled Shrewsbury 2001, which in essence addressed many of the issues identified in this report. This report to some extent is a progression of Shrewsbury 2001.