Shrewsbury shopping centres to get £400K refurbishment
Shrewsbury’s two busiest shopping centres are having over £400,000 spent on them in a major refurbishment.
Smart new tiled flooring has been laid in the Pride Hill Centre while just up the road at the Darwin Centre mart four new eco-escalators are being installed to connect the centre’s three floors of shops.
This follows the installation last year of two new escalators connecting the town’s busy bus station to the Darwin Centre and to the town itself.
And inbuilt sensors even work out when no-one is on them and they slow down to an energy-saving low speed.
Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “We are delighted that work is starting on the replacement of the old escalators.
“They provide a vitally important link between the different levels of the Darwin Centre and to the town centre and its shops for people using the bus station.
“As you can imagine taking out the four old escalators and installing new ones is a difficult and complex operation.
“As part of our obligation to our tenants a detailed inspection and report was produced which recommended the removal and replacement of the escalators.
“The old escalators had been there for many years and must have literally transported millions of people through the Darwin Centre but we expect the new escalators to be in action within six weeks.”
The shopping centre was the first in the UK to install escalators made by Turkish firm Loher although they are widely fitted elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East and in Asia.
The Darwin Centre’s four new parallel escalators run at a speed of just over one mile an hour and are fitted with energy saving sensors so that they don’t run if no-one is on them.
The refurbishment has also extended to the Pride Hill Centre where new tiling has been laid and Kevin Lockwood added: “The floors now look very smart and have helped give a brighter and lighter feel to the Centre and this will be extended to the lower floors over the next 12 months.
“The investment in the new escalators is a further evidence of our commitment to the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres.
“We see Shrewsbury as very much a destination town that people want to come and visit and one that has a rich and varied retail offer and the access to that retail offer is important and so is the decor.”
