Mini-Holland Bid for Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Town Council, working alongside Shrewsbury Business Improvement District [BID] and Shropshire Council, has been part of a group to submit an Expression of Interest to the Department for Transport for funding towards a Mini-Holland project, which will help to prioritise walking and cycling for short journeys within the town.
The focus of the Mini-Holland Programme will be on developing a comprehensive network of key walking and cycling corridors and introducing low-traffic schemes to the residential areas between these routes.
Councillor Alan Mosley, leader of the Town Council, said: “Our Mini-Holland bid has been developed by the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership which, over the last four years, has worked with the community and stakeholders to develop a collective and ambitious vision for Shrewsbury.
“There is a huge appetite for this innovative project from residents who want to move from being car-dependant to a more meaningful engagement with their town. Businesses can also see the benefits for their customers being able to move around the town more freely.
“A Shrewsbury Mini-Holland project would be a huge step forward delivering on our objective of transforming movement to create a more connected, prosperous and healthy town.
“I firmly believe that we need to be very bold about Active Travel particularly if we are to meet our Climate Emergency commitments and we owe it to future generations to radically change our culture and habits.”
The Shrewsbury Big Town Plan is an ambitious and bold masterplan for Shrewsbury which seeks to reshape the public realm and revolutionise movement to create better connectivity and green networks which link residential communities with the retail and commercial heart of the town and beyond into the country.
Amanda Spencer, deputy town clerk, added: “The key to Shrewsbury being able to create a successful Mini-Holland is due to the collaborative partnerships which already exist throughout the town. Our focus now needs to be on developing a comprehensive network of key walking and cycling corridors and introducing low-traffic schemes to residential areas.
“We are working with developers to introduce better networks to link residential areas with key hubs like the town centre, colleges and the hospital. With improvements to infrastructure to make it more safe and convenient, we hope that people will be encouraged to use active travel measures for short journeys as the accepted form of moving around the town.
“With a vision to develop radical ways to address traffic congestion and the associated climate impacts, we feel that residents would benefit greatly from introducing a Mini-Holland scheme to Shrewsbury.”
ENDS/
Published 18 August 2021