The Shropshire market town of Craven Arms was established at the crossroads of historic turnpike routes, and its position was later reinforced with the arrival of the railway into mid-Wales. A regional livestock market was established at its centre, but in the 1990s the market closed, leaving a large vacant site in a highly visible location in the middle of the town. The challenge for studio | REAL was to provide a new central focus suited to both the contemporary activities and historic scale and identity of this market town.
Advantage West Midlands appointed studio | REAL to explore options for the development of the site that would be the flagship of the town’s regeneration, creating a local landmark and a new public square, and that would provide for a new headquarters for the South Shropshire Housing Association. A range of design options was considered, arriving at a mixed-use scheme, which included new shops, housing and offices for letting, as well as the headquarter building, set around a new market square.
Client
Advantage West Midlands
Scope
Urban Design and Development Appraisal
Location
Craven Arms, Shropshire
Status
Completed 2003
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