Site
The 0.18ha urban corner site lies to the south of Shirley High Street at the junction with Park Street. The site benefits from a 28m long frontage on Shirley High Street.
Shirley is a District Centre, second only to the city centre in importance. The area enjoys excellent transport links to the city centre and train station. However, it is fair to say that since the Covid pandemic Shirley High Street has continued to experience a lower footfall, which hasn’t been helped by the recent economic situation, the rise of e-retailing, home delivery services, changes in spending patterns and a lack in range of shops.
In recent years a number of shops, banks and other premises on Shirley High Street have closed, with some shops still empty after a number of years. In the last month or so, NatWest Bank and the Halifax have closed, with New Look also reported to be closing soon.
Many feel Shirley High Street is in need of a boost.
The largest unit on the site, formerly Sainsburys and most recently Wilko does not front the main High Street and lacks prominence. The low quality and vacant small retail units do not benefit such a key location.
Unfortunately, since the closure of the Wilko store there has been no interest in the site as it currently stands. There has, however, been commercial interest in a newly developed site.
Residents will be aware, that the hotel has recently been painted with a maintenance coat to improve the exterior.
We are proposing to redevelop the whole brownfield site with a high-quality mixed use scheme. This will regenerate the area offering new homes and purpose-built new retail units, breathing new life into Shirley. We have investigated using the existing exterior of the Shirley Hotel, however, unfortunately the walls are in a poor condition and could not support additional development.
The current manager of the Shirley Hotel Public House is aware of the redevelopment plans and the new #Love Fashion shop only took a short lease on their premises.
