A task and finish group has been set up to review the future of Shirehall, the former headquarters of Shropshire Council on Abbey Foregate. Although now barely occupied, the building is far from derelict and could be brought back into use for civic, commercial and housing use.
My view is that it is better to reuse a building than demolish it and use the site for newbuild. Shirehall could also give Shropshire Council staff the physical space they need to work effectively as an organisation.
Architecture is often like marmite. Some of us see modern buildings as works of great interest, even beauty. Others see them as “carbuncles” and “eyesores”. Even worse, as “pastiche” or a lazy conglomerate of styles. No one could accuse Shirehall as being pastiche, though many think it is an eyesore. But there are others that regard the building as a work of significant architectural interest, among them Shrewsbury Civic Society, Save Our Shirehall, Don’t Waste Buildings and the Twentieth Century Society.
Opened in 1967 by Queen Elizabeth, the building is an exemplar of modernist architecture. Some people describe it as Brutalist. I don’t think that is the best description. Brutalism (from the French beton brut which translates to “rough concrete”) is a branch of modernism. Typically, it has heavier, more rugged concrete forms including rough surfaces. London’s Southbank arts complex, the Ministry of Justice and the former Birmingham Library are classic examples. Shirehall is as modernist but does not use rugged concrete in the same way.
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The council chamber of Shirehall brilliantly illustrates the key modernist principle of function dictating form. It is circular with one side flattened. That flattening provided space for a long table where council leaders would site facing the councillors arranged in semi-circles in the rest of the auditorium. It is a perfect shape for a large council like Shropshire.
So why is this building not listed?
Historic England has frequently argued that loss of integrity through additions and modifications has weakened the case for listing for listing modernist buildings. That’s not the case with Shirehall. There are a couple of later buildings in the grounds that need knocking down but it is pretty much as built. There is, however, a general reluctance by Historic England and ministers to list post-war buildings unless they are assessed as exceptional at a national level. Some exceptional modernist buildings have been listed, including the Barbican (Grade II*), Park Hill in Sheffield (Grade II) and, recently, the Wolverhampton School of Art “Milk Crate” building (Grade II).
In any event, an application for listing Shirehall cannot be made until September after the last council administration acquired a Certificate of Immunity (COI) from listing. I objected to the COI to no avail. Shirehall should be listed as an exemplar of a modernist civic building and for the exterior civic space it creates in relation to the Column – a space that could be better used.
What then will become of Shirehall? Shropshire Council has talked of selling it for housing, with the figure of 150 homes being mentioned. It would be a waste of a 10 acre (c. 4 ha) brownfield site to build so few homes when greenfield sites across the county are under pressure and the council cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.
None of the housing is likely to be affordable if just 150 homes are built. At least 250 homes would need to be built before a developer is required to build affordable homes because of a discount called Vacant Building Credit. This was introduced by the government after the 2008 financial crisis to encourage developers to convert vacant offices into homes. Vacant Building Credit applies regardless of whether a building is converted or demolished for redevelopment.
There is no need for Shirehall to be demolished. Repeated reports that the building is in poor condition were promoted because of the previous administration’s unaffordable ambitions to build a new civic centre on the site of the shopping centres in the centre of Shrewsbury. The reports were also promoted by those who only see the value of Shirehall as real estate that can be sold to help balance the books. The feedback from a recent visit to Shirehall by councillors was that the building is surprisingly good condition contrary to those reports. Unfortunately, I get the impression that some officers are still determined to see the building demolished. However, officers don’t (or at least shouldn’t) dictate policy. That is down to councillors.
The final argument for keeping Shirehall is mitigating climate change. A new build of 250 homes could emit up to 20,000 tCO₂e (metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) upfront in construction, inclusive of brick and cement manufacture. It would be better to reuse Shirehall, which itself contains about 18,000 tCO₂e embedded carbon, than demolish it and rebuild. These figures are indicative, but they are consistent with whole-life carbon assessments for buildings of this scale.
Some action needs to be taken on Shirehall quickly. It costs around £350,000 a year to run, of which about half is business rates. It has been reported that sale of the site could raise £7m. That capital receipt of that size would be useful for the cash strapped council which has seen its capital resources depleted by the high risk purchase of the three shopping centres (one now demolished, one now empty) for £51m. When they were last valued in 2020, they were worth just £17.5m.
Bringing Shirehall back into use would benefit the council’s staff who could at last have office space alongside their colleagues. With our reduced staff and the recognition that working from home can be as effective and more efficient than working in the office. But while remote work is good for focused tasks, it is weaker for informal mentoring and casual discussions on why thing work and why they don’t. Innovative companies deliberately create shared spaces. There is a café in the Guildhall but it needs a quorate of staff using the building to allow the informal, non-hierarchical conversations to take place to promote an organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness. To quietly challenge each other when they think the team’s dynamics are not working.
The demolition of Shirehall will be a decision our county and our county town will regret. Built for the former Shrewsbury & Atcham District Council at the turn of the millennium, the Guildhall on Frankwell is ill suited to serve Shropshire Council’s civic functions. The reception area is adequate but the council chamber really doesn’t work with councillors sitting in straight rows staring at the back of other councillors necks.
Shirehall in contrast has an ample reception area and a wide staircase giving access to the council chamber and meeting rooms. Behind the civic space, offices occupied four extensive floors. Shropshire Council doesn’t need that much office space now. But the current arrangement where staff meet online and only occasionally in person isn’t good for team building.
A task and finish group is currently looking at the future of Shirehall. It must conclude its deliberations very quickly. I hope that it recommends that it would be better to reuse the building rather than demolish it for new housing. Shirehall reimagined could give Shropshire Council and its staff the physical space it needs to work effectively while it is under extreme financial pressure. And it could return to the proud civic hub it once was.