Smithfield Village
Client:
N/A
Category:
Residential
Commercial
Projects
Location:
Shrewsbury Rd | Oswestry
Construction Value:
N/A
Size:
3.25 HEC
Reimagining the Gateway to Oswestry
Oswestry’s Smithfield Cattle Market closed in 2015, leaving a significant 3.25-hectare (8-acre) brownfield site on one of the town’s principal approaches. Outline planning permission had been granted in 2011 for commercial development, including a cinema, restaurants and supermarket. By 2020, the supermarket had been built, while much of the site remained undeveloped before proposals emerged for a McDonald’s drive-through.
For Ke-design, this represented a missed opportunity.
Rather than simply opposing the application, our Director, Craig Marston, decided to explore what the site could become and develop an alternative vision for this important gateway to Oswestry.
With its prominent location, proximity to the town centre and lack of historic constraints, we believed the brownfield site presented an opportunity for something more ambitious and was ideally suited to a modern live-and-work urban village.
The vision was for a mixed-use community that would bring together homes, employment, services, recreation and green space within a walkable neighbourhood. Live/work units would sit alongside affordable and starter apartments, providing opportunities for younger people, first-time buyers and those looking to downsize while remaining close to the town centre.
Small start-up businesses and incubator units would encourage entrepreneurship, supported by artisan retail, professional services, a doctors’ and dentists’ surgery and a nursery. At the heart of the development, an urban park and areas for recreation would provide valuable public space and help create a genuine sense of community.
Located within approximately ten minutes’ walk or e-scooter journey of the town centre, the scheme could also help strengthen Oswestry’s existing daytime and evening economy.
The vision was It was about demonstrating how good design can drive regeneration, creating a place with character, purpose and long-term value for Oswestry. Ke-design presented the vision to Oswestry and Shropshire Council, seeking an opportunity to explore how the site could contribute more meaningfully to the town’s future.
Unfortunately, the response was that “the land has planning permission for commercial.” And in 2026 we are still driving past an eyesore as we drive into Oswestry.
For Ke-design, however, the question remains: should planning permission determine what a place becomes, or should good design help shape what it could become?
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