Shropshire Star

First look at Mid Wales shopping centre change into offices after £600,000 investment

Plans for how a Mid Wales shopping centre will look following a £600,000 investment have been revealed by the developers.

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The plans for the new shopping centre

Evabuild, a groundworks and civil engineering company in Newtown has begun to transform an 8,000ft former supermarket in the town, which is currently home to the town's Ladywell Shopping Centre.

It is being turned into a modern, open plan office that is set to employ 100 staff when complete.

Negotiations are ongoing with prospective tenants, and the company has released the design of what things will look like when complete.

It is expected to take eight months to built, and will be renamed the Ladywell Business Hub.

The project has been supported by Powys County Council with a £280,000 loan from the twon centre loan scheme, andEvaBuild’s directors Nick Evans and Dan Jones said it was the first project of its type to be undertaken by the company and they plan to employ local contractors wherever possible.

They said: “This project has been instigated by the need to inject ambition, innovation and sheer guts into private investment in our home town.

"We are planning to demonstrate that regeneration has to come from within the community and by local businesses reinvesting it will show that positive changes can and will happen to meet the needs of local residents.

“We see ourselves as innovators creating a better, new and exciting environment for those that live and work in it.”

EvaBuild owns 10 of 12 units in the centre - excluding the doctors’ surgery - and the remaining retail businesses will continue their tenancies.

The company bought Ladywell Shopping Centre, which was originally built by the Development Board for Rural Wales and extends to around 18,000 sq ft, in December 2017 from Townson Investments Limited. The total site, including the car park, extends to more than one acre.

Newtown’s mayor councillor Sue Newham also welcomed the project, adding: “I am delighted that a local company is investing in the regeneration of a town centre building that has been empty and neglected for years.

"I wish EvaBuild every success with the venture.”