By Janine Griffiths
Angry shop tenants and residents spoke out this week over their frustration at the lack of progress on rebuilding Leegomery district centre, which was virtually gutted by fire more than three years ago.
The fire, which ripped through the shops in July, 2005, left local people with no main supermarket, just a fish and chip shop, hairdressers and chemists in temporary accommodation.
It also left the Listen and Care mental health charity - which operates from the site - worried about its security, especially since the demolition of the Thomas Telford pub to clear the way for redevelopment.
Raquel Argente, manager of the chemists, said: “They moved our portable building three months ago because they said they were going to start building but now they are saying it might be mid-September.
“We have been given dates so many times we don’t believe it anymore. The whole thing has been a nightmare for us.”
Listen and Care were promised a new building as part of the redevelopment.
Dave Tipton, chairman, said: “We were assured that work would start in August. We have had to keep boarding our windows up because they were being vandalised by yobs and costing around £300 each to repair.
“The longer the Council take to start the work, the harder it makes it for us.”
Grace Joseph, owner of the Hair Junction salon added: “We have been making plans for the new salon but it has all come to a standstill. Our customers have been fantastic - without their support we would have been in a terrible mess.”
Frustrated
Carlos Savva, co-owner of the Big Blue Chip Shop added: “Our trade has decreased by about 10-15 per cent. I feel frustrated it has taken so long for the work to get started. I’ll be glad when it’s done.”
Gail Butcher, a local resident and volunteer at the WRVS Cafe in Leegomery Community Centre said she was fed up of being left in the dark.
She said: “We keep getting different dates from the council and were told that once the pharmacy moved the work would begin but so far we have heard nothing and nobody knows what is going on.”
Telford & Wrekin Council puts the delays down to problems with negotiating contracts with traders in the centre - despite there being only three businesses which needed to sign agreements.
A council spokesman said: “I am pleased to say that the few outstanding details are now being addressed and hopefully an announcement can be made by mid-September that all the necessary agreements have been signed and the development programme established.”
Pat Smart, chairman of Hadley and Leegomery Council said: “The people in Leegomery have waited for more than three years for this work to be done.
“The latest starting date has been described as iminent - whatever that means. Does it really take this long to build a small row of shops?
A spokesman for developers Redrow said: “There are no problems with this site as far as we are concerned. The delay has been due to external issues which we expect to be resolved.”
