Wellington, Shropshire - The Creation of Telford

The Creation of Telford

The new town of Dawley New Town was designated in 1963, and was expanded to include Wellington in 1968 when the development was renamed Telford New Town (in fact, it's not a town at all but rather a conurbation of ancient settlements). This has divided opinion in Wellington ever since, with some celebrating the jobs and investment it brought to the area and others bemoaning the negative impact on Wellington's own economy - as well as its sense of history and identity. The development of Telford Town Centre since the 1970s hit Wellington's traditional shops hard, and the renaming of the local football team from Wellington Town to Telford United highlighted to many the risk that Wellington was being erased as a town in its own right.

Local politics left Wellington in conflict with Wrekin District (now Telford & Wrekin) Council for many years, with claims and counter claims of neglect. In more recent years, however, the Council has started making heavy investment to make improvements to the town. Critics feel this it is not about new Bus Stations and Libraries but a need for more commercial and viable shopping stunted mainly by high rents and rising Business Rate Bills, enforced by central government and not benefitting the local community.

The creation of the new town did, however, bring employment to the area. Although ignored by most of the larger high street stores, some independent businesses have remained in Wellington. In a story common to so many small towns, the economic downturn has compounded the challenges already created by out of town shopping, with empty premises and ongoing concerns about 'too many charity shops'

Wellington continues to try and find its place in the local economy but losing large national stores like Dunelm to Telford Centre only makes the challenge harder.

However, national chain BonMarche have recently opened a branch in New Street, Wellington.