The shopping centres owned by Shropshire Council have dropped in value by £5 million over the last 12 months.

The centres in Shrewsbury were valued at £12,350,000 on March 31, 2021, compared with £17,500,000 in March, last year.

The unitary authority paid £51 million for the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside shopping centres in January 2018.

But the council has defended the news, saying a drop in property value is not unique to Shrewsbury and similar falls in value have been reported across the UK as retailers and leisure operators face challenges because of Covid-19.

A spokesman for Shropshire Council said: "Shropshire Council and its partners are responsible for real, visible change in Shrewsbury, which the entire county will benefit from, attracting more business and visitors.

"All shopping centres across the country are experiencing significant drops in value at present due to the structural changes in shopping habits, and there are challenging times ahead but the original vision and strategy are unchanged; to deliver a vibrant, sustainable, and commercially successful town centre that people want to live, work, play, visit and enjoy themselves in."

Shropshire Council says it purchased the centres to provide full control to improve and manage the future Shrewsbury retail experience.

Since then, it has invested in the centres with the Darwin Centre being renovated to include new toilets, family room and Changing Places facility.

The council says the footfall of the Darwin Centre is approaching 2019 figures and is forecast to be 97 per cent let, as opposed to 87 per cent in 2018.

It has also looked at the transformation of the Riverside site with the intention to demolish the site and redevelop, which Shropshire Council says impacts its market value in the interim.

A planning application has now been lodged to demolish the Riverside Medical Practice, beginning the next stage of the Riverside project.

Pride Hill meanwhile, has been earmarked for redevelopment and repurposing and could become home to a variety of mixed-use options uses including civic, community and commercial occupiers.

Shropshire Council approval has been given to investigate the Pride Hill site as a potential option for a new civic hub to house the council, and some of its public sector partners once it moves from Shirehall.

The first phase of enabling works was completed in May 2021.

At present there are only three retailers still using Pride Hill and Shropshire Council anticipate all shops to soon vacate the centre, but it says this is expected to further reduce its value in the interim.