Free workshops to explore the future of travel in town centres, featuring an array of industry-leading speakers, are taking place in Shrewsbury later this month.

The sessions will be held between 10am and 4pm on Friday, March 21, as part of the four-day Shrewsbury Moves Festival, between March 20 and 23.

People are being invited to drop in throughout the day to Shrewsbury Business Suite, in High Street, for six interactive sessions on a range of topics, including the health benefits of active travel, how pedestrian-friendly spaces boost the local economy, and the case for accessible, inclusive public areas.

There will also be workshops looking at travel and movement in Shrewsbury town centre, and a discussion on the challenges facing young people when moving around the town and how they would like things to change in the future.

Speakers will include Rhiannon Evans of Active Travel England, Rachel Lee of Living Streets and Kay Inckle of Wheels for Wellbeing.

The Shrewsbury Moves Festival is being organised by the Big Town Plan Partnership as a celebration of the future of movement in Shrewsbury and beyond.

The first two days will focus on “talking movement” with an evening debate hosted by Peter Walker, the deputy political editor of The Guardian, on Thursday, March 20, along with the drop-in workshops during the day on Friday, March 21.

At the same time, over three days starting on Friday, March 21, Shrewsbury Square will celebrate “all things movement” with a huge range of activities and displays, including hula hoops, skipping, cycling, rambling, yoga, dancing, music and more.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, which is part of the Big Town Plan Partnership along with Shropshire Council and Shrewsbury Town Council, said: “The centre of Shrewsbury is going to be absolutely buzzing and we are really pleased with how everything is coming together.

“The discussion on Thursday evening and the Friday workshops will feature some true leaders in their field, so I would urge anyone with an interest in how town centres can thrive now and in the future to come along.

“We are very grateful to Liza Freudmann, of BLA Sustainability, for her hard work in bringing such an impressive range of people to share their experiences with the local community here in Shrewsbury, and to the team at Shropshire Festivals who are creating an amazing feast of active entertainment in The Square.”

The Shrewsbury Moves Festival is funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and coordinated by the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan Partnership.

For more information and to reserve spaces on the workshops, visit www.shrewsburymoves.com