Town centre flats scheme in the balance

THE fate of a major plan for 362 apartments in Warrington town centre depends on the outcome of a meeting next week.
Members of the borough council’s development management committee will be asked to rule on an application for the eight-storey block in Winwick Street, near its junction with John Street.
The committee has already considered the scheme once but put off a decision to enable more information to be provided by the applicant.
One concern was the lack of affordable homes in the development.
The proposed site is close to Warrington Central Station and there are three Grade 2 Listed buildings nearby – the Boulting building, the Kings Head public house and the Cheshire Lines warehouse – as well as a number of locally listed buildings.
The scheme involves the demolition of existing buildings and removal of sub structures and the erection of two buildings.
One would be the apartment block, providing 362 homes over eight floors, and the other a nine-storey multi-storey car park for public use.
The apartment block would comprise of a mix of 253 one and 98 two bed apartments, eight two-bed duplexes and three four bed duplexes. They would all be available for private rent.
Three entrances from John Street and another off Central Way would provide access to the building.
Retail units and a café would be included on the ground floor – with an external seating area with the café.