A £52 million master plan to regenerate Warrington town centre, including a new state of the art market hall in the old Boots building on Bridge Street, is set to be unveiled by the borough council.
Subject to a public consultation process which is set to run for one month from October 7 and ratification by the council, the scheme, which will be officially unveiled tomorrow (Thursday), will create a new family-friendly shopping, restaurant and leisure experience with a contemporary market hall at its heart.
It will create an estimated 400 construction jobs and 400 new permanent jobs in the leisure, retail and restaurant sectors when fully completed in 2018.
Other key components of the scheme will comprise a state-of-the-art multiplex cinema and a new civic centre.
The new market will be built on the site of the former Boots building preserving and making a street front entrance feature of the Grade II listed brick façade.
The 3.4 hectare (8.4 acre) development site extends from Bridge Street and across the existing Time Square development and includes the site of the existing market.
Phased over five years, the project will be delivered by Warrington Borough Council with development partner, Muse. Muse was chosen by Warrington Borough Council as partner on the scheme because of their established track record of delivery in mixed-use town centre regeneration projects across the UK.
A £400,000 programme of landscaping and environmental improvements to improve the appearance of Lower Bridge Street is already underway to be completed prior to Christmas 2013.
Subject to consultation, ratification and planning approvals, the first construction phases of the project will start on site in Autumn 2014.
It will be necessary to deliver the scheme in two construction phases in order to minimise disruption for the market traders. The first building to be constructed on the site of Time Square will be fully equipped and fitted out to serve as a two-year provisional home for the market to allow the existing, outdated market hall to be demolished and the new market hall to be constructed.
Warrington Borough Council says it will continue close engagement with market traders in order to minimise disruption to their trade whilst the new market is built and ensure the continued vibrancy of the award winning market.
This scheme is a key development area as identified in Warrington Borough Council’s framework for growth, Warrington Means Business.
The project has been driven and will be managed by Warrington & Co., which was established to act as a partnership between Warrington Borough Council, business leaders and key organisations as a business friendly interface to deliver regeneration strategies and facilitate growth in the town.
Leader of the council Cllr Terry O’Neill, leader of the council said: “This is a tremendously exciting moment for our town and a huge step forward in its regeneration and renaissance. Getting to this stage has been difficult and has taken time because of all of the different land and business interests involved in the project but I am very proud that we have finally reached this pivotal moment.
“This scheme, complemented by the Stadium Quarter scheme and the potential of the Cabinet Works initiative, will herald the start of a return to a revitalised, vibrant town centre. Our vision, as set out in our regeneration framework Warrington Means Business is to re-stimulate, re-energise and re-populate the inner town.
“The opportunity to create a new market offers a tremendously exciting proposition not only to create a world-class market facility safeguarding its long-term future but also to bring the magnificent former Boots façade back into use.”
Matt Crompton, joint managing director of Muse Developments, said: “Muse is keen to get started on the Bridge Street regeneration scheme, working closely with Warrington Borough Council, to deliver this transformational mixed-use project. We believe that it will greatly enhance this part of the town centre and bring wide-ranging benefits and growth. This announcement about the market hall proposal is an important and exciting step in the process.”
Steve Pickering, Warrington’s markets manager, said: “This regeneration project is a new milestone in the long and successful history of Warrington Market that will secure the market’s long-term future. The new market hall with its entrance onto Bridge Street will offer a stunning, high profile entrance on the high street for shoppers and help stimulate and re-energise.”
Businesses, stakeholders and the public are invited to view and comment upon the outline plan to undertake a two-phase move of the market hall.
Comments may be submitted online at www.warrington.gov.uk/bridgestreet or by visiting a consultation centre at Contact Warrington, Time Square on Monday, October 7, Wednesday, October 9 and Friday, October 11 between 11.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m.
The consultation period will run from October 7 to November 7 2013.
Fly-through, Warrington Bridge Street regeneration scheme, new market hall CLICK HERE
Fly-through, Warrington Bridge Street regeneration scheme, provisional market hall CLICK HERE
6 Comments
Will this be a traditional market or a selective one where stall holders can’t afford the rent and we get left with cafe’s?
I went to Blackburn Market last year (my previous visit being a number of years ago) – the “improvements” have totally ruined it, it is no longer a traditional market.
Won’t work as long as WBC insist on charging for parking while other places don’t. At the very least there needs to be 2 hours free parking for users of the market.
I think the idea of using the old Boots store as a new market hall is an excellent one. It could really revive Bridge Street.
But I don’t like the appearance of the building, as shown in the artist’s impression.
If we are to retain the Boots frontage – and surely we must! – it should be done properly, not lost inside a modern-style, cheap and nasty, “wrap around” as shown.
Stick with the red brick style of the existing shop front. It looks better as it is now than it does in the picture – in fact it looks just right for a market entrance.
One pound for three hours is hardly going to bankrupt you.
Looks good on paper…. if it works it will be great. As for creating 400 construction jobs though; not sure about that as it will no doubt be built by the likes of Galliford Try or some other huge out of town company who will use their usual contractors which may in fact take away from companies who already carry out many of the kind of work that is going to be needed on this job for the council already.