Master plan for town centre

FIVE hundred new homes, an engineering-based university technical college, offices and hotel and leisure uses are envisaged in a development master plan for the northern fringe of Warrington town centre.
About 90 acres of land bounded by the Liverpool-Manchester railway, the Halliwell Jones Stadium, the A49 and Bewsey Street are involved in the scheme to regenerate what has been dubbed The Stadium Quarter.
Open spaces and parks, pedestrians routes linking the town centre and the stadium are envisaged – and a new square in front of Central Station.
Phase One of the development includes offices, the university technical college and business incubator/innovation centre, car parking and hotel and leisure uses to service the new business community.
Later phases would provide a mixed range of 500 dwellings, including both affordable and family homes.
The master plan is to be presented to the borough council’s executive board on Monday when councillors will be asked to give the project the go-ahead and appoint a development partner.
The Stadium Quarter has traditionally been an industrial area, although in more recent times infill development has introduced showrooms and shops.
At the peak of the property boom in 2007, plans were approved for two high density residential schemes but these never went ahead.
Aim of the master plan is to make the area more compatible with the town centre.
New, attractive built frontages are planned for Bewsey Street and Lythgoes Lane, together with pedestrian links to Bank Park. New offices will be linked to Central Station.
Consultation has been carried out with regeneration group Warrington and Co, site owners and businesses within the area who have voiced support.
The Homes and Communities Agency have been involved and have put in place a strategy for further consultation.