THE University of Chester has been given the green light by planners to deliver education to the heart of Warrington town centre at a building that is currently empty in Time Square.
Warrington Borough Council planners have granted permission for the University, currently based at Padgate campus, to move into the premises in Time Square in between the Cineworld Complex and The Botanist.
The University has received planning permission for change of use of a unit in Time Square to F1 class (learning and non-residential institutions) which it is now leasing. It has also completed the purchase of a property on Barbauld Street.
The University, which will now be relocating over the next 18 months, starting this September, says its plans will support the UK’s recovery from the pandemic by providing opportunities for adults to further develop the skills needed for well-paid employment throughout their lives.
This reflects the pledge made by the Government to revolutionise skills and training opportunities in the Queen’s Speech yesterday (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-to-revolutionise-skills-and-training-opportunities) and will also result in economic benefits by bringing the ‘student pound’ to the town centre.
The Time Square space will be refurbished and equipped to be operational from mid-September 2021 and is to be the ‘shop front’ for the University in Warrington. It will host an information point for members of the public to engage and understand the learning opportunities available from the University. It will also include bookable learning space for students with laptops and digital resources, breakout spaces for seminars and a small lecture space for talks and events. This town centre location will also work with partners to showcase the opportunities available for both learners and businesses and will include offers from Further Education partners and key business support programmes, such as the Accelerate skills programme, working with Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.
It is proposed that the former office building on Barbauld Street currently called ‘Mersey Bank House’ will house the majority of the teaching provision, namely Education and Nursing, and will be renamed the ‘Sarah Parker Remond Building,’ which was announced to coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8.)
The University has decided to name its new building after Sarah Parker Remond (1826-1894), a prominent anti-slavery and women’s rights campaigner from America, who after arriving in Liverpool, was hosted in Warrington and gave a series of lectures at Warrington Music Hall and the Red Lion Hotel. Remond’s first lecture, free to enter, was described by contemporary accounts as the best-attended public event in the town’s history and following the lecture series she spoke of the reception and sympathy she had found in Warrington. Remond’s speeches and writings also speak of her wider commitments to education, human rights and women’s suffrage and her later career as a doctor enabled her to put these into action.
By naming the building after Remond the University signals a continuing link with Warrington and the local community, whilst supporting and promoting the University’s mission, vision and foundational values, which have such resonance today.
Professor Eunice Simmons, Vice-Chancellor, said: “The University’s desire to grow its Warrington presence in the heart of the town is aligned to its Citizen Student strategy to provide a ‘premium, personalised and purposeful’ experience to its learners. The town centre location helps to realise the ambition to broaden the reach and accessibility of the University in Warrington whilst supporting Warrington Borough Council to focus on areas of growth, providing strategic support for the post-COVID economic and cultural recovery.”
Warrington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Innovation, Cllr Tom Jennings, said: “This is great news for the ongoing growth of the heart of our town. The purchase of the Mersey Bank House building by the University of Chester will serve as another excellent addition to a bustling town centre and will bring footfall and further business to Time Square and other businesses in the area.
“This move complements the University’s recent announcement that it will be establishing a new information and learning hub at Time Square. Their decision to establish key academic locations in Warrington is testament to the tremendous progress being made here and is another really important step forward, as we continue the development of our town centre.”
No official statement has been issued on the future of Padgate Campus although it is expected the site will be sold for housing.
The Time Square “shop front”
