City planning has never been easy, and it could arguably be said that it’s more challenging today than ever. In the past, city planning had a lot of issues to deal with. Still, they were all related to growth, infrastructure, land availability and other issues directly related to the actual city.
Nowadays, city planners face additional problems such as sustainability, lack of available space, climate change, big data and scarcity of resources. All of this presents new challenges, and there’s no room for trial and error.
The city of Warrington has embarked on such an enterprise, but is it a good idea?
What Is Mixed-Use?
To understand what the Warrington Council approved, it’s essential to know the mixed-use concept. As the name implies, this type of urban development combines multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural or entertainment, in one space.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s just one building. It can be a series of buildings where all these functions are somehow integrated and have pedestrian connections.
This is actually how humans organically used to settle in the past. For instance, in the Middle Ages, artisans weren’t separated from the rest of the population. In fact, they performed their trade in their own homes. The advent of separated zones such as industrial, commercial and residential started with industrialisation.
Casinos And Desert, The Las Vegas Anti-Example
Casinos in the middle of a desert are unlikely if you think of it. Especially today, when you can own your casino at home. If you want to know how to check how white label casino software works. However, Las Vegas in the United States is a perfect example of what uncontrolled city growth can do.
How a settlement in the middle of the desert became successful? It was primarily thanks to the Hoover Dam’s construction starting in 1931. This is a massive dam nearby, which multiplied the population, especially male workers. Thus, the Mafia crime lords developed casinos.
As you can imagine, little thought was put initially into city planning. The famous Las Vegas Strip is a conglomerate of casinos and other adult-oriented entertainment. Even local city planners admit that projects in Las Vegas get approval because they generate significant revenue. Such a division between commercial and living spaces is precisely the opposite of the current Warrington project.
The Warrington Project
In the case of Warrington, there’s a significant project that will most certainly be approved soon. It includes creating 900 apartments and a 160-bed hotel. More than 215,000 sq ft of commercial space is also planned, including offices and retail.
To make this development more organic, special care will be taken concerning landscaping and access to services and parking. This project will be undertaken in the town centre, a three-acre area occupied mainly by the Cockhedge Shopping Park and the New Town House.
This comes at a time when living space is scarce in the city, especially in the town centre, and some citizens claim the town centre needs renovation. The project will cost approximately £100 million, its construction will last ten years, and it will create 160 jobs.
An Organic Space Would Create Profits Too
Business-wise, the Warrington project looks interesting. Creating an organic space where people live, and shop makes for a good symbiosis. The idea behind it is to increase local commerce, thanks to more people living there. There will be more diversity in retail, so they won’t need to travel much to find what they need.
It would also create a more pleasant shopping experience. This is thanks to pedestrian connections and a modern, sustainable design. Another important aspect of this project is that the proposed development would, in principle, provide ten per cent affordable housing, with talks of twenty per cent in the future.
All of this is poised to make the town centre a desirable place to live and shop while improving the quality of life of newcomers and current town centre inhabitants.
The hotel also aims to boost tourism and get tourists to experience a modern urban environment. This continues with the trend of Warrington being a critical shopping centre in the North West, thanks to the continuous modernisation of the town centre.
What The Future Holds
This project isn’t by any means the only one. It’s part of Warrington’s more comprehensive growth and regeneration plan, dubbed the 2040 Masterplan. This plan deems the town centre as fundamental for creating living space.
According to the Warrington Borough Council, it will revitalise the sector and foot flow for retail. Other vital parts of this Master Plan include circular parklands, changing the main shopping streets, developing cultural centres, and improving connectivity overall.
Time will tell if all this comes to fruition, but the current town centre project is poised to bring significant and positive changes for everyone.
