Bridge Street scheme will kick off wider investment, says Farrall

THE £130m Bridge Street scheme is seen as a key piece in Warrington Borough Council’s wider plan to attract more than £3bn of investment into the area, says director of regeneration Andy Farrall.

“In some respects this is the most important scheme as it’s right in the centre of town,” Farrall told TheBusinessDesk.com following the council’s appointment of Muse Developments as partner for the scheme yesterday.

He added that although there are projects such as the perennial Omega scheme and the Wire World central business district which may eventually have a higher end value, the imapact that the redevelopment of the Market Square will have both on residents and visitors will provide a more positive experience.

Plans have been in the pipeline to redevelop the area since the North West Development Agency provided a £6.2m grant to help Warrington Borough Council acquire the 1.2- hectare Time Square site next to the market two years ago.

Farrall said that deal meant that around 80% of the required land was already in council hands, meaning that Muse would only have to secure the remaining 20% over the next year or so.

“The Council has already agreed to pursue CPO orders where necessary but we’re confident that in most cases our developer partner will be able to negotiate a settlement, as is common with most of these things.”

The new development will contain uses which were largely identified in the masterplan created in late 2008, said Farrall, when the council undertook extensive consultation over what was needed in the centre, and will include a new cinema, hotel, restaurants, shops, a foodstore and “possible even some residential”.

He argued that a new town centre destination for a foodstore made sense in terms of convenience and in providing an anchor tenant alongside the new cinema and council offices, given that department stores had already been targeted to anchor the Golden Square shopping centre scheme when it opened five years ago.

More consultation will be carried out by Muse next year prior to the submission of a more detailed application for the first phase, which will see the cinema being re-sited to make way for the new market.

“Muse need to put their own flavour on it but I know that people will be keen to see the plans and we’re keen to hear what they think.”

Announcing the win to the stock exchange this morning, the chief executive of Muse’s parent company, Morgan Sindall, Paul Smith, said: “Muse’s appointment as Warrington Borough Council’s development partner demonstrates its ability to continue to win and deliver complex, long-term regeneration partnership projects despite a challenging environment for urban regeneration.

 “This is one of the largest planned regeneration schemes in the North West. We look forward to working alongside the Council in delivering this exciting project that is set to transform Warrington’s town centre.”

Muse Developments is currently pushing ahead with a number of developments in the region. It has recently issued a tender for a contractor to build elements of the first phase of the Talbot Gateway scheme in Blackpool  town centre and is progressing with plans for an office-led redevelopment of land around Manchester’s Victoria station.

Through its partnership in the English Cities Fund, it is also working on the £600m redevelopment of Central Salford and will officially open the 4 St Paul’s Square building in Liverpool’s commercial district later today.

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