Warrington reveals city aspirations

WARRINGTON is on course to become one the UK’s newest cities as it undergoes a regeneration programme which will top more than £400m.

Steve Park, managing director of Warrington & Co, the company charged with bringing together the public and private sector for regeneration in the town, was addressing Warrington Annual Property Review when he made the bold claim.

“Economists view Warrington as a city, Warrington thinks like a city and I have no doubt Warrington is rapidly becoming a new city,” he said.

The strategy for the town, which is located halfway between the region’s tow largest cities of Manchester and Liverpool, includes the eventual completion of the Omega Development, where 2.4 million sq ft of floor space has been built or is under construction, with £251m already invested and more to come.
 
Home to Brakes, Hermes, Travis Perkins and Asda are already on site and they will soon be joined by The Hut Group and Plastic Omnium.

Meanwhile a planning application will soon be forthcoming for 1,100 new homes.

But other key elements in Warrington’s metamorphosis include the £107m Bridge Street Regeneration Scheme – including a 2,000 seat, 13-screen cinema, restaurants, council offices, a new market hall and a 1,300-space car park;  the Stadium Quarter, next to an £8.5m Business Incubator, and the Cultural Quarter at Palmyra Square, where private sector investment will see bars and restaurants provide an alternative to so called “vertical drinking” currently on offer at Bridge Street.

“We have a straightforward ambition to make Warrington town centre the most vibrant and attractive in the UK,” said Park.

“The key is to drive regeneration that delivers more residents, more workers, as well as leisure developments, so it will be no surprise if I am standing here next year talking about residential schemes in the town centre.”

Other drivers for growth in the town, said Park, were the plans for the Warrington Southern Gateway – a partnership between Warrington Borough Council and Langtree – and The Warrington Waterfront Project  which will unlock the potential of Warrington’s Waterfront.

“For too long Warrington has turned its back on the River Mersey,” said Park.

“It will open up the potential of 83 hectares of land currently locked by water and rail lines and facilitate growth immediately to the south west of the town centre.

“Additionally it will release the potential of the town’s under utilised waterfronts which face onto the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Mersey and also assist traffic movement in and around the town.

“In total the Warrington Waterfront project has the potential to create up to 3,800 jobs, create up to 2,100 new homes and provide extra resilience to the local road networks through the creation of 7.1km of new highway and new bridges.”

“Regionally and nationally, the word is out. Warrington & Co is rolling out the council’s framework for growth called Warrington Means Business.

“It is no longer just an aspirational document, in Warrington’s case it’s now a reality.”