Consultancy appointed to lead on town’s regeneration project

Ashton Old Baths

Tameside Council has appointed independent design consultancy LDA Design to masterplan the next phase of development for St Petersfield, an emerging mixed business district in Ashton.

LDA will be supported by TODD Architects, CBRE, Curtins and Partisan Studio.

The St Petersfield site represents a significant regeneration opportunity for Ashton town centre.

The site is home to the Grade II-listed Ashton Old Baths and state-of-the-art Data Centre, now a successful digital hub and co-working space, and Henry Square, forming the centre piece to a network of historic grid-iron streets.

LDA Design provides landscape-led masterplanning, landscape architecture and planning services.

The consultancy is currently designing and delivering some of the UK’s most challenging public realm projects, including Strand-Aldwych in London, George Street in Edinburgh, as well as projects in Newcastle and Liverpool city centres.

Working with officers from the council’s investment and development team, the masterplan will look to create a significant new ‘place’ for people to work, which integrates with the wider town centre and is complementary to its prominent location, existing built form and assets of heritage value.

The plan will seek to bring together previous developments and will enlist the assistance of key stakeholders, existing occupants and members of the surrounding local community.

Cllr Oliver Ryan, Tameside Council executive member for finance and economic growth, said: “The St Petersfield project is one we’re very excited about and it will help bring this part of Ashton to life.

“The support we’re receiving from LDA Design to create a masterplan for the area will be invaluable to our borough for an area that’s well positioned to attract new businesses and investment from within Tameside and further afield.

“We believe the St Petersfield site has a lot of potential and the plan will show how we can unlock it.”

Mark Graham, a director at LDA Design and Manchester studio lead, said: “As we emerge from COVID-19, it’s time for a new kind of industrial landscape to emerge, with creative and digital start-ups working alongside more established businesses to create a diverse commercial offer in a town centre location and new employment opportunities for the people of Tameside.

“New patterns of working will focus on experiences of the day-to-day, our vision will respond to this by injecting new energy and life into St Petersfield by capturing opportunities for place making and high quality public realm.”

He added: “We want to integrate St Petersfield to the rest of the town centre, creating a vibrant neighbourhood with a diverse mix of uses to complement the commercial offer that is emerging.”

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