Developer plans more family homes in £50m Farnworth community
Social impact developer Capital&Centric has revised its £50m plans to transform the former Farnworth market precinct into a vibrant new town centre community.
Following consultation with stakeholders, the scheme will now include 12 family homes which will sit alongside 82 apartments. A new linear park connecting the site and Farnworth Central Park is planned, providing a landscaped green hang out space for locals to enjoy.
The developer is looking to create a bustling new public square which could become a destination for artisan markets, live events, art galleries and pop-ups for foodies.
A flexible indoor space for community uses will sit alongside spaces for local businesses to locate, such as café bars and indie retailers. The developer is also now planning a community pavilion which will be available to hire for events.
Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital&Centric said: “We always wanted this to be a vibrant mixed community which would attract people of all ages, so by reducing the amount of apartments and including more houses it’ll appeal to more families, too.
“Less apartments also means that we’ve been able to reduce the height of the buildings to bring more sunlight into the public square. We were already planning loads of green and open spaces, but by tweaking the plans we’re able to provide even more.”
He added: “This is about rebooting the market town and creating a new destination for people to live, work and hang out. We want to attract cool indie operators, whether that’s a healthy deli, street food pop up or cafe bar.
“It’ll be a bustling place with loads going on and plenty of community space for events and clubs. It’ll become it’s own eco-system with everything you need for a proper, thriving community.”
Located on King Street, the site is a short walk from the train station with easy access into Bolton and Manchester, and on the doorstep of the refurbished bus station, making it an ideal location for commuters.
In December last year Farnworth was awarded more than £13m from the Government’s Future High Street fund to help transform the high street.
This will help deliver the town centre masterplan adopted by Bolton Council in 2019, which includes plans to redevelop the market precinct. Farnworth is also one of Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham’s Town Centre challenge areas.
The deputy leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Martyn Cox, said: “We are pleased that Capital&Centric has listened to local stakeholders and included more family homes in their proposals to create a vibrant mixed-used community in Farnworth.
“Bolton Council underlined our commitment to regenerating Farnworth by producing a master plan in 2019, and it is exciting to see these proposals progressing well.”
A decision on the outline planning application is expected from Bolton Council in the coming weeks. If approved, Capital&Centric will work with the local community on preparing a detailed planning application.
