Planners back £50m Warrington town centre scheme
A MAJOR part of Warrington town centre will be remodelled after the council gave the go ahead for the £52m Bridge Street regeneration scheme.
The council’s economic development arm Warrington & Co is working with Muse Developments on the project that will involve the market and a number of other buildings in Times Square being demolished to make way for a new cinema, retail space and 50,000 sq ft council offices on an eight-acre site.
A £10m University Technical College (UTC), which will be run by the University of Chester and focus on nuclear and energy engineering for 14 to 18-year-olds, was also approved for a site near Warrington Central railway station in the proposed Stadium Quarter area.
Warrington’s market, which has around 200 traders, will move to a restructured former Boots building in Bridge Street where several buildings will be demolished to open up the new leisure area behind.
According to planning documents, English Heritage is concerned that the demolition of 47-51 will affect the continuity of Bridge Street. But the developers said it is an “essential part of the urban design strategy i.e. to strengthen the links between the lower section of Bridge Street and the new development”.
Last night Warrington’s planning committee backed the project which will be built in several phases over the next four years and require market traders to operate from a temporary market.
Council leader Terry O’Neill said: “This is a momentous decision for Warrington and the future of our town centre. The Bridge Street Quarter will transform the centre and will be supported by three other complementary projects: Stadium Quarter, Cabinet Works and Southern Gateway being led by Wire Regeneration.
“Already steelwork is emerging at Stadium Quarter with the Business Incubator well underway and I am excited that works will be starting at Bridge Street very early next year. Warrington town centre is on the cusp of a renaissance which will bring its vitality back to its former glory. This is an historic moment.”
