Deadline looms in Halton’s developer search
Interested parties have until tomorrow to lodge informal expressions of interest with Halton Borough Council regarding the Runcorn Station Quarter masterplan area.
Runcorn as a whole is one of eight key impact areas identified in the council’s Mersey Gateway Regeneration Plan and is regarded as a key regeneration priority for Halton, which is seeking developer-led teams to put forward plans for the implementation of the masterplan.
Works to remove old access routes to the Silver Jubilee Bridge and a new road junction are expected to improve accessibility to the area, which with improvements to the rail network is being primed as a key development area. Public space, commercial, residential and retail are all in play for what the council sees as a 20-year exercise.
In April, a team led by urbanism practice We Made That was appointed to produce a masterplan and delivery strategy for the Station Quarter.
The aim of the masterplan and delivery strategy was set out as enabling the regeneration of the Runcorn Station Quarter area to be realised as quickly as possible, proposing “a rich mix of land uses” including quality public realm that are “realistic and deliverable yet aspirational and transformational”.
Along with We Made That, the consortium includes Regeneris, providing socio-economic advice, Steer Davies Gleave advising on transport and movement, and PRD on property and viability advice.
Resources have been set aside by the council to remove existing road infrastructure that is no longer needed to aid with the regeneration of the whole area. The masterplan will stem from a socio-economic analysis that will consider local demographics, the area’s employment and business base, labour market and skills position, local housing, the function and role of Runcorn town centre and its links to Runcorn Station.