Best of the North West Series
Throughout December, Place North West published views from property professionals in the industry on the best buildings completed between 2000 and 2019, highlighting the design and development successes of the past 20 years.
Chips, New Islington
In the first entry of the series, James Bruce of Civic Engineers, spoke about the Chips building in New Islington, which was designed by renowned British architect Will Alsop of Alsop Architects, and completed in 2009. Read more
Liverpool ONE
Liverpool ONE’s ties to parent, soldier, developer and philantrhopist Gerald Grosvenor, the late Duke of Westminster, led to his development of the site according to Peter Hynd, chairman of Promenade Estates and Ion Development. Read more
Altrincham Market Hall
Thomas Pearson of JMW Solicitors wrote that the development of a single building led to the revitalisation of Altrincham, and that it is now one of the North West’s biggest town centre success stories. Read more
The Hive, Manchester
The first new office building in the Northern Quarter in decades, The Hive, was a game-changer on so many levels, said David Porter of Knight Frank.
Lancaster
As Lancaster grows, maintaining its unique identity will become more crucial than ever, writes Gillian Harrison of Levitt Bernstein. Read more
Oldham
Growing up in Oldham in the 1980s and 1990s was a picture of decline, writes Kevin Whitmore of BECG. But look more closely and you can now see a town with a determination to make sure its best days are ahead. Read more
Preston
Preston’s momentum mustn’t stop at making its public realm look good: an innovative city-living strategy could be the key to its continued success, writes John Bridge of architect studio John Bridge. Read more
Padiham
Padiham’s opportunity to reinvent itself lies with not just the town’s community but with the public sector too, writes Christine Winstanley of Eric Wright Health & Care. Read more
Salford
Salford has all the ingredients to emerge from Manchester’s shadow to be a world-leading city in its own right, writes Neil Higson of Wildbrook CRE. So what’s stopping it? Read more
Chester
The private sector needs a united voice otherwise opportunities to shape the future of Chester could be missed, writes Tim Kenney of Kenneymoore. Read more
Farnworth
Poorly-connected public realm has let Farnworth down in the past, writes Ged Couser of BDP, but that could be about to change. Read more
Carlisle
Carlisle offers a high standard of living, but could benefit from better connectivity, writes Paul Chatterjee of DB Symmetry. Can the reopening of the city’s airport be the lifeline it needs? Read more
Altrincham
Altrincham might be the poster-child of how to make a high street successful, but it can’t rest on its laurels, writes Daniel Lee of Regional Property Solutions. Read more
North Liverpool
North Liverpool could be something special, writes Shelagh McNerney. It’s time for the city to start looking to the future instead of attempting to restore the past. Read more
Wigan
There’s more to Wigan than just pie shops: reinvigorating the high street and driving the night-time economy will need to be the catalyst to get wider development under way, writes Tom Hargreaves of Anderton Gables. Read more
Frodsham
Frodsham shouldn’t be okay with just being okay: let’s start with making something special out of the Goods Shed, write Pete Swift of Planit-IE and Nicky Hughes of Active Profile. Read more
Blackpool
Blackpool has been burdened with a negative reputation but the town is far more than the sum of its parts, writes Liv Parr of Hawkins\Brown. Read more
Fleetwood
Like many of Britain’s seaside towns, Fleetwood has struggled to revive its former glory, but the town’s residents have genuine hope there are better times ahead, writes Frank Heald of Wyre Dock Development. Read more
Stockport
The arrival of a coherent regeneration framework and a raft of exciting independent retailers indicates that Stockport is a town on the up, writes Emma Dickson of Turley. Read more
Southport
On paper, Southport should be doing better: taking a leaf out of Lytham’s book and giving the town a focus on health and wellbeing could be one way to do it, writes Kevin Horton of K2 Architects. Read more
Monton
Being the next big thing can be a curse as well as a blessing, so how do places like Monton maintain their identity as they become more popular, writes Paul Jones of Capital & Centric. Read more
Sandbach
Sandbach was built on its railway heritage but the town needs to look to its market to secure its future, writes Neal Allen-Burt of Sheppard Robson. Read more
Broughton
Positive change in places like Lower Broughton and Swinton needs to be maintained for Salford to shake off its historic reputation, writes Esme Roberts of Newgate Communications. Read more
Rochdale
Rochdale’s thriving business parks have helped bring cash, confidence and speciality coffee to its historic town centre, but the momentum can’t be lost, writes John Barton of BC Real Estate. Read more
Hale
Hale, Bowdon and Altrincham are hotspots for prime residential development but developers need to be wary of pricing people out of the area, writes Steve Slater of Real Estate Investment Partnerships. Read more
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