Halton sets Widnes regeneration proposals in motion

Planit, Walker Sime, and WSP have drawn up an outline plan that earmarks a clutch of sites for regeneration.

Halton Council’s executive committee has now approved the framework and will begin to follow the spatial strategies it has set out.

The Widnes Town Centre Regeneration Framework has been informed by both the PLACED Widnes Town Centre Engagement Report and the Widnes Town Centre Parking, Active Travel, and Movement Study.

Key areas considered under the town centre boundary include the sites of Albert Square, the High Street, Widnes Market, Kingsway Quarter, and the potential Widnes Shopping Park.

Albert Square

Allocated as the primary shopping area of Widnes town centre, a full redevelopment of the site could unlock more than 53,800 sq ft of space for a commercial anchor tenant, as well as up to 130 homes across a mix of apartments, townhouses, and maisonettes, according to the regeneration framework.

It is expected that a residential scheme would rise to between three and four storeys, with “active ground floors”, which would provide both residential and non-residential use.

Existing blocks to the east of Albert Square could be retrofitted for workspace, community, culture, leisure, or food and beverage uses, with potential for further extensions to provide for more residential or workspace uses above.

In addition, retrofit-led redevelopment plans for Albert Square are also under consideration – a retrofit approach would not yield as many residential units but would maintain the nearly 54,000 sq ft provision of commercial space.

The presence of existing tenants, such as retailer Sports Direct, would continue, subject to lease requirements.

The site where the Bingo Hall currently stands represents the largest development opportunity considered in the framework. Credit: via planning documents

The Bingo Hall and the adjacent site

Both sites, which sit directly south of Winfield Way, provide ample land for the exploration of the next phase of Widnes Shopping Park, presenting a fruitful retail-led development opportunity, the framework states.

To encourage footfall, Derby Square, which fronts the high street from the site in question, would be “animated” with coffee carts, seating, and signage.

Widnes Shopping Park has the potential for a mix of town centre uses ranging from retail, leisure, cultural, and workspace and according to the framework, the site provides a “front door to many who visit” due to the direct link off Watkinson Way.

Widnes market and wider northern gateway

The framework identifies the 150-year-old Widnes market as an “important asset to the town”, which requires enhancement to effectively bookend the northern tip of the high street.

Bolder signage, pedestrian prioritisation, and integration of active uses at the market’s entrance will aim to help welcome more people to the area.

Plans suggest the market could connect to the high street via the creation of a public space able to double as a retail spill-out area.

A relocation of the outside market has been floated, with other locations considered such as a spot at Albert Square, or the Green Oaks shopping centre’s service yard, currently south of Widnes market.

This would open vacant land to the north and east of the market, which has also been earmarked for future development into a gateway site to the town centre.

The high street would form the core pedestrian route through the town centre. Credit: via planning documents

The High Street

The plan sets out a ‘high street first approach’ for the town centre. The high street works would constitute the spine of the town centre, cutting through Widnes from north to south.

Various opportunities for retail and active travel improvements are under consideration for this stretch of the town centre.

In the short term, the installation of public art, feature lighting, street furniture, and bold signage would “announce change” and “test interventions”, according to the framework.

Longer-term plans aim to rebalance Widnes Road and Albert Road, the two key streets that run through Widnes centre as an effective high street.

Public realm enhancements in the form of widened pathways, improved junctions, and improved sustainable transport connections are all under consideration.

Kingsway Quarter

The site of the former Kingsway leisure centre presents an opportunity for residential-led development following the start of its demolition in March.

Plans outline the creation of a ‘gateway’ neighbourhood with the potential for around 120 homes, to be targeted at families and older persons and tied to the town centre with a landscape-led public realm.

Halton Borough Council believes the site can provide a “statement of ambition and act as a catalyst for further investment and change” and serve as part of a pedestrian route into the town centre.

The town’s leisure centre has been relocated to Moor Lane, with the £31m project known as Halton Leisure Centre, replacing the old Kingsway building.