Movement for stalled £150m Bolton scheme
Bolton Council is in advanced discussions with developer Watson Homes about bringing the long-awaited Church Wharf regeneration scheme forward, Place North West understands.
Part of a wider £1bn regeneration plan for Bolton, the vision for the £150m Church Wharf is for almost 300 homes, as well as 130,000 sq ft of commercial space and a hotel, off Folds Road and Manor Street east of the town centre.
Muse was previously working on Church Wharf as the council’s development partner and won planning permission for the project in 2019. That scheme did not materialise and Bolton went back out to the market for a development partner last year.
Now, the council is close to appointing Watson Homes to progress the scheme, with 281 homes planned in the first phase. A final decision on Watson’s appointment would have to be signed off by Bolton Council’s cabinet.
In preparation to get going with the development, Watson Homes directors Michael and Robert Watson set up an SPV named Watson Church Wharf late last year, according to Companies House.
As well as honing in on a partner to bring the long-awaited project forward, Bolton Council has been successful in its bid to the GMCA for a grant to support the development.
The GMCA has selected Church Wharf as one of more than 90 projects to receive a share of £115m brownfield housing funding. The development is in line to benefit from a £5.2m grant. Another Watson development, Creams Paper Mill, will also receive funding from the GMCA’s brownfield pot.
A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “We continue with plans to develop Church Wharf and that includes bidding to GMCA for additional funding to support brownfield housing development.
“We are engaged in a positive dialogue ahead of appointing a preferred development partner for this key site. However, this process has not yet concluded and remains subject to formal decision-making. We hope to make a significant announcement in relation to the development of this site in the coming weeks.”
Watson Homes was approached for comment.
It cannot be denied that Bolton exists on the map, but really a map is only a point in time. It would be a great support for the demolition industry to start work now, and we could level the lot by spring.
By Anonymous
The town is on life-support. I just drove near Queens Park, five minutes from the University and the place is desperate. Rubbish and dereliction everywhere. Getting people to move to Bolton with resources and ambition, is going to be an uphill struggle.
By Elephant
Bolton town centre up until the 1990s was a lot more thriving and successful then Manchester with it’s gangsters and industrial dereliction.Now Bolton is starting to comeback and the folks down in Manchester are out to rubbish it because they scared of the competition.
By Barbara Smith
The stalled Church Wharf project has been a major eyesore for some time and this is welcomed news. As always we must wait until shovels are in the ground and work is underway but there are numerous projects going on around Bolton town centre which are encouraging. There is an awful lot of work to do but there is no reason that Bolton can’t be a thriving commuter town in the years to come but the council must do more to encourage private investment and for their part make an effort to make the town centre an attractive investment prospect.
By Anonymous
In my view, a lot of unreasonable expectations on the authority & developers to reboot Bolton with a few redevelopments around the town centre.
Worth taking a look at the ONS’ census stats. for education. Every MSOA around Bolton town centre has over 30%(!) of people over 16 reporting NO qualifications whatsoever.
Certainly the built environment holds the town back, especially the moat of A roads cutting off access to the town centre, but reasonable to point out the serious human capital limits to the town’s growth – as opposed to some clandestine Manchester-based conspiracy.
By Anonymous
Places like Bolton really suffered when the Trafford Centre came around.
It needs an injection of youth for it to stay afloat, hope this development supports this.
By Tom
Barbara has to be joking. If not, I’ll have a giggle anyway.
By Anonymous
Would be great to see this scheme moving, it’s been about 10 years in the making.
By Anonymous
Ditch Manchester and move to Bolton and you can have superior housing at far less cost and more green open spaces and better schools and significantly lower cost of living and still be only 20 minutes away from central Manchester by train rather than enduring slow commute on snail paced trams or buses from Manchester suburbs.
By Fred Shearer
Will this ever get built? How many more developers will pull the plug on Bolton schemes?
By DJ
What’s with all the Manc fear?
Honestly Manc is cheering Bolton on, it’s everyone else gagging to live there. You don’t get the same buzz in Bolton.
By No Offence Hun