Council outlines vision for Winsford
After buying Winsford Cross Shopping Centre in 2018, Cheshire West & Chester Council has put forward its mixed-use vision for the future of the town centre.
CWAC bought the shopping centre, along with several development sites, from Winsford Cross Developments – part of the wider Maloneview group, which also owns Sale’s The Square shopping centre – for nearly £20m in February last year and has been drawing up a wider masterplan for the town ever since.
Now, the council and the Mid Cheshire Development Board has shared its vision for the town centre based around six core principles.
The redevelopment will come with a mixed-use focus, including scaling back redundant retail and bringing forward leisure and community uses, along with improved and interlinked public spaces.
The majority of the centre will be pedestrianised with a central point designed for taxis, buses, and cars, while car parking will be made more user-friendly and screened from public entrance points to the centre.
The town centre will remain focussed on retail with community and healthcare uses to the west, along with a central market being proposed. A future development site to the North East is also proposed with two areas of extensive public realm bookending the centre to the North West and South East.
Public consultation on the plans has now begun and will run until 12 January 2020; during this time the community will be invited to share their opinions on the council’s vision at http://cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/winsfordconsultation
Simon Barber, chair of the Mid Cheshire Development Board, said: “We want to deliver a new town centre that everyone in Winsford can be proud of. Our long-term vision is for the market, the library and health services to better reflect the needs of local people.
“We aim to improve accessibility to the town centre for all residents by creating better links to the Weaver Valley and we want to create space for people to come together by improving the town’s leisure offer. It is our long-held ambition to use the town centre regeneration programme to create new business opportunities for local people and to attract more visitors to the town.
“We invite the people of Winsford who use the centre and those who have not visited it in a while to actively get involved in this consultation. We need people’s views so that the Council can create a town centre that everyone can enjoy.”
This looks very poor with no thought for placemaking at all… where’s the ambition or vision in this?
By OMG
If you really want to listen to the townsfolk then stop building houses in winsford . We want to live in a small town not a urban district of overspill from other cities or town’s.
By John smith
Is that it! Goodness that’s had a lot of time spent on something that tells you nothing.
By Carol
@John Smith – presumably you have no children, grandchildren, or other family such as nieces/nephews etc? People are living longer and the population is growing. Extra housing is needed to accommodate these people. Unless you suggest that all these extra people move out of their home town?
By Red Rose
Flatten the town centre and start again, it’s beyond ugly.
By Mike Cook
What is this about the rumour of selling the car park?
By Winsford Residents Association