Tameside plans retail reshuffle as Ashton regen fleshed out
The authority wants to redevelop two shopping centres at the heart of the town, as well as the former bus station and leisure centre, into a mixed-use scheme featuring 466 homes.
The Arcades would be retained and will feature a consolidated town centre retail offer. Other options for the building being explored are a health centre, cinema, and coworking space.
The Ladysmith meanwhile would be knocked down and replaced with 306 homes, according to a masterplan drafted by Threesixty Architecture.
A further 150 homes could be delivered across the former leisure centre and bus station sites, both of which are owned by Tameside Council.
To deliver the project, the council plans to procure a developer partner to form part of an Ashton Regeneration Partnership.
The council will set out a long list of projects that could fall under the scope of the partnership that includes the town centre mixed-use scheme and St Petersfield.
St Petersfield, the proposed redevelopment of a clutch of sites off Park Parade, has been in the pipeline for several years and has evolved as the market has changed.
A 2021 masterplan for the site put forward plans for a £100m office-led scheme featuring 170,000 sq ft of workspace.
However, the most recent thinking for the roughly four-acre site is for a residential-led scheme.
Indicative plans propose 274 apartments, 50,000 sq ft of flexible workspace, a multi-storey car park and a hotel.
Just another waste of our council tax! This council is a disgrace,,
How many times, are you going to keep redoing things.
They always have gone from bad to worse!!!
By Anonymous
More disruption & destruction of what was once a thriving market town. That is, until the council got their clutches on it & decided to ruin the market, both indoor & outdoor! Try too away Denton & Hyde markets & now Denton is full of expensive bars & eateries & Hyde has taken an even bigger nose dive. The same happened to Stalybridge & now they are doing the same to Ashton! They never learn & it’s not what the people of Tameside want but they are never consulted!
By Anonymous
Tameside residents (231,000) have to look at streets full of litter, weeds and potholes whilst the council only ever spends money on Ashton where just 48,000 residents live.
By Anonymous
Ashton baths should never have been closed Tameside council are a disgrace
By Susan Margaret Spensley
Can’t wait for Reform party to be I’m power,they care for our people.
By Anonymous
Ashton baths was promised for refurbishment by this useless council instead they closed it and Ashton lost a valuable community swimming pool and gym, Tameside council are a disgrace
By Susan Spensley
My concern is so many people in a town centre area with no amenities for families. No swimming pool. Demolished for houses. No green space. No more doctors or dentist. Not enough shops. I think they will overspend and be bankrupt
By Mary Lowick
What a complete waste of tax payers money
By Trevor
Why not invest in some industry so people can go to work rather than claiming benefits and making them lazy we will be coughing g the cost of all these projects the council tax will definitely be going up and up
By Mistry
What about us in Denton how many times has Ashton been done up
By Anonymous
What about the market traders they rely on the market for trade
By Anonymous
What about Stalybridge!!!
By Anonymous
Don’t understand how they always seem to find money for ashton and deliver projects but have highlighted 5 plus years for the main relatively small improvements they have suggested in droylsden
By Anonymous
How much more will the self appointed masters in the council dream up? Throughout the 2000’s
Ashton-under-Lyne has been a building site, the disruption affects the populations mental and physical health. The latest abomination being the multi million pound umbrella replacing the outdoor market forces people to traverse the building site to get to the indoor market is too much for the elderly and disabled. How about concentrating upon the more serious issues such as the failure of child services. I feel that the council should think carefully about the future as I predict that at the next elections will see ‘Reform’ romp at the polling station, the population fell they are not being heard; poor services millions wasted: the town centres destroyed. Tameside is an embarrament, not wanting relatives and friends to visit.
By Peter
Everyone commenting here with seemingly no idea of how development and – critically – regeneration finance work. Any money the council spend on this will, firstly, generally not be available for any other purpose. It’s probably from specific investment funds or grants designed to enable precisely these sorts of things to be done. And the council, in the main, won’t be delivering development itself – this is about having a masterplan in place to encourage others to bring about development. Having a masterplan gives certainty to those looking to invest.
And what does that investment bring about? Well, new homes seems to be their aim – but new homes, at a very basic level, means more council tax for the council, which means more money to spend on the services and facilities which everyone is complaining need more money spending on them. It also, however, means more customers for local businesses – which means more jobs as well as more business rates… all of which means more money to spend on the services and facilities which everyone is complaining need more money spending on them.
At a basic level it isn’t rocket science but, in practice, this stuff is blooming hard. It won’t happen overnight. There will be missteps and mistakes along the way. It’ll take years, probably decades to make a difference. Look down the road at Stockport – probably 15 if not 20 years ahead in this town centre reinvention journey and beginning to see some really, really good outcomes, but still taking things very carefully.
By Anonymous
The bus station has been renovated at least 4 times in my memory.What about the other eight towns in Tameside.All the money always seem to be spent on Ashton.Why demolish a perfectly usable shopping centre and then build one elsewhere.The people of Tameside only have so much money
By Anonymous
Too many businesses would be affected , a waste of money
By Anonymous
Markets and shops only survive if people spend money in them. They go out of business if they do not take enough money. Online shopping has made many changes.
By anonymous
Too many other pressing problems that need funding like road repairs, public spaces being neglected or shut,refuse collection, litter picking,street cleaning , bad uneven pavements & anti social behaviour
Can’t believe more tax payers money is being misspent again!!
By Anonymous
Ashton has nothing.no market.no town hall. No swimming baths.The shops are shutting.not alot upstairs in the arcades.also the indoor market lots of empty stalls..you can’t even sit down now near BM as all the benches are taken over with the stall holders using them to put their stock on them…I’d rather get a 330 bus and go to stockport.
By Anonymous
Good about time. Hopefully they’ll further develop hattersley too. They’re starting the new aldi for which I can’t wait. The site is huge so perhaps a few more shops etc would be suitable.
By Lopez the great
What a waste of money, try investing something into HYDE
By Anonymous
The money this council has spent over the years is disgraceful never improving anything shops are closing down the rates they charge will not encourage anyone to open up… spend it on more useful things for the local community.
By DD
The market was fine the way it was with those little huts. They cost billions to use and now they are gone this is just a simple waste of money we don’t have. Jigsaw homes needs more homes not more offices to sit empty half the time
By Anonymous
Tameside Council and houses do not mix, look at the past. Properties badly maintained, the old town hall is testament to that, without even considering social housing. When will they take notice ?
By John worrall
The final nail being driven in a once grand town centre by clueless people
By Anonymous
Councillors seem to forget it’s our money there spending
By Anonymous
Just how many times had Ashton been “ done up”? The bus station has been in every direction. Market ground gone, shops empty or another charity shop takes it over. Lower the rents, that would fill the town with more variety because right now Ashton is a ghost town. Do the council think it will have no homeless in every shop doorway when the renovations are complete?
By Anonymous
Instead of wasting money on knocking down buildings why not use the vacant buildings we have got. Like Wilkinsons for a hardware store which we are crying out for and
By Susan Wallwork
This scheme is putting people into small living
Making people live in little boxes on top of each other no gardens for children to play in
By Joan Henderson
This council should remember that there are more towns in tameside than Ashton and stop wasting tax payers money
By Anonymous
What type of housing are we talking about here?
By Ann. E