VIDEO + GALLERY | Crompton Place: Bolton’s regeneration catalyst
Bolton is turning years of concepts and plans into real places that are transforming the town centre, the council’s leader said at a conference marking the start of a new wave of regeneration.
To learn more about Bolton’s ongoing regeneration, watch the video at the top of this article
A special event held at Bolton Town Hall provided stakeholders with an update on the council’s top regeneration priority, the £200m redevelopment of Crompton Place, and analysed its potential to act as a catalyst for the wider transformation of the town centre.
Cllr Nick Peel, Leader of Bolton Council, opened proceedings followed by chief executive Sue Johnson.
“Crompton Place is our flagship redevelopment,” Peel said. “Not only will it transform the very heart of our town centre, but it will send a clear message to the world that Bolton means business.”
Bolton Council Leader Cllr Nick Peel said Bolton means business. Credit: PNW
As well as the leader and chief executive, the expert speakers at the event were:
- Mel Wilson, director at Deloitte
- Iain Watson, development manager at Watson Homes
- Phil Jones, development director at Placefirst
- Jon Dyson, director of place at Bolton Council
- Paul Whittingham, assistant director of economic development and regeneration at Bolton Council
- Alex Gardiner, director at Metro Dynamics
- Harinder Dhaliwal, managing director at Step Places
- Adam White, executive director and head of planning and development at CBRE
- Dan Hyde, regional development director at Federated Hermes MEPC
The idea of regenerating Crompton Place and turning it into a permeable, mixed-use development offering homes and creating jobs is not a new one.
The project has long been billed as the council’s flagship regeneration scheme and, over recent years, officers and private sector partners have been working hard behind the scenes to bring it to fruition.
Now, following the appointment of global real estate giant Federated Hermes as development partner, “all of the jigsaw pieces are falling into place”, according to Paul Whittingham, the council’s assistant director of development.
Crompton Place
Federated Hermes has delivered large regeneration projects in some of the UK’s biggest cities, including Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham.
In Bolton, the organisation will be a big fish in a smaller pond than it is used to but Dan Hyde, Federated Hermes’ regional development director, is hoping to bring the expertise gleaned from city centre projects to Bolton, while capturing the essence of the town.
“The scale, the connectivity, the ambition and leadership of the council [means Bolton has] all the same ingredients as some of our other schemes,” he said.
“Crompton is a catalyst, because it sits right in the heart [of the town centre], and it will hopefully set a blueprint and a benchmark of quality.”
The exact make-up of the development is yet to be decided. But the land where Crompton Place currently sits will, in a few short years, likely be home to hundreds of homes, cafes, a hotel, and offices. What’s more, the scheme will be shaped by locals, who Federated Hermes is keen to engage with.
“Regardless of where you regenerate I think it’s very important to develop for a place, rather than just in a place,” Hyde said.
The MDC could catapult Bolton to a new level, said Deloitte’s Mel Wilson. Credit: PNW
Delivering on the vision
Getting Crompton Place to the stage it is at now has been a long road. But speakers at the event believe that the foundations and mechanisms now exist to allow the project to come forward at pace, regardless of market conditions.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which Bolton is a part of, is backing developments like Crompton Place already through its £2bn Good Growth Fund, providing fiscal firepower to overcome viability constraints.
Bolton is also in line to get a Mayoral Development Corporation for its town centre, a body that would use the mayor’s powers to help the council and Federated Hermes bring forward Crompton Place, as well as other sites within the town centre.
The MDC model has been used successfully in Stockport to drive forward its £1bn town centre transformation. The town is held up as an example of how to make regeneration work and has prompted the MDC model to be rolled out across Greater Manchester.
“We’ve seen really great results elsewhere in GM under a mayoral development corporation model,” said Deloitte director Mel Wilson. “Everyone is talking about Stockport, but soon it will all be about Bolton.”
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- The MDC could catapult Bolton to a new level, said Deloitte's Mel Wilson. Credit: PNW
But I thought a “year’s worth” of meetings had been condensed into four days in Cannes?
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