Warrington council approves 30-year town centre plan

Warrington council has approved a masterplan drawn up by Taylor Young, Faber Maunsell and Jones Lang LaSalle for the Bridge Street and waterfront areas of the town.

Bridge Street will see the indoor market replaced with a new building, alongside retail, offices, a hotel, library and foodstore. An open space leading to the riverside at Bridgefoot for outdoor markets, exhibitions and other events has been included in the design.

The council said this is a short to medium term development that will take five years to deliver.

A period of up to 30 years is envisaged for the Waterfront proposals incorporating a lengthy linear park with office, cultural, leisure and residential spaces. Consultants have identified five phases of delivery within the overall plan.

The council said: "Access to the Waterfront area is currently difficult so many different transport options have been examined. The preferred approach necessitates significant transport infrastructure developments to facilitate regeneration. These include the construction of new bridges, roads and dedicated public transport routes. Critical to the plans however will be the removal of the railway, which is presently a barrier between the area and the existing town centre."

The council will now work stakeholders including land owners, developers, public agencies and market traders to deliver the plans.