Town centre regeneration projects are becoming extremely profitable avenues for developers in the current economic climate, with numerous projects seeking to create a fluid mixed use environment for consumers. This is the case in Warrington, where previous plans for an overhaul of the town centre have been spiked in order to place a heavier emphasis upon a strong leisure offering.
Councillors from Warrington Borough Council’s executive board are today expected to grant planning permission for a larger scheme, which will see the investment made by the council itself and by joint venture partner Muse Developments almost double to a total of £107 million.
The new master plan will incorporate elements from the previous £58 million project with a new IMAX cinema complex and £20 million, 1,300 space multi storey car park as a means of increasing consumer access and enhancing dwell time in the overall Bridge Street Quarter regeneration scheme.
In addition to these aspects, a new 31,150 sq ft market hall will be created for the use of local traders, which will incorporate the iconic frontage of the former Boots building in the heart of the town centre at a cost of £10 million. This will be surrounded by several new restaurant units and will front on to a public square, with additional office space to be incorporated as the new premises for the town council.
At this point it has not yet been confirmed which national cinema operator will run the 10 screen, 2,000 seat multiplex which forms the central aspect of the extended plans, although it is heavily rumoured that Cineworld has expressed a strong interest and may even have signed a pre-let agreement for the space.
In order to maximise the efficiency of the project, hoardings have already been constructed in the town centre surrounding the plot of the original £58 million scheme, which will be referred to as “phase one” of the overall project should the extended plans gain approval. Warrington Borough Council’s delivery body, Warrington & Co, has expressed a hope that demolition work in this area will commence later this month, allowing construction work to begin later this year.
Although the wider project has not yet been given the green light, council chiefs have already claimed that the arrival of the multiplex cinema will have a “transformational effect” upon the local economy and retail landscape. In total, Warrington Borough Council believes that the development will yield a projected income of around £5.5 million per year for the local authority alone, along with creating 400 construction jobs and a further 400 permanent retail, leisure and hospitality jobs upon completion of the scheme.
Should the project gain approval, developers expect that phase one will complete in early 2017 while the overall project will be ready in time for Christmas 2019.
