Initiatives
Northwich Vision - a ‘vision’ of the future
The County Council is working in partnership with Vale Royal Borough Council, Northwest Development Agency, English Partnerships, British Waterways, Environment Agency and the Learning and Skills Council to develop a regeneration strategy for Northwich town centre. The Northwich Vision, a 15-year regeneration framework, which includes urban design guidance, 18 design briefs covering a range of key development sites and a strategy for integrated transportation, will deliver this ambitious renaissance. Following a public consultation exercise held in November/December 2003, the master plan prepared by BDP together with Jones Lang Lasalle and MVA. This has been adopted as Interim Planning Guidance and helps to form the framework for considering planning applications in this area.
The significant development potential that will be released as a result of the mine stabilisation programme provides a unique opportunity to reposition Northwich as a key town within Cheshire and the North West, based around a powerful combination of a high quality market town offering quality shopping and public services and waterside visitor, leisure and residential developments.
Creating quality places, both public and retail, is at the heart of the Northwich Vision. The regeneration plan includes proposals to embrace the two rivers running through the town, the Weaver and the Dane, by creating a mixed-use waterfront activity. The waterfront area would include retail outlets, bars and restaurants. This would clearly increase Northwich’s tourist appeal and develop the town as a premier leisure destination in Cheshire, both of which are key goals of the regeneration plan and would put Vale Royal on the map.
A residential community living in and around the town centre will create a livelier town centre during the evening as well as the daytime and the development of 800 new homes is planned to house the community. Two new retail areas covering approximately 20,000 m2 are proposed to expand and strengthen the towns existing retail area, with a bulky goods retail area also planned for the northern end of the town.
The heart of the town will be a newly designed market square; the existing square will be updated to create a space that could host events, festivals and exhibitions, increasing visitors to the town on non-market days. Businesses will be encouraged to relocate to the town to work in new purpose built office developments and it is hoped high street chains will open retail outlets in the new town centre.
The major investment opportunity is the Barons Quay site. This is a mixed-use development, comprising residential, leisure, retail, offices and a new cultural centre potentially providing for a new library, museum, arts space and other cultural facilities. The Northwich Partners have ambitions that the cultural centre will be an iconic building symbolising the renaissance of the town and a number of County Council services are working closely together.
The Northwich Vision web site has now been launched
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