Transforming Winsford Town Centre - Further Information

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What is this conversation about?

The Council has secured £9.98 million from the Government’s Future High Street Fund. Supported by £11 million of Council funding, we can now deliver a master regeneration plan for Winsford Town Centre.

We would like to understand your views and ideas to help us transform the town centre. Your feedback will build on the responses to previous consultations, to help shape and inform the masterplan and rebuild Winsford for future generations.

In 2018, the Council bought Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, giving the Council greater control over the future of the town centre. We are now able to move forward with regeneration plans that were outlined in the Winsford Neighbourhood Plan and ensure that Winsford becomes a place where people want to live, work, visit and invest.


Successes so far

We will not be starting from scratch. We will build on the good work that has already taken place in the area through the Winsford Whole Place Programme including:

  • Winsford Industrial Estate – the Build and Thrive Partnership between the Council and Public Sector Plc has regenerated Winsford Industrial Estate, creating 55,000 square feet of floorspace and 990 new jobs
  • Winsford Cross Shopping Centre – in 2018 the Council bought Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, giving the Council greater control over the future of Winsford Town Centre, to ensure the success of redevelopment plans
  • Town Park – a £900,000 revamp of the park including new children’s play facilities, exercise equipment, pathways and wildlife ponds, transforming the site into a stunning public space for residents of all ages to enjoy
  • Clay Lane tree planting project – over 5,000 trees and shrubs have been planted to provide a new home for birds, insects, bats and badgers, and to move great crested newts from Winsford Industrial Estate, to enable development work
  • Cine Window – local groups worked with an artist to create the Cine Window in a retail unit within the shopping centre. It shows home made films that celebrate Winsford and is part of a wider arts and cultural strategy for the area.


Why are we redeveloping Winsford Town Centre?

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on town centres. It appears to have accelerated some of the changes that were already underway on our high streets following the rise of internet shopping, changing shopping habits and the global recession.

Town centres of the future will no longer be just a place to shop, but also to live and socialise, offering housing developments, food, leisure, arts and cultural venues.

We are proposing a town centre that provides a diverse mix of uses and doesn’t rely on retail alone. We will work with residents, businesses and other delivery partners on the redevelopment, to create a place that meets your needs, where people want to live, work, visit and invest.


What are the plans for Winsford Town Centre?

The Future High Streets Fund project will deliver the first phase of planned redevelopment of the town centre, illustrations of which are available here. Proposals include:

Retail - New and attractive retail space for local businesses. The provision of modern, high-quality buildings will benefit existing businesses and also attract new shops, cafes and restaurants to the town centre. The Council is currently working with retailers who are interested in occupying new shop units.

Public space improvements - Significant enhancements to public spaces including an upgraded town square, new cycle storage and new library plaza, to ensure that the town centre is a clean, safe, appealing and functional place that people want to visit for shopping, leisure and work purposes.

Improvements could cover a range of activities including landscaping, tree planting, upgrades to footpaths and pedestrian crossings and provision of seating, lighting and public art installations.

The proposed site for the new town square is adjacent to where Fountain Court is currently located. The square could provide a flexible space where people can meet and events and community activities can take place.

Events and activities - The physical improvements to the public spaces within the town centre will provide locations for a range of events and activities to take place throughout the year and will encourage people of all ages to visit the town for leisure and socialising purposes.

The Council will work with the community to develop a calendar of seasonal events for Easter, Summer, Halloween and Christmas that will inspire new people to visit the centre, especially families.

Possible events include music concerts, arts and cultural activities, local heritage events, activities for families and children, community events such as festivals, shows and fundraising events, outdoor pop-up markets and food and drink events.

Winsford Social Hub - The draft masterplan proposes a Social Hub which could possibly be located where the Fountain Court building currently stands. The Hub would provide a multi-use space that could be used for a range of commercial, social, civic, cultural and arts activities. Examples might include a café, meeting rooms, flexible low-cost office space, community learning classes, youth activities, arts, crafts and musical performances and rooms for community groups. The Council wants to ‘co-design’ the Hub in partnership with local people, to create a facility that serves the needs of the local community.

There may also be an opportunity to relocate the library and market to a more central location within the planned Social Hub, providing modern and accessible facilities that would benefit both library and market customers and market traders.

Access improvements and car parking facilities - Improvements to make travelling both into and around the town centre easy and safe include pedestrian road crossings, public transport infrastructure improvements on Dene Drive and painting and lighting upgrades to the existing underpass on the A54.

The draft masterplan also includes the provision of high-quality car parking facilities within the town centre, involving improvements to car park layouts, surfaces, security measures, and the addition of electric vehicle charging points.


How will the Council pay for redevelopment of the town centre?

In addition to the £9.98 million secured from the Government’s Future High Street Fund, the Council will use £4m from the sale of the Dene Drive car park to Aldi, along with a further £6 million from the Council’s capital programme to fund the redevelopment.

Successful regeneration of the town centre will deliver an improved income stream for the Council through business rates and Council Tax. This income can then be used to invest in Council services that benefit residents such as libraries, parks and road maintenance.


How to share your views

In 2019 we carried out a consultation to find out what you would like to see in a redeveloped town centre. Your feedback helped shape plans and secure £9.98 million of funding to turn that vision into reality. Now we need your feedback to help us develop those plans further. We need your views on the following elements of the regeneration project:

  • Retail
  • Public space improvements (including a new town square)
  • Events and activities
  • Winsford Social Hub (including possible relocation of the market and library)
  • Access improvements and car park facilities


There are a number of ways you can get involved and share your views.

  • On our dedicated website you can:
  • Visit the Cine Window in the Town Centre (in the former 'BrightHouse' shop unit - Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, 20 Fountain Court, Winsford, CW7 1AJ)
  • Request a paper version or alternative format by calling 0300 123 8123
  • Email us at: WinsfordConsultation@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
  • Write to us at: Winsford Town Centre Consultation, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford, CW7 1AH
  • Call the Council’s Contact Centre on 0300 123 8123 quoting ‘Winsford Town Centre Consultation’


The deadline for responses is Sunday 18 July.


What happens next?

Your feedback will help inform and shape the proposed plans for Winsford Town Centre in more detail and ensure that the redevelopment meets the needs of local people and businesses.

We will analyse the feedback received and publish the results on the Winsford Town Centre Participate Now webpage, alongside the final plans, which we expect to submit in a Planning Application in Autumn 2021, with construction due to begin in Spring 2022.

What is this conversation about?

The Council has secured £9.98 million from the Government’s Future High Street Fund. Supported by £11 million of Council funding, we can now deliver a master regeneration plan for Winsford Town Centre.

We would like to understand your views and ideas to help us transform the town centre. Your feedback will build on the responses to previous consultations, to help shape and inform the masterplan and rebuild Winsford for future generations.

In 2018, the Council bought Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, giving the Council greater control over the future of the town centre. We are now able to move forward with regeneration plans that were outlined in the Winsford Neighbourhood Plan and ensure that Winsford becomes a place where people want to live, work, visit and invest.


Successes so far

We will not be starting from scratch. We will build on the good work that has already taken place in the area through the Winsford Whole Place Programme including:

  • Winsford Industrial Estate – the Build and Thrive Partnership between the Council and Public Sector Plc has regenerated Winsford Industrial Estate, creating 55,000 square feet of floorspace and 990 new jobs
  • Winsford Cross Shopping Centre – in 2018 the Council bought Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, giving the Council greater control over the future of Winsford Town Centre, to ensure the success of redevelopment plans
  • Town Park – a £900,000 revamp of the park including new children’s play facilities, exercise equipment, pathways and wildlife ponds, transforming the site into a stunning public space for residents of all ages to enjoy
  • Clay Lane tree planting project – over 5,000 trees and shrubs have been planted to provide a new home for birds, insects, bats and badgers, and to move great crested newts from Winsford Industrial Estate, to enable development work
  • Cine Window – local groups worked with an artist to create the Cine Window in a retail unit within the shopping centre. It shows home made films that celebrate Winsford and is part of a wider arts and cultural strategy for the area.


Why are we redeveloping Winsford Town Centre?

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on town centres. It appears to have accelerated some of the changes that were already underway on our high streets following the rise of internet shopping, changing shopping habits and the global recession.

Town centres of the future will no longer be just a place to shop, but also to live and socialise, offering housing developments, food, leisure, arts and cultural venues.

We are proposing a town centre that provides a diverse mix of uses and doesn’t rely on retail alone. We will work with residents, businesses and other delivery partners on the redevelopment, to create a place that meets your needs, where people want to live, work, visit and invest.


What are the plans for Winsford Town Centre?

The Future High Streets Fund project will deliver the first phase of planned redevelopment of the town centre, illustrations of which are available here. Proposals include:

Retail - New and attractive retail space for local businesses. The provision of modern, high-quality buildings will benefit existing businesses and also attract new shops, cafes and restaurants to the town centre. The Council is currently working with retailers who are interested in occupying new shop units.

Public space improvements - Significant enhancements to public spaces including an upgraded town square, new cycle storage and new library plaza, to ensure that the town centre is a clean, safe, appealing and functional place that people want to visit for shopping, leisure and work purposes.

Improvements could cover a range of activities including landscaping, tree planting, upgrades to footpaths and pedestrian crossings and provision of seating, lighting and public art installations.

The proposed site for the new town square is adjacent to where Fountain Court is currently located. The square could provide a flexible space where people can meet and events and community activities can take place.

Events and activities - The physical improvements to the public spaces within the town centre will provide locations for a range of events and activities to take place throughout the year and will encourage people of all ages to visit the town for leisure and socialising purposes.

The Council will work with the community to develop a calendar of seasonal events for Easter, Summer, Halloween and Christmas that will inspire new people to visit the centre, especially families.

Possible events include music concerts, arts and cultural activities, local heritage events, activities for families and children, community events such as festivals, shows and fundraising events, outdoor pop-up markets and food and drink events.

Winsford Social Hub - The draft masterplan proposes a Social Hub which could possibly be located where the Fountain Court building currently stands. The Hub would provide a multi-use space that could be used for a range of commercial, social, civic, cultural and arts activities. Examples might include a café, meeting rooms, flexible low-cost office space, community learning classes, youth activities, arts, crafts and musical performances and rooms for community groups. The Council wants to ‘co-design’ the Hub in partnership with local people, to create a facility that serves the needs of the local community.

There may also be an opportunity to relocate the library and market to a more central location within the planned Social Hub, providing modern and accessible facilities that would benefit both library and market customers and market traders.

Access improvements and car parking facilities - Improvements to make travelling both into and around the town centre easy and safe include pedestrian road crossings, public transport infrastructure improvements on Dene Drive and painting and lighting upgrades to the existing underpass on the A54.

The draft masterplan also includes the provision of high-quality car parking facilities within the town centre, involving improvements to car park layouts, surfaces, security measures, and the addition of electric vehicle charging points.


How will the Council pay for redevelopment of the town centre?

In addition to the £9.98 million secured from the Government’s Future High Street Fund, the Council will use £4m from the sale of the Dene Drive car park to Aldi, along with a further £6 million from the Council’s capital programme to fund the redevelopment.

Successful regeneration of the town centre will deliver an improved income stream for the Council through business rates and Council Tax. This income can then be used to invest in Council services that benefit residents such as libraries, parks and road maintenance.


How to share your views

In 2019 we carried out a consultation to find out what you would like to see in a redeveloped town centre. Your feedback helped shape plans and secure £9.98 million of funding to turn that vision into reality. Now we need your feedback to help us develop those plans further. We need your views on the following elements of the regeneration project:

  • Retail
  • Public space improvements (including a new town square)
  • Events and activities
  • Winsford Social Hub (including possible relocation of the market and library)
  • Access improvements and car park facilities


There are a number of ways you can get involved and share your views.

  • On our dedicated website you can:
  • Visit the Cine Window in the Town Centre (in the former 'BrightHouse' shop unit - Winsford Cross Shopping Centre, 20 Fountain Court, Winsford, CW7 1AJ)
  • Request a paper version or alternative format by calling 0300 123 8123
  • Email us at: WinsfordConsultation@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
  • Write to us at: Winsford Town Centre Consultation, Wyvern House, The Drumber, Winsford, CW7 1AH
  • Call the Council’s Contact Centre on 0300 123 8123 quoting ‘Winsford Town Centre Consultation’


The deadline for responses is Sunday 18 July.


What happens next?

Your feedback will help inform and shape the proposed plans for Winsford Town Centre in more detail and ensure that the redevelopment meets the needs of local people and businesses.

We will analyse the feedback received and publish the results on the Winsford Town Centre Participate Now webpage, alongside the final plans, which we expect to submit in a Planning Application in Autumn 2021, with construction due to begin in Spring 2022.