Plans are underway to remove unused roads on the Runcorn side of the Silver Jubilee Bridge to allow the regeneration of the area around the town’s mainline station.
The scheme will see the removal of the ‘trumpet loop’ which will be replaced by a new roundabout providing improved links to Runcorn Station and the town centre.
A consortium led by We Made That, and including Partnering Regeneration Development, Regeneris and Steer Davies Gleave, has been appointed to work with Halton Borough Council to prepare a Masterplan and Delivery Strategy for the redevelopment of the ‘Runcorn Station Quarter’.
Each member of the consortium is a specialist in the various aspects of regeneration – urban design and architecture, property, viability and delivery, socio-economic and transport and movement.
Working with key stakeholders and landowners, the consortium will be tasked with identifying and exploring options to deliver a vibrant gateway destination adjacent to the station.
The consultants’ focus will be on providing a rich mix of land uses – including quality public realm – that are realistic, yet aspirational and transformational, improving visual and physical linkages and movement between the Station Quarter area, the town centre, the canals and nearby communities.
They will also explore measures to improve inward and onward connectivity with Runcorn Station, looking at options to provide a public transport hub in this area to promote sustainable travel.
Stakeholder engagement is due to take place early in 2018. Cllr Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, says: “The Council is committed to the regeneration of the Runcorn old town area. Runcorn’s mainline station is an important asset for Halton, providing fast, frequent services to London and Birmingham, and it is a popular and convenient commuter station into Liverpool. The reopening of the Halton Curve, and increased speeds on the West Coast Mainline resulting from the HS2 project, will further increase passenger numbers, so it is important that the station’s setting is similarly improved.”
Cllr Ron Hignett, the Council’s portfolio holder for Regeneration, said: “Removing some of the old bridge approaches, especially the ‘trumpet loop’ which currently severs the station from its surroundings, presents an exciting opportunity to work with partners to provide a transformational Station Quarter development in this area. This will not only raise the profile of this part of Runcorn, but will also benefit businesses and residents within Halton as a whole.”