A MAJOR plan to transform Warrington’s run-down Bank Park, improve the setting of the historic Town Hall and re-develop the site of the Garven Place clinic has been unveiled.
Council chiefs believe Bank Park can be transformed into one of the most attractive and imaginative town centre parks in the UK.
The Garven Place site would be used to provide new homes and jobs and “hospitality uses.”
But the cost of the overall scheme – already named the Golden Gardens Project – will be beyond the means of the borough council and a search is on to find a suitable, private sector partner to pay for the development – and take the risks.
It is expected the process of selecting a preferred developer will take up to 11 months.
A report to be considered by the council’s executive board next week points out that the relocation of the Garven Place clinic to the site of the former Warrington Baths will leave a large site bounded by listed Georgian buildings in Sankey Street, the Town Hall drive and Legh Street.
Another key development area will be the semi-derelict Bank Park depot, at the north end of the park.
Overall, the project is seen as a means of enhancing the vitality of Sankey Street, providing pedestrian routes to Golden Square, Sankey Street, linking Bank Quay Station and Central Station and providing a contemporary park which will be a venue for outdoor events, festivals and other activities.
The most significant risk at the moment is the depressed state of the development market, but as the project will take some years to progress, its delivery may coincide with the economic recovery.
Pictured: The Town Hall, framed by the Golden Gates…council chiefs want to improve the setting.
A golden garden for the town centre
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
2 Comments
I didn’t realise it was run down, I thought it was already THE most well kept parkland in the Warrington area…oh but wait isn’t that the view from council offices..god forbid they should have to lunch somewhere so squalid on the approach of summer.
Maybe they could cast their eyes over Poole Park where they allowed the communtity center to be so vadalised it almost fell down before they pulled it, or Dallam Park which servers a community area, and regularly attracts sporting types and probably more visitors despite not having any upgrades to facilites in my living memory. Or Sankey Valley where the walkways are so overgrown that the squirrles have to go around instead of through dragging old bike frames behind them, or victoria park which has its own skate and snort graffiti monument, in fact can you think of a park anywhere in warrington LESS deserving of improvement than Bank park…..NO !
It’s not actually Bank Park its the area around the park…ie improve the setting of the magificent park, which at the moment is quite a run down area.