New analysis has shown the £1bn masterplan to transform Bolton town centre will not be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic - and remains on course to be completed by 2030.
The investor prospectus by Deloitte show socio-economic changes caused by the health crisis have been accommodated by Bolton Council and its development partners, and that work to six landmark mixed-use schemes will still be finished on time.
Those schemes under the 'Vision 2030' programme are at Trinity Quarter, Church Wharf, Crompton Place/Bolton Victoria Square, Croal Valley, Cheadle Square and the new Blackhorse Street-Bolton Digital City.
The research commissioned by the council shows how the programme will address the change caused by the pandemic - and allow the town to fulfil its economic potential "in the next decade and beyond".
Scroll down to see details of the six schemes
Deloitte said Bolton’s town centre schemes “present an opportunity for remodelling the urban environment to better meet the demands and needs of a post-Covid society”.
The report said the mixed-use nature of the six schemes will contribute to Bolton’s economic recovery by providing the infrastructure required by people increasingly wanting to work, shop and play local post-Covid-19.
Bolton may benefit as "going local" presents future opportunities, it said, adding: “Town centres may become home to new spaces offering touchdown space for working collaboration, providing an alternative to both travelling to the regional centre and traditional office space.”
The diverse and flexible nature of the schemes that will deliver offices, co-working space, homes, retail and leisure over the next decade allows Bolton Council and its partner developers to accommodate widespread socio-economic change caused by Covid-19, such as:
Most Read
• providing purpose-built large office floorspace to accommodate pandemic workspace guidance such as social distancing
• including co-working space to reflect increasingly agile and flexible working trends
• reducing retail floorspace and diversifying the high street offering
• providing homes in close proximity to services, retail and workspace
• improving public open space and increasing cycle routes and storage
• meeting an increased need for digital opportunities by creating a ‘super-connected digital city’ including a digital hub ‘where businesses and people can thrive’
• providing new and improved town centre attractions to attract people to an enhanced cultural offering
Don’t miss
By 2030, Bolton’s regeneration programme will have provided 1,700 homes and 4,411 full-time equivalent jobs, injecting £487.5m of gross value added of additional economic activity.
The council also forecasts an increase in the town centre population from less than 2,000 to more than 6,000 and an additional £48.7m of household spending, an annual boost of £7.3m to the visitor economy, helped by more green space and improved connectivity including four cycle schemes in the GM-wide Beeline network.
Don't miss a thing - sign up for your free North West newsletter - and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from around the North West- and you can stay in touch with all the latest news from Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria through our email alerts.
You can sign up to receive daily morning news bulletins from every region we cover and to weekly email bulletins covering key economic sectors from manufacturing to technology and enterprise. And we'll send out breaking news alerts for any stories we think you can't miss.
Visit our email preference centre to sign up to all the latest news from BusinessLive.
For all the latest stories, views, polls and more - and the news as it breaks - .
Bolton Council is also progressing multi-million pound bids to the Government’s Future High Street Fund and Towns Fund, contributing a potential £75m to regeneration projects across the borough.
Simon Bedford, partner at Deloitte and head of the firm’s local government development team, said: “Bolton Council remains committed to delivering its plans for a redeveloped town centre and continues to engage with developers and investors to understand the implications of the pandemic on committed and emerging schemes within the six identified opportunity areas.
“Local retail centres will have a role in driving future economic recovery as consumers increasingly choose to buy local, supporting local businesses and supply chains post Covid-19.”
Councillor David Greenhalgh, leader, Bolton Council said: “The flexible and adaptable nature of our six mixed-use schemes, and the commitment of our developer partners, means we remain on course to deliver a transformed town centre by 2030.”
The six schemes that will transform Bolton town centre
Here are details of the six schemes set to transform Bolton town centre:
- Church Wharf – due to start on site in the third quarter of 2020, Muse Developments plans a £150m riverside neighbourhood, featuring to 352 new homes including townhouses and apartments, up to 7,500 sq metres of office space plus retail, professional services and community facilities and potential for an 80-bedroom hotel and 176 parking spaces.
- Croal Valley - a £35m development by Bolton-based Forshaw Land & Property Group for 258 one and two-bed apartments and four, three-storey town houses at Pool Street and Bark Street. Plus a £30m development from Manchester-based private rental specialist developer Placefirst to create Bolton’s first build-to-rent (BtR) urban village around Central Street. Placefirst also proposes up to 15,000 sq ft of Grade A office space and ground floor commercial units along Deansgate, a main thoroughfare in Bolton town centre. Subject to planning permission being granted, Placefirst aims to start work on site in the fourth quarter of 2020.
- Trinity Quarter - a £40m scheme by Midia to provide a 20-storey tower of 144 rental apartments, 500 space multi-storey car park, a 3,600 sq metre office block and 15,000 sq ft of public realm next to Bolton’s £48m transport interchange.
- Crompton Place/Bolton Victoria Square - International property investment, development and construction company Beijing Construction Engineering Group International (BCEGI) has partnered with real estate investment and development specialist Midia to form a joint venture called Bolton Regeneration Limited (BRL), to bring forward a circa £175m redevelopment of Crompton Place shopping centre and surrounding area while opening up the area to provide pedestrian links to Bradshawgate. Having recently secured planning permission, the project offers 170,000 sq ft of office space, 180 homes, a 110-bedroom hotel and retail, leisure, dining and events space.
Cheadle Square – With a proposed start date of Q3 2020, development specialist Midia has secured permission for a £33m scheme to convert the Grade Two-listed former magistrates court on Le Mans Crescent into a boutique, 87-bedroom hotel and 17 serviced apartments.
Blackhorse Street – where a super connected ‘digital city’ will be created to place Bolton at the centre of the digital economy. The development will take shape on a 7.3-hectare site around the Blackhorse Street area, adjacent to Bolton’s central railway station, and will be delivered via a joint venture, commercial partnership with a private developer.