We're launching a public consultation on our draft Town Centre Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). 

We previously approved a Town Centre Master Plan in January 2020. The Master Plan provides an overarching strategy for future town centre regeneration and development. The SPD will ensure that we can implement the Masterplan's placemaking and development ambitions successfully, primarily by setting out our design expectations for developers bringing forward proposals in the town centre.

SPD documents
Background

The SPD will help us manage the increasing number of development proposals coming forward in the town centre by:  

  • Bringing together our vision and aspirations for sustainable development of the town centre to benefit all residents, businesses and visitors to the town.
  • Establishing clear design principles to guide new development in the town centre and across crucial development sites.
  • Requiring developers to give more detailed consideration to how their proposals will contribute to the wider town centre at the start of their design process. 

 

 

Area which the SPD covers
Image

The defined area which the SPD relates to is detailed on the plan below.  It includes the town centre as defined in the Local Plan Core Strategy and the Town Centre Masterplan areas beyond the town centre boundary.

Design principles

The SPD sets out a series of design principles for new development in the town centre. As the town centre experiences increased residential accommodation moving forward, there is a particular focus on making town centre living in Warrington attractive and sustainable for all.

The design principles address several key themes, including:

  • Preserving and enhancing the town centre's heritage and cultural assets, while facilitating increased densities of development, including taller buildings in appropriate locations.  
  • Creating a green town centre through strong relationships between new buildings and new and improved open, green and riverside space, along with the progression towards zero-carbon targets
  • Ensuring sustainable development, with good links to public transport, and promoting improved pedestrian and cycle routes in line with our 'First and Last Mile' Masterplan.
  • Setting improved standards for new town centre homes, including minimum space standards. Ensuring good levels of daylight and natural ventilation and requiring the provision of outdoor private amenity space.
SPD structure and content

The SPD provides an introductory chapter, setting out the purpose of the SPD and our documents and strategies which it is supporting.

The second chapter provides an overview of the town centre, highlighting parts of the town centre that are working well and have a strong sense of place and those areas in need of regeneration. We've assessed the challenges posed by traffic congestion, noise and poor air quality, but also the opportunities provided by potential new developments, the town's underused river frontage and planned public realm improvements. The analysis contained in this chapter provides the basis for the overall 'big idea' - focusing on ensuring the liveability of the town centre - and the more detailed design principles that follow.

We've set the SPD's design principles out in the following chapters, provided at four scales:

  • Town Scale – these are more strategic design principles covering the town centre area as a whole.
  • Neighbourhood Scale – providing design principles for each individual development quarter defined in the Town Centre Masterplan and more general principles that will help create distinct residential communities in the town centre.
  • Urban Block Scale – more detailed design principles relating to individual development proposals.
  • Dwelling scale – detailed principles and standards to ensure the quality of individual dwellings.

The next chapter provides an overview of our approach to securing planning obligations and contributions from new development.

The final chapter confirms the design and planning process that we expect developers to follow in bringing forward their proposals.

Have your say

Consultation documents

NB : We are aware that the diagrams and plans in the main SPD document are hard to read, particularly on a screen. We have therefore re-produced them in a separate ‘Plans and Diagrams’ document. We have made the images larger and ensured the accompanying text is clear.

The draft Town Centre SPD is now subject to formal public consultation, as required by The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and the Council's Statement of Community Involvement. 

We're keen to know your views on this document and invite you to respond in the following ways:

For general comments, please email us at localplan@warrington.gov.uk or respond by post to:

Planning Policy and Programmes Team
Warrington Borough Council
East Annex
Town Hall
Sankey Street
Warrington
WA1 1UH

  • It would be helpful for us to state which page number, paragraph or diagram your comment relates to when you provide your feedback.
  • We'll be collating the feedback and documenting the various themes of people's responses.
  • We'll use the consultation report to inform the SPD's final version presented to the Cabinet of the Council later in the year for final approval.
  • We won't include your contact details in our consultation report, which we'll prepare once the consultation has ended.
  • If you have any questions, then please call us on 01925 442826 or email localplan@warrington.gov.uk. We aim to respond to specific questions by email within five working days during the consultation period.

The consultation period is from Friday 12 February until Sunday 14 March 2021.

Planning policy data protection statement

The information you have supplied is being collected in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and will be used to inform the preparation and Adoption of the Supplementary Planning Document.

By responding to this consultation, you are accepting that your response will be made available for public inspection and published online in accordance with the Act stated above. However, other personal information such as name, email addresses and telephone numbers will not be published or shared with third parties, and will only be used to contact you regarding the consultation. Your personal information will be held only as long as necessary in line with the Council’s data retention schedule.

Data will be processed and held securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (and any updates).

For more information on how we handle your personal data, please read our Privacy Notice.