The draft plans, which have been produced following feedback from local people and stakeholders, have been brought to life in a series of images and two attention-grabbing videos from DK Architects and The Collective. The videos and images are available to view here.

They show the vision for this area, including a reimagined Local Centre and Uplands.

The vision for the Local Centre includes:

– New local business space

– Closing the subway, filling in the land to bring it level with the busway and delivering a safe crossing

– New walking and cycling routes to improve access from the whole neighbourhood

– An upgraded Palace Fields Moat

– Refurbishing the Tricorn buildings into housing

– A new community garden in the Tricorn

– A new Extra Care Scheme

– New indoor community space

– New Veterans apartments

– A New Bethesda Church space

– New apartments, bungalows and houses

– A new road link through Lapwing Grove

– Rethinking car parking.

The vision for The Uplands includes:

– Closing the two subways by The Knoll apartments, delivering a safe crossing over the busway and better connections to Shopping City

– Delivering a wider range of housing that meets the needs of a diverse community now and in the future including apartments, bungalows and houses

– A striking Green Avenue connecting the busway through the estate to Town Park with housing on all sides with safe walking and cycle routes and usable green space creating opportunities to play and socialise.

– New walking and cycling routes, including one to Shopping City

– New Veterans houses

– Creating new, safe entrances into The Uplands ensuring pathways for pedestrians.

Regeneration

The regeneration of the Local Centre and Uplands form a key part of Riverside’s plan to transform the area. As part of the consultation Riverside has spoken to over 300 households whose homes are in key locations about how the physical changes will be delivered.

The plans are to build about 400 new homes, a mix of apartments and 2, 3 and 4 bed houses and bungalows in the Local Centre and Uplands. In order to do this, around 350 homes will be demolished and replaced with high quality homes that meet the needs of the existing residents. Providing a new range of housing and a mix of tenures will ensure the neighbourhood is sustainable for current and future generations.

The new homes will be prioritised for any residents relocated as part of the regeneration plan and Riverside is working with all households affected to support them on this exciting journey. It is anticipated, pending planning submission and approval, that the Local Centre works would commence in 2024 moving onto the Uplands in approximately 2028.

Riverside is holding a series of events throughout February for customers where its regeneration team, DK Architects, house builder Lovell Homes and Riverside’s regeneration partner Compendium will be available to talk through the draft plans and answer questions. Everyone in the community is invited to attend these events and they can book through the Riverside website. Full details of these events have been shared with residents and are available on our website.

The community can provide feedback about the plans between 8-22 February by completing a survey. These will be available in paper form at the events and digital versions online through the Riverside website. Once the feedback has been collated and considered, Riverside will share the updated plans and submit a planning application to the local authority.

Nick Jones, Director of Development and Regeneration, said:

“We are really excited to be sharing our detailed draft plans for the Local Centre and The Uplands. For the first time since we began this project in 2018, we’re able to give the community a clear view of what regeneration will look like. The plans we have produced are based on feedback from people currently living in the area, as well as key stakeholders and businesses.

“Our intention is to create a high quality neighbourhood for generations to come, so we want as much feedback as possible before submitting our planning application.

“It’s important to stress that these are still only plans and show the vision of what we would like to deliver. Nothing is set in stone, so I would urge local people to come to our consultation events over February to see the draft plans and have their questions answered.”

The £60m Halton Lea regeneration scheme will take around 10 years to deliver. It is expected to require around £30m of public funding, with funding bids in development and some nearing completion.

Further information about the regeneration of Hallwood Park and Palace Fields is also available on our website here: www.riverside.org.uk/haltonlea