As consumers in regional areas continue to demand a greater choice of leisure and retail options in which to spend excess disposable income, more and more local authorities are choosing to enter into development partnerships as a means of boosting spending in the local area.
This has been the case in Warrington, where the borough council has teamed up with LiveWire to deliver a major neighbourhood leisure hub in Great Sankey.
The partnership has submitted a planning application for the £16 million “transformational” development which will be considered on the 5th of August this year. Should permission to go ahead with the scheme be granted, construction work will begin upon the first phase later in the year, with project leaders forecasting an opening date of Autumn 2016.
Although the chosen site is already home to the Great Sankey Leisure Centre, local residents have deemed the current development unfit for purpose and as a result the borough council has made the decision to significantly upgrade the offering within the new property. As a result, the upcoming development will offer a fitness suite with 120 stations, upgraded swimming pools and a variety of indoor and outdoor sporting pursuits as well as a library, café and several retail units.
Yet the new facility will not simply be a purely leisure focused community hub, as a dedicated health wing will provide medical services to residents of West Warrington – thereby easing pressure upon existing medical practices in the immediate area. Small businesses will also be able to take advantage of the Business Zone, which will contain a collection of contemporary meeting spaces and conference suites.
Executive member for leisure, community and culture at Warrington Borough Council, Councillor Kate Hannon, believes the development will be a huge positive for the area.
She says; “This will be a fantastic facility for Warrington to be proud of.
“It is the product of a concerted multi-agency approach and has had the enthusiastic input and support of Warrington West residents.
“The improved health and wellbeing of all Warrington residents through integrated services such as this is a core priority of our joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and this exciting new project will help us meet that objective.”
There are not expected to be any problems with the granting of planning permission for the project at this stage, largely as the creation and design aspect of the planning application was compiled following a major public consultation. More than 700 residents participated in this process and as such have ensured the hub will truly have the community at its heart.
LiveWire managing director Jan Souness thanked those who participated in the planning process and pledged to make the new hub as “inclusive to all community needs as possible.”
She continued; “We are tremendously proud to be submitting a planning application to build the new Great Sankey Neighbourhood Hub.
“This has been the product of much hard work by the multi agencies involved and the enthusiasm of the public shown during our extensive consultation exercise.”
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