Developments in Warrington to keep an eye on next year

From razing a power station to the ground to pulling down a familiar factory, a variety of developments will come to fruition in the new year.

Here are ten planning developments to keep your eye on in 2023.

Fiddler's Ferry

The power station is set to be demolished next year (Image: Supplied)

The largest planning development unfolding in Warrington next year will be the eventual demolition of Fiddler's Ferry power station.

A familiar sight to many in Warrington, the power station was decommissioned after almost 50 years, in March 2020.

The power station is set to be demolished, which will see the removal of one of the most iconic pieces of the Warrington skyline.

A date for the demolition has not been formalised, though it is set to take commence in the new year.

Unilever

The factory has stood in Warrington since the 1890s (Image: Newsquest)

Having stood in Warrington since the 1890s, the Unilever site behind Warrington Bank Quay station is slated for demolition.

Like Fiddler's Ferry, a date has not been formalised, but this will take place in the new year.

Original documents suggested that demolition work could begin as early as November of this year, but the plans stalled due to the lengthy decision-making process.

The site was in use until March 2020, and had been in operation for around 130 years before it was shut down two years ago.

New Town House

New Town House has been in the process of demolition for months (Image: Dave Gillespie)

Another familiar sight to many travelling through the town centre, demolition work is well underway on New Town House, which is being ripped down in favour of a new office block.

The developments were welcome news to many, with some going as far as calling the old structure on of the ugliest buildings in Warrington.

Construction work is expected to continue on the site throughout 2023.

Warrington and Vale Royal College

The college off Winwick Road has put in a planning application to construct an entire new block on its campus.

It is planned that the new block will be a 'construction skills' centre.

If approved, the plans will see the structure erected on land currently being used as an overflow car park for the college and the nearby Orford Neighbourhood Hub.

The plans were submitted at the end of September, and a council decision is due by mid-January 2023.

Great Sankey McDonald's

A new McDonald's is set for construction in Great Sankey, alongside other outlets such as Lidl and Costa.

The new retail development will be constructed off Whittle Avenue, and covers a site of five acres.

Plans for the development were submitted in June 2021, and conditions have been set by the council that the plans must meet before ground can be broken at the site.

It is anticipated that ground will be broken on the development in the new year, and Great Sankey will soon have its own golden arches site.

Trident Business Park

Controversial developments on Trident Business Park have been in the pipeline for months, and have been the source of dispute between residents, councillors, and developers.

The developers have submitted plans to construct new warehouse-style units, but residents are up in arms over the implications the construction work may have on traffic in Birchwood and associated areas.

These plans have caused frustration, and have resulted in Birchwood Town Council standing unanimously against the proposals.

The controversial plans are worth keeping an eye on in the new year.

ALDI Gemini

Construction work on the new store is underway (Image: Newsquest)

Formerly the site of an Arnold Clark garage, construction on Westbrook's new ALDI store is well underway and is due for completion in 2023.

Demolition crews rolled into Europa Boulevard in November to begin the work on the old garage, ready to transform the site into a new supermarket.

This will be the fifth ALDI store in Warrington, with sites already in Stockton Heath, Birchwood, Orford, and the town centre.

ALDI in Westbrook will open its doors in 2023.

Rivers Edge housing

The housing development is coming along near the centre of town (Image: Mike Boden)

Work building more than 500 homes near the centre of Warrington has already commenced, and will continue throughout 2023.

Work began on the site in December 2021, and was looking to be taking shape in August this year.

Of the 500-plus home development, 258 will be for open sale, 150 will be to rent, and 105 will be affordable homes.

Radcliffe Meadows demolition

The nursing home is being eyed for demolition (Image: Maps)

A nursing home in Culcheth is eyed for demolition in favour of a new development that will be used as regular housing, as well as for flats to help with assisted living.

Nine homes are planned for the site, as well as the assisted care facility.

Radcliffe Meadows closed down in 2020 as it had fallen short of nursing standards.

Plans for the demolition of the old nursing home were submitted in mid-November this year, with a decision on the application to be made in the coming months.

Golborne Road housing

The first documents to investigate whether a development of 163 new homes is viable in Winwick were approved on the council's planning portal.

These documents are not for full planning permission, but instead to determine whether a proposed development would be suitable for the land adjacent to Golborne Road and Waterworks Lane.

It has been decided that the application to build more than 160 new homes is viable, and more planning documents are expected to be submitted in the new year.