26 October 2007
Funding secured for Widnes Waterfront Scheme
The Forward Partnership has secured over £1m of combined public
funding for major regeneration work on Widnes Waterfront.
The development firm has welcomed the approval £550,000 from the
European Regional Development Fund under the North West’s Objective
Two programme and £541,729 from the Northwest Regional Development
Agency (NWDA) - for the construction of light industrial and office
accommodation.
Forward’s Chris Wright said: “The funding we have received is
vital in our work to contribute to the regeneration of the South
Widnes area. Without it the scheme would simply not go ahead.
Our aim is to provide high quality space for businesses from within
and outside the wider region. Both developments are designed
to attract growth sector businesses, creating 157 job opportunities
for the local community.”
Forward’s £5.3m scheme will regenerate two sites in the
area. The first site, located off Brown Street, is adjacent
to the newly developed Heron Business Park and will become Forward
Business Park with 11 double-height, single-storey, hi–tech light
industrial units.
The second is Forward Point at the junction of Tan House Lane
and Moss Bank at one of the key access points to Widnes Waterfront,
where planning approval has also been granted for three modern,
flexible office buildings with glass façades.
Richard Nutter, Head of European Programmes at Government Office
for the North West, said: “The Widnes Waterfront area has an
amazing industrial history and projects such as this will ensure
that it has a bright economic future.”
Steven Broomhead, NWDA Chief Executive, said: “Widnes Waterfront
has enormous potential to become a prime business location, which
is why the NWDA is investing £5.5 million into the Waterfront
Economic Development Zone Masterplan, a project that aims to bring
over 80 hectares of derelict land back into productive use. The
construction of high quality office space is vital to attracting
businesses into the area, creating new jobs and opportunities for
local people, and the NWDA is pleased to provide its support for
this new development.”
The buildings on both sites will bring back into use one hectare
of derelict, brownfield land. They will be released for sale or
lease and are expected to be complete in October 2008.
The sites are part of the Widnes Waterfront programme, which
will utilize £5.2miilion of European Regional Development
funding, £5.5m of Northwest Regional Development Agency funding and
a further £3.7miilion from Halton Borough Council. This will
help facilitate the regeneration of the area and create up to 2,700
new jobs.
Forward Partnership’s developments are both key sites within the
Economic Development Zone (EDZ). The EDZ will see the
transformation of more than 200 acres including former chemical
plant sites and low quality industrial land.
ENDS
Further
information
Karen Fitzhenry, Paver Smith, T: 0151 239 5000, E:
fitzhenry@paversmith.co.uk