Northwich Town council speaks out on Barons Quay (From Northwich Guardian)
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Northwich Town council speaks out on Barons Quay
10:10am Saturday 9th March 2013 in News
By Gina Bebbington
Northwich Town Council discussed its formal response to the plans for Barons Quay at its latest meeting
A CINEMA shuttle bus, vibrant town centre and local employment are high on the wish list for the redevelopment of Northwich, according to town councillors.
Northwich Town Council discussed its formal response to the plans for Barons Quay at its latest meeting.
Proposals, put forward by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and the Weaver Valley Partnership Board, are for a multi-screen cinema, supermarket, shops, restaurants, hotel and a petrol station.
Clr Andy Stott, chairman of the planning and environment committee, said that councillors were broadly in favour of the scheme but did have some concerns, including the impact on the existing town centre.
“The market report mentioned more than 30 retailers they would like to encourage into the new development but 15 of those are already in Northwich,” he said.
“We’re concerned that they’re trying to drag 15 businesses out of the existing town centre and make it an even worse environment than it is now.
“A couple of businesses have already moved out of Weaver Square closer to Marks and Spencer because obviously that’s the place to be.”
Clr Stott also said that the council wanted a long term guarantee of free parking and more consideration of public transport.
Clr Brian Jamieson said: “We’re asking CWAC for the facility for a cinema shuttle bus.
“One could start at Middlewich and call at Winsford, Rudheath, the train station and Barons Quay, from the other direction we’ve got Frodsham, Helsby, Kingsley, Crowton, Sandiway and Hartford, then we’ve got Comberbach, Barnton and Winnington.
“If that could be arranged and achieved almost every service coming into the centre of Northwich would be full.”
He added: “It’s going to be a major construction site so what we’re saying is that the council should use local labour.
“It’s also a great opportunity for contractors to work with places like Mid Cheshire College and maybe introduce some apprentice training in regeneration.”
Comments(18)
L Byrne
says...
1:06pm Mon 11 Mar 13
That information was published as part of the planning application.
In point of fact, the chimneys would loom up between the two trees in the illustration above. Not a pretty sight which would do nothing to enhance the image of the new development.
On the other hand, they would be visible from long stretches of the M6 and the M56, day and night, and visitors would have no difficulty finding it.
Daniel18
says...
7:09pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Soth2013
says...
7:58pm Mon 11 Mar 13
L Byrne
says...
10:08pm Mon 11 Mar 13
Besides not spelling my name correctly, you have also got it wrong about the impact the TATA waste incinerator would have on the town landscape. The fact is, according to TATA's own published documents, that the chimneys would be visible from all of the places that I mentioned. Wherever you might be in Northwich, people would not be able to avoid seeing them and the stuff coming out and, occasionally dependent on weather conditions, falling onto the surrounding area.
That might not matter to you. There is no accounting for personal taste. My guess is that a lot of people ,including potential visitors to the new development, would not agree and would take their custom elsewhere.
The uncomfortable truth is that you cannot have a Wembley Stadium size
plant,burning 150,000 lbs of rubbish every hour, at the edge of the town centre and not expect it to have an impact including on a bright shiny shopping development in Barons Quay and denial will not make it go away.
Daniel18
says...
10:14am Tue 12 Mar 13
The Baron's Quay scheme will be absolutely brilliant for Northwich and will bring in people from across the county - whether the incinerator is there or not. The project is expected to bring up to 1,500 jobs to the area, which in times like these is exactly what we need. Due to the stabilisation project developers have been unable to invest in Northwich town centre, so now that the project is completed we really need to back the Baron’s Quay development to help kick start the local economy.
Just because there may be incinerator in the area doesn't mean that people won’t come. Just look at the number of people who go to Cheshire Oaks and the Coliseum Retail Park in Ellesmere Port – last time I checked there was a huge oil refinery next to that but it doesn’t stop people from going!
So, rather than trying to put a negative spin on absolutely every story that appears on the Northwich Guardian website why don't you try and do something that productive? Why not write the local MPs & Councillors about the incinerator - they are the people that have the final say - not the Northwich Guardian!!
If you haven't got anything positive to say - then just don't say anything at all!
northwich1972
says...
3:22pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Carlos99
says...
4:55pm Tue 12 Mar 13
I TOTALLY agree with you! Pretty every story that goes on the guardians website gets hijacked by the obsessive L Byrne! If the Guardian put a headline of "someone trumped outside clintons"... LByrne would be...."but there will be much more gas coming from TATA!" If I wanted to read about TATA or the incinerator, I would click on a story to do with it! This one isnt about that so there is no need to bring it up! PATHETIC!
L Byrne
says...
8:12pm Tue 12 Mar 13
I do not normally respond to shouty comments where the author seems to have lost it but I will make an exception on this occasion.
First, I do not make any apology for using the Guardian comments column for the purpose it is intended and emotional tirades will not deter me or others, I hope. So please, calm down.
To get to the actual issue; it may surprise you that I, like most residents of Northwich, want any new development that is built on Baron's Quay to be a success. My reason for linking it to the waste incinerator and, particularly the chimney stacks that would loom over it, is that these will inevitably deter visiting shoppers and damage its prospects. It stands to reason and the evidence proves it. (There will be a similar negative impact on residential property values in the area but nobody wants to talk about that either!)
Your comparison with Cheshire Oaks is nonsense, I'm afraid. The waste incinerator building would be very much larger and closer to the town centre than the oil refinery is to the shopping centre there. There is also nothing like the 90 metre high (295 ft) chimney stacks. Or toxic emissions from the tonnes of garbage going up in smoke every hour.
If people do want a valid comparison of what would befall Northwich, I suggest they go and have a look at the monster incinerator building that is currently under construction in Runcorn. They will easily find it because it is visible from miles away.
Ruckit
says...
2:06pm Wed 13 Mar 13
INEEDTOSAYTHIS
says...
3:11pm Wed 13 Mar 13
Daniel18
says...
6:08pm Wed 13 Mar 13
Hopefully - as long as Nimbys like L Byrne don't get their way and put everyone off developing in Northwich forever - the council say that the Baron's Quay work will start in September 2014 and it should all be open in 2016. Here is the link to the Weaver Valley website where you can find out more information; http://www.weaverval
ley.org.uk
L Byrne says...
As Ruckit has already said, you seem to pick your statistics out of thin air, trying to scaremonger the people of Northwich (Stanlow, and its 6 stacks, is in fact closer to Cheshire Oaks than the incinerator would be to Northwich town centre).
I am not the only person who is fed up with you high jacking every story that appears on this website with your 'shouty comments' - so please listen to what people are telling you and just take your opinion elsewhere.
NoLandfillRemainsAfter2018
says...
7:15am Thu 14 Mar 13
Everybody in Northwich sees everything as Mr Byrne does and we all look out for his factual information and ability to put people in their place.
How dare they have an opinion
iansuk
says...
10:11am Thu 14 Mar 13
ther you agree with Mr Byrne commentating on "non related" stories or not you cant genuinely think this would be a good thing for Northwich right??
I cant comprehend anyone seeing it as desirable. maybe i could be stretched to see it as justifiable if the thing was actually burning Northwich/Cheshire rubbish but its not even going to do that. Why? because we already have about 3 of the things in the county burning more rubbish than we can produce!!
If London or anyone else wants to burn their rubbish then thats their choice but dont dump it on us. I dont want to see 100ft chimneys poking over residential houses (including mine). I dont want to see the hundreds of wagons driving to and from it. I dont want the decline in house prices and i certainly dont want Northwich to look any more like a ageing industrial mess than it already does, not when it seems for the first time in a very long time they seem to be actually trying to invest and improve of the place.
If thats "development" its not my kind of development thanks!
Daniel18
says...
6:18pm Thu 14 Mar 13
None of us are saying that we want the incinerator to be built - but what we are saying is that we don't want L Byrne moaning about it on every single article that appears on this website.
If the residents of Northwich don't want the incinerator we need to encourage other businesses to come to the town and set up business - and moaning certainly won't encourage anyone.
iansuk
says...
9:16am Fri 15 Mar 13
Absolutely agree we need to encourage more business to come to Northwich, part of doing that is about improving the "image" of Northwich as a town shaping it as desirable place to spend the day, whether that be shopping entertainment , whatever.
I just personally dont feel citing the success of Cheshire oaks and it's proximity to heavy industry is comparable to what northwich is trying to do and the impact i fell the lostock plant would have on the image of the town.
How many times have you said lets go and spend the day in Ellesmere Port? i know i dont and i have used cheshire oak for years. Both the Colosseum and Cheshire oaks are destination spaces... out of town. you drive in and drive home. trade rarely spills over into the town so it is of no consequence what is going on outside the bubble of the retail park.
i just feel that were investing millions to create a "new" Northwich and dont get me wrong i think its amazing, but then at the same time (if you excuse the phrasing).
just my opinion
iansuk
says...
9:18am Fri 15 Mar 13
Daniel18
says...
6:22pm Fri 15 Mar 13
I don't want the incinerator, but it has been approved are we just supposed to give up on the rest of the town and let it go to rack & ruin?
Jazzanova says...
5:39pm Sat 9 Mar 13