DRAMATIC plans to transform Northwich’s riverside are being met with cautious optimism by Northwich’s traders and figureheads.

Proposals are about to be revealed for a 58-home block of extra care housing, an 18,000 sq ft Waitrose, a 40-berth marina and waterside leisure facilities alongside the River Weaver.

The new development, which will also include access to the waterfront and a new public footpath, will fill the site of the former Regal cinema, Floatel and Northwich Marina.

Town mayor Clr Alison Gerrard said: “I’m thrilled that they’re going to do something with it because it looks a mess at the moment.

“The marina development is a really nice idea and it could be linked in with things like the Anderton Boat Lift with maybe boat trips along the river.

“On the down side it’s another supermarket, but Waitrose isn’t going to be open 24/7 and it’s a niche market.”

The proposals, which would create up to 230 jobs, have been put forwards by H2O, a national joint venture company owned by British Waterways and bloc.

They will be displayed in a public exhibition at 14 Market Way, in Weaver Square, from noon to 5pm on Friday, November 25, and10am to 3pm on Saturday, November 26.

A planning application is expected to be submitted early next year.

Cheshire West and Chester councillor Gaynor Sinar, who runs Gaynor’s Curtain Magic, in Witton Street, and founded the Northwich Independent Retailers Association, said she was pleased with the plans.

“I think on the face of it it’s good,” she said.

“50 to 60 apartments means people that will use and shop in the town and there will also be about 200 parking spaces at the Bull Ring side of town.

“We’ve had a look at the H2O proposals as councillors and as retailers and there wasn’t anything we would change.”

H2O is working with the existing J&S motorbike store to integrate it into the scheme and is also helping to reopen the Plaza as a cinema in Witton Street.

Scheme supporters: • Richard Thomas, director of bloc and development manager for H2O, said: “These proposals will regenerate a long underused and mostly vacant site that has severe constraints to development. This is an opportunity to deliever a significant phase of the town’s regeneration plans in a relatively short timescale, as well as providing a potential catalyst for future phases of regeneration in Northwich.”

• Mike Coates, British Waterways investment and development manager (north), said: “The proposals will enable new investment in the waterways to maintain and enhance the local waterways network for the benefit of waterways users and provide public access to Northwich’s new waterfront. The new development will be of the highest standards of design as befits the site’s important location.”

• Steve Secker, regional managing director of McCarthy and Stone, said: “Our extra care developments allow people to make the most of their retirement years giving peace of mind, comfort and independence, providing a home for the remainder of their life regardless of changes in their care needs. Given the nature of the proposal, our Northwich Marina scheme will introduce a sensitive form of development which will be designed to complement the surrounding area.

• Nigel Keen, Waitrose director of development, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for us to realise a long-standing ambition to open a store in Northwich and invest in a regeneraion project that we are confident will delilver significant benefits to the town.”

• Gillian Edwards, from the Plaza project, said: “Naturally we are upset and and disappointed about the loss of the Regal but realistically the building is beyond saving and the fact that the Plaza, which is owned by the same family as the Regal, will once again operate as a community cinema is great for the town’s continuity.”

She added: “It’s very better sweet but the fact that the Regal will be no more has resulted in numerous opportunities for us with the Plaza that we never thought possible.”

• Geoff Hope-Terry, chairman of Weaver Valley Partnership, said: “There must be a ‘whole-town’ approach to regeneration in Northwich and the development of the marina site is a key part of that. It will not only open up the riverside area, but it will also link the waterfront through to both the development at Baron’s Quay and the site around the Memorial Hall. This is great news for the town and shows that good progress is being made.”