How Northwich revived its Vision in 10 years with Barons Quay

The Guardian had just revealed that Northwich Vision, a regeneration project 11 years in the making, had disappeared as Vale Royal became part of Cheshire West and Chester Council – and no one outside the local authority knew about it.

CWAC insisted the town had not been forgotten and that it had set aside £250,000 to make sure Northwich’s streets were clean and tidy.

But this came six months after the Vision vanished without a trace – and in the words of Mike Hall, then-Weaver Vale MP, ‘tidying up the public realm is what they should be doing anyway’.

Fast forward a decade and so much has changed in Northwich.

Barons Quay opened three years ago and after a slow start – which saw the £80 million shopping centre have just Asda, Odeon and Wildwood for two years – a raft of new businesses have either opened their doors, been confirmed as future tenants or applied for planning permission at the site.

Cllr Helen Weltman, Conservative CWAC member for Davenham and Moulton, was one of the 18 councillors pictured on the Guardian’s front page a decade ago.

She said: “I think things have moved on – Northwich was getting really quiet and it needed something to bring people in, especially younger people.

“My daughters were nine and 12 years old at the time and they were always telling me they had nothing to do, so I think things have improved since then.

“There are some really good events taking place now like Now Northwich, and I think we are getting there. It has taken a long time and I think there is still work to do, but in the last 12 months things have come on.

“If we had done nothing, what would have happened to Northwich? It would have been very quiet. The cinema closed down, there have been difficult retail circumstances – things have changed so much in the last 10 years because of online.”

In the 12 months since H&M opened, the Swedish fashion giant has been followed by The Entertainer, Sports Direct and USC, Card Factory and Barons Quay Social.

Those businesses will soon be followed by River Island, The Coffee House, Puddle Ducks, Ice Cream Farm and now BEAR.

Fashion retailer Flannels and a dentist are also in the pipeline – while further announcements are expected over the next year, with education facilities understood to be high on CWAC’s wishlist.

And Barons Quay is just one piece of the puzzle for Northwich’s regeneration – with Memorial Court and Hayhurst Quay also revived this decade, while Weaver Square is next on the council’s to-do list for the town.

Cllr Sam Naylor, Labour CWAC member for Northwich Witton, is the ward member for Barons Quay and chairman of the council’s cross-party regeneration board for the town.

He said: “It has been a big year. There has been a lot of progress in the face of a retail storm that is affecting high streets all over the UK, when investment decisions are not being made to the extent that they previously were.

“Despite that, Northwich in my humble opinion has turned a corner in as far as the regeneration goes in that particular part of town.

“We know that there are going to be good times and bad times, and there have been some closures on the high street, but there are fresh companies coming into town that reflect the changes taking place in the retail market.

“What we have got in Barons Quay is a success story that has come about to combat the dying side of retail – instead of out-and-out shopping we have got a complete mix of businesses that all attract people to the town centre in one way or another.”

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When H&M opened its doors, Brian Clarke, CWAC’s former cabinet member for regeneration, told the Guardian that Barons Quay had ‘turned a corner’.

One year on it would be difficult to argue with him – and it is becoming clear to see what exactly the council has been doing.