Bolton Council announce church wharf developer

The key developer who will lead the regeneration of Church Wharf has been announced by Bolton Council today at an international property event.

Muse Developments will work on the transformation of one of the five key sites in the council’s billion-pound town centre masterplan, which was unveiled last September.

The announcement was made at MIPIM 2018, in Cannes, by Director of Place Stephen Young at an event hosted by Channel 4’s George Clarke. The panel also included Mike Horner from Muse Developments, and cricketer and developer Andrew Flintoff.

Ambitions for Church Wharf include creating a distinctive residential neighbourhood that brings together hundreds of new homes all woven together by high quality new public spaces as well as a new pedestrian route along the River Croal.

Muse Developments specialises in working with landowners and the public sector to bring about sustainable regeneration and urban renewal.

Muse will now work up a scheme in line with the council’s masterplan vision.

The masterplan contains proposals to redevelop the town centre up to 2030 and beyond. It includes creating 1,800 new homes, 7,400 new jobs and generating economic activity worth an additional £412 million over five sites.

Deputy Leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Ebrahim Adia, said: “We are really pleased that Muse will lead on the regeneration of Church Wharf.

“They have a great track record of creating spaces that are both commercially successful and also popular with the public.

“Our town centre vision is bold and exciting but we know it cannot be delivered by the council in isolation.

“To achieve regeneration on the scale we require the help of our private sector partners, and the team at Muse has an excellent track record of delivering high quality creative schemes.

“Church Wharf is a key gateway into Bolton town centre and we want to see regeneration taking place there as soon as possible.”

Director at Muse Developments, Phil Mayall, added: “We are excited to work on a scheme that has so much potential. Bolton is a forward-thinking council that wants to bring real change to the town.

“We have been tracking the project for a long time, so it will be great to begin to get the wheels in motion.

“However, we are at the start of a long journey – at this stage all options will be analysed and considered and we will be working closely with the council to get the plans right for the town.  Local residents, businesses and stakeholders will also be consulted as proposals emerge.”

The council also recently sought feedback on a draft Supplementary Planning Document for the Church Wharf area and the responses to the consultation are now being reviewed.

Once approved, the document will be used to guide the redevelopment of the site.

It is anticipated that some initial preparation work including site clearance could take place in the coming months.

Muse is aiming to submit a planning application for a scheme by the end of the year.