Plans to develop a new strategy for the future of Widnes town centre which could include more leisure and dining opportunities, changes to how it is laid out and less reliance on vehicles have cleared a vital hurdle.

The council has previously commissioned a study to examine the threats and opportunities for the town centre amid what it said were factors such as changing shopping habits and the impact of climate change.

The study found that, although it was performing ‘solidly’, the town centre faced a number of challenges.

These were:

  • The town centre was too 'sprawling' and hard to navigate for people unfamiliar with the layout. Parts were poorly connected, despite being physically close, such as Widnes Shopping Park, the high street and market hall.
  • It was too dependent on retail, making it more vulnerable to downturns in that sector. The report said it needed a more diverse offering, such as leisure, food and drink and community activities.
  • The town centre was car-dependent, which had a higher impact on the environment in terms of climate change emissions and pollutants. It said reducing the reliance on car trips by increasing public transport use and active travel would improve the sustainability of the town centre. Increasing the quantity of residential dwellings within and near to the town centre would also mean that more users of the town centre would not require car trips.

The council's ruling cabinet recently met to approve the next steps of what it branded a new 'Widnes Town Centre vision', which include a cost-benefit analysis and establishment of a town centre panel. The panel will be composed of three cabinet members and a councillor from every Widnes ward.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting, deputy council leader Cllr Dave Thompson, said: "So the vision is outlined within the report and you'll see it's mostly focused around three things. Creating a more cohesive town centre, a more diverse town centre and a more sustainable town centre.

"So at this stage, we're saying in the we will hook things around those three objectives moving forward."

Once the outline vision of what a future Widnes town centre should look like is eventually agreed, this would form the basis of a strategy that would potentially reshape the town centre itself over time. But a report to the cabinet said at this point the financial implications were unknown and that further cost/benefit analysis would be required.