myPRESTWICH

The Love Prestwich Village Centre Strategy
was approved last night by Bury Council’s Executive Committee.

For over a year now, the Council and its contractors have been consulting on the future of Prestwich Village. This was finally presented to the Council and has now been agreed as “material planning guidance” which will determine what the centre looks like in the future.

In summary, the Longfield area of the Village centre would be redeveloped: a new supermaket and shopping area; existing and new community facilities (the Longfield Suite), Hall, Library and Health Centre); above the shops/supermarket would be some apartments, a hotel on Bury New Road and some (not too high) multi-story parking. In addition work would be undertaken to improve the A56, including restoring the opening of Rectory Lane onto Bury Old Road to imrpove traffic flow.

The vision has a masterplan that sets out how Prestwich could be transformed into a “thriving and sustainable urban village” over the next 10 years. This includes:

- Bury New Road – proposes measures to reduce the impact of current traffic flows and improve the quality of the environment on the high street.
- Urban Playground – proposes measures to enable Prestwich to benefit from its unique location between Heaton Park and the Croal Irwell Valley Regional Park.
- Marketplace – proposes measures to revive the retail offer, support independent retailers, and suggests how appropriate redevelopment of the Longfield Centre could be the catalyst for this revival.
- Access and parking – proposes measures for improving accessibility for all whilst ensuring that there are appropriate parking facilities for all the uses within the centre in the context of creating a low carbon future for Prestwich.
- Public realm – explores how co-ordinated public realm improvements across the town centre could help to create an urban village feel.
- Community infrastructure – suggests how proposals for new, and improvements to existing, community facilities can create a strong community hub at the heart of the ‘village’.
- Diversifying the Centre – proposes measures for diversifying the ‘village’ by creating more opportunities for people to live and to work in the centre.
- Low Carbon Village – suggests how sustainable development and a high environmental commitment can give Prestwich a distinctive image and appeal.

Full details of draft development strategy, and its supporting background documents, can be downloaded from www.bury.gov.uk/prestwichregeneration.