Economic regeneration

Bury is currently in the midst of a billion pound regeneration programme. Several key projects are now on site and are driving forward an exciting agenda which will pump new life into Bury's town centres. Information about the changes taking place is provided below together with relevant web links.  

In and around Bury town centre

The Rock

The Rock is a £350 million spend by Thornfield Developments which will deliver a new health centre, ¾ million square feet of retail and leisure space including Debenhams, M&S, Vue cinema and AMF bowling. In addition some 400 apartments will add a new dimension to town centre living in Bury.

Knowsley Place (formerly known as Townside)

Knowsley Place is a joint venture by Ask Developments and Bury Council. Phase one will create a health centre, new offices for the council and a hotel. The second phase will concentrate on offices for the private sector and apartments for town centre living.

Mill Gate

The owners of the Mill Gate shopping centre have taken the first step towards identifying a series of guiding principles for future investment in the centre. A draft Planning and Design Framework has been put together by Planning and Urban Design Consultants, Turley Associates. This framework seeks to evaluate the existing shopping centre in a structured way and consider how the centre relates to its surroundings and adjoining developments, the quality of the environment, accessibility and movement throughout the centre - all key attributes of an attractive shopping centre.

Chamberhall

Chamberhall will create a half million square feet of office space in an attractive 35 acre parkland setting next to the River Irwell and close to Bury town centre. The first development will build a new divisional headquarters for Greater Manchester Police. Work is well advanced and will be completed in early 2010.

The Green

In addition, Property Alliance Group has won planning consent for a 92,000 square feet sustainable development in Bury. 'The Green' will be a unique office park development and will comprise of four buildings. The design will be flexible with individual buildings that can be sub-divided into smaller suites. The riverside setting ensures a balanced community in a tranquil location near to the busy town centre.

To read more information about 'The Green' or to view specifications for the office space, the document is available to download.

Castlecroft Transport Museum

Another new museum will open in the early part of 2010 at the Castlecroft Transport Museum and will be operated by the East Lancs Railway. This project will help to further grow the tourism offer in Bury and form part of growth of the town's Culture Quarter.

Looking to the future

The plan for Bury Town centre was reviewed in our Bury but Better study and the next generation developments will look at the Phoenix Quarter between Irwell street and the East Lancs Railway, then the Western Waterside, across the river, clustered around the terminus of the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal. These will see the regeneration of Bury carried on towards 2020 and beyond.

Radcliffe

The forty acre site of the former East Lancs Paper Mill is currently on the market. The site has planning approval for a school, residential and employment uses.

Residential use has been approved on the sites of the existing Radcliffe Riverside High School sites at Coney Green and School Street.

A new masterplan is being prepared to review proposals for regenerating Radcliffe town centre. The final report is expected to be available for consultation in May 2010.

Prestwich

The Radius development in Prestwich, completed in 2006, has also already gone some way towards changing the view of Prestwich centre. The Love Prestwich Village development strategy seeks to build on this early success and secure the regeneration of the centre. We are currently working with developers to progress a bigger comprehensive redevelopment of the Longfield Centre that will totally change the image and perception of our southernmost town centre.

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