Tourist hotspot plan for Runcorn
THE dream of turning Runcorn into a major tourist destination is a step closer after plans were formally lodged for a £15m boat lift in the town centre.
If approved, the project will open up the Bridgewater Canal at Top Locks on High Street meaning boats can travel on a continuous loop around Cheshire.
As part of the development a boat lift would be built along with a visitor centre, marina and a track for transferring boats between the Bridgewater and Manchester ship canals.
Campaigners have said this ‘inclined plane’ would be the only one of its kind in the UK and that the boat lift would be the most modern one ‘in the world’.
The project is expected to cost between £12m and £15m, and predicts annual visitor numbers of around 60,000-90,000 a year initially, but its ambitions go further and aim to kickstart a cycle of regeneration, economic development and the creation of a vibrant, thriving independent retail sector.
Construction could take two to three years, meaning it could be up and running within around four years.
It also dovetails with other initiatives already under way, namely the multi-million pound Station Quarter, and far from competing with the Anderton Boat Lift and other canal attractions, backers hope the schemes can complement each other.
Bringing the scheme this far has been a 20-year labour of love for former Royal Marine Graham Wallace, Runcorn Locks Restoration Society (RLRS) chairman, who greeted the plans’ formal submission on Friday with delight, saying: “It felt like it would never happen.”
Dedicated volunteers and project manager Steve Illidge have been among those driving Graham’s vision and bringing it into reality, by clearing land and securing critical grant funding.
The Unlock Runcorn campaign has also been backed by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, Derek Twigg MP and Halton Borough Council leader Cllr Rob Polhill.
Welcoming Friday’s milestone, Graham said: “Every town in the country is trying to reinvent itself to bring in money but in Runcorn we don’t need to invent anything, it’s already here. Runcorn town is on the edge of something pretty big, make no mistake.
“Volunteers have raised tens of thousands of pounds and spent thousands of back breaking hours to get to this point.”
He added: “I would be delighted if members of the public would watch out for surveys about the plans and fill them in, this will go a long way to moving things onto the next stage.”
Steve Illidge said the project is intended to be a ‘catalyst to spark the regeneration of the Old Town’ and that consultation will soon be under way to find out what residents and businesses want so they ‘feel part of it’.
Reflecting on how far the project has come, he said: “It was literally a dream – this is making real progress.
“I think there’s a real will from Runcorn residents to see this happen.
“We went to make it something that Runcorn people will be proud of, there’s so much we’ve got.
“It means that cash injection, and from there on it will create some employment during the construction phase and some employment when it’s operating, and it will hopefully bring a much higher footfall to Runcorn Old Town and job creation.”
He added: “I think there’s a real opportunity to create an independent retail area and have something people want to come to.
“I think there’s a market for it.”
Derek Twigg MP said: “This is a really exciting and massive step forward for the volunteers but also for Runcorn and Halton as a whole.
“I can’t wait to see this project come to life.”