Prestwich Village revamp is revived in plans (From Prestwich and Whitefield Guide)

Prestwich Village revamp is revived in plans

6:00am Friday 10th July 2009

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A HUGE revamp of Prestwich Village is back on the table.

After a four-year saga plagued by red tape, project bosses are pressing ahead with its bid to overhaul the ageing Longfield Centre.

Hollins Murray Group (HMG), which owns six acres of land at the centre, has applied to Bury Council for outline planning permission to redevelop the area.

It wants to build a supermarket, a 70-bed hotel, 36 apartments, office space, restaurants and a new library and health centre.

A key part of the scheme is opening up the centre onto Bury New Road, while altering the road layout so Prestwich becomes a destination rather than a shortcut between Bury and Manchester.

Working with Bury Council officers, HMG has committed itself to renovating the centre to make it more attractive to shoppers.

The council employed consultants URBED to devise a plan and, throughout 2008, more than 1,000 residents had their say.

They backed URBED’s recommendations and so did Bury Council research. which found the development could bring £50 million a year into the town — £32 million more than now — through job creation and shoppers’ spending.

However, in January, Tesco, which has a supermarket nearby, argued it could be too risky to press ahead with a multi-million-pound development during a recession.

HMG and URBED went back to the drawing board, firming up the statistics ahead of this week’s planning application submission.

Bury Council’s planning control committee is likely to consider the plan in August or September.

HMG chief executive Andrew Murray said: “The design for the new shopping centre provides a perfect focal point for the village and will deliver shops and services in keeping with the expectations of the residents.

“But it will take time. All we ask is that the local community bears with us as we continue to work to bring the new centre to life, in the shortest possible timeframe.”

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