'Look around you - we need change in this town'

A major regeneration scheme is underway to help change the fortunes of a town on the Mersey that has struggled to find a place for itself in the post-industrial world. Although it was once known as a spa town, Runcorn's name is now inextricably linked with industry and manufacturing. The town used to be at the heart of Britain's chemical and tanning industry, as well as being an important cargo port.

In the 1960s, Runcorn was designated as a 'new town' and it rapidly expanded, almost doubling its population. But a town that had thrived during the industrial era saw a rapid downturn in fortunes in the second half of the twentieth century. As the tanneries closed and the chemical industry declined, Runcorn has struggled to adapt.

An ambitious scheme called 'Reconnecting Runcorn' is trying to change that. The scheme aims to "collectively improve the lives and livelihoods of local people and boost the local economy" by investing in eight interlinked projects in the town. These projects include a health and education hub, a creative and digital skills centre, new town centre housing and the regeneration of the area around the Bridgewater canal.

Runcorn was allocated £23.6m for the scheme by central government through the Towns Fund, which was originally part of the previous government's 'levelling up' strategy. The Towns Fund is described by the Institute for Government as a fund for 'struggling' towns across England to support local economic growth.

Last week, the ECHO was taken on a tour of some of the project sites alongside Mike Amesbury, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby. On a warm and sunny day when the town looked its best, we spoke to a number of community leaders involved in the scheme, all of whom were impatient for the vision to take shape.

At the site of a planned youth centre in Runcorn's old town, we met Claire Bradbury, CEO of Power in Partnership, a charity which helps develop skills and opportunities for socially disadvantaged young people. Construction on the youth centre will begin this week and is expected to take around a year to complete.

Claire told the ECHO: "There is absolutely nothing for young people locally. There's nothing in the old town for youth, and it leads to anti-social behaviour. Families need more support in areas of high deprivation and we need more opportunities for the kids. We really want to engage them and give them options."

Claire is optimistic about the proposed development. She said: "There's no expense spared on this investment...it's going to be a state of the art youth club. This is real, it's happening. We've got all the plans for this, and they've been put through."

Just down the road from the youth centre development, next to the former Chambers nightclub building, we spoke to Ria Griffiths, a project manager at Halton Housing. Ria is overseeing a project on the high street to build 66 one-and two-bedroom flats for the over-55s. Work began on construction in March and is expected to be completed in spring 2026. The site was previously used for a Job Centre but has stood empty for some time.

She said: "We've been looking at Runcorn town centre for years, so now we're starting to see the fruition of the work, it's great to see. It's the first social rent scheme that we've done."

She continued: "We've looked at the local plan and the demand in the area, and we've also looked at Property Pool Plus demand data, and the demand for over-55s is much higher than general needs." According to Ria, now the advertising hoarding has gone up, there is a lot of talk in the neighbourhood about the new homes. No names have yet been added to waiting lists, but people can register their interest in the apartments.

Within the 'Regenerating Runcorn' scheme, the project that really grabs the imagination is 'Unlock Runcorn'. As part of the project, an area of grassy wasteland next to the Bridgewater Canal is set to be transformed, and the canal will be reconnected to the Manchester Ship Canal. A cafe and events centre will be constructed, and boat trips will run from Runcorn up to to Norton Priory.

Graham Wallace, Chairman of Runcorn Locks Restoration Society, has been providing community input on the project. He told the ECHO: "We're just a charity, but we represent the community, and the community should have a say in what goes on in their town, and if we can help regenerate ourselves, that's even better."

He continued: "The project was born out of an idea to reopen the locks originally. But that wasn't possible because the top and the bottom of the project have been obliterated. So that ruled out any heritage grants we may have been able to apply for.

"So we went back to our engineers, and we asked them if we can't use the heritage, let's use 21st century technology and let's make it into a feature, let's make it into an attraction that will bring people into the town, thus regenerating the town. So we've got three or four major attractions in just a short distance."

Graham is keenly aware of the need for the town to be regenerated. He said: "Look around you - we need change in this town. It's a poor town. The council are always struggling to bring in investment. People are not going to come to Runcorn to see a smart station - they might like it when they get here. But there's nothing to attract people into the town. Or any other method of regeneration. The council have more or less exhausted ideas of how they can regenerate. And we think this project will do that job."

Mike Amesbury MP said: "Runcorn has needed regenerating for a considerable number of years now. There's a massive expectation out there. There's been a frustration over a number of years and people have felt that Runcorn town has been neglected. It's good to see spades in the ground and some activity here on a number of projects all done under the banner of 'Reconnecting Runcorn'.

"You can see we're trying to create a bit of excitement for people out there. There's a lot of scepticism, and I can understand that. And people have had their politicians promising the world in recent years. Well - we've got to deliver now, haven't we?"