​Next step in Radcliffe reaching its “incredible potential”

Business owners, residents and community leaders have joined Bury Council in unveiling the latest plans to regenerate Radcliffe town centre.

Making the most of Radcliffe’s assets and delivering a future where the town achieves its ‘incredible’ potential is at the core of a new place-making project.

Radcliffe has been working with experts thinkingplace to consider how it should be portrayed to various groups, primarily those seeking to invest in the town.

And after four months, two workshops and dozens of interviews and conversations with Radcliffe people, the town’s new ‘place proposition’ has now been officially unveiled.

At the core of the work is how Radcliffe’s good housing, great transport links, fantastic outdoor spaces and Radcliffe’s biggest asset of all – its community – can be capitalised on.

Three key themes have been developed:

• Animating Radcliffe’s hub and heart – bringing the buzz from Radcliffe Market out into Radcliffe Piazza and nearby streets with colour, greenness and events
• A connected, creative community – making the most of great links with Bury, Bolton and Manchester, and creating a hive for creative people and start-ups
• Making our water work – finding ways to open up access to Radcliffe’s wonderful waterways, adding beauty to the place and offering potential for Radcliffe to become a leisure destination.

A visual identity and a colour palette, plus a narrative and a suite of photography, has been created and will be made available for use by the community of Radcliffe.

The place-making project comes at a time when Radcliffe’s regeneration is moving forward at pace, with work beginning on the removal of shutters and repainting of Radcliffe Piazza’s bandstand, and new planting, benches and wayfinding signage in the town centre.

Led by Radcliffe Regeneration Task Group, the project also includes a shop-frontage scheme, events on Radcliffe Piazza and in empty shops to draw more people into the town, action on parking and improved CCTV coverage.

Jamie Walker is chair of Radcliffe Regeneration Task Group, which is made up of representatives from community groups, local businesses, local councillors and Bury Council.

He said he was excited by Radcliffe’s “new found purpose and optimism”, adding: “We’re really proud of Radcliffe’s heritage as a town built on industry, and that creativity, community spirit and willingness to get things done remains to this day.

“But we are also looking forward to seeing what our future can be. We want to build a successful, vibrant place that we can all be proud of, and showcase all that’s great about our place to outsiders.

“With Bury Council spending £500,000 on town centre improvements, plus the success of Radcliffe Market, this is a great time for Radcliffe. We also have the business case for a new high school coming up, the town’s flood defences getting sorted and an exciting new housing scheme at the East Lands Paper Mill. Radcliffe is on the up.

“Defining Radcliffe’s ‘place-brand’ is a really important part of our regeneration work and I’m proud that dozens of Radcliffe people have been involved in shaping it. It’s important to recognise that for Radcliffe to be successful we all need to work together to make it happen.”

John Till, director of thinkingplace, said: “As an agency that specialises in place-making, we travel up and down the country getting under the skin of places and helping them capitalise on their assets and defining their unique proposition.

“Out of everywhere we’ve been, Radcliffe offers an incredible amount of potential to re-invent itself. It can be a well-connected, creative place that makes the most of its wonderful outdoors and capitalises on a warm and willing community that want the absolute best for their town.”

Radcliffe’s place-making project was launched community groups, businesses, churches and councillors on July 17, and further events to show it to the wider community are planned.

ENDS

Press release issued: 19 July 2019.