Warrington Borough Council has submitted plans in partnership with developer Muse for a £52m regeneration of its retail and leisure offerings in the town centre’s Bridge Street area.

The project proposes the creation of a revitalised centre offering a family-friendly shopping, restaurant and leisure experience with a contemporary-style market hall at its heart, while the development will also spur the creation of a multiplex cinema and a new civic centre.

The plans have now been submitted for approval, with a decision expected to be made in December. If given the go-ahead, initial work is slated to start on-site during January 2015, with an expected completion date of 2018.

The new market component in the development is to be built on the site of the area’s former Boots Building on Bridge Street, creating a street front-entrance feature for the Grade II listed brick façade of the building.

The Leach Rhodes Walker-designed plans then extend from Bridge Street and across the region’s existing Time Square development, encompassing the town centre’s existing market.

Warrington & Co – established to act as a partnership between Warrington Borough Council, business leaders and key organisations to deliver regeneration strategies and facilitate growth in the town – is managing the project.

The Bridge Street regeneration is not the only piece of development taking place in the region, with a £190m Stadium Quarter scheme announced earlier this year close to the north of Bridge Street, set to comprise mixed-use educational, office and housing offerings.

Elsewhere, Warrington Borough Council also recently announced that it has commissioned a masterplan for the Cabinet Works area of the town centre.