The Town Deal, a £22.1m programme of works that is set to deliver seven key projects in the town centre and beyond, has made considerable progress following Cabinet approval of the remaining four projects of the seven-scheme programme.

This means that the business cases for all seven projects initially submitted as part of Warrington’s Town Investment Plan have now been granted Cabinet approval to send on to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which in turn will unlock funding for the schemes.

In May, Cabinet approved the submission of the business case for a Health and Social Care Academy at Warrington & Vale Royal College, which was identified as a £1m fast-track project. The academy will train the next generation of health and social care professionals to meet the needs of Warrington residents and beyond.

In October, a sustainable travel package and new bus fleet depot also received Cabinet approval, which combined will provide greater access to public and active transport across the borough.

Following the Cabinet meeting on Monday 8 November, the final four Warrington Town Deal projects also received approval for business case submission to DLUHC to unlock the remainder of the £22.1m funding pot. The final four projects are:

• A digital enterprise hub, which will support digital innovation across all disciplines – including artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, ecommerce, gaming and automation, using £2.91m Town Deal funding
• An advanced construction & civil engineering (ACCE) centre, which will support the engineering, construction, nuclear and allied industries with a £3.66m Town Deal funding allocation
• A £3.12m health and wellbeing hub, where people will be able to access a range of services under one roof
• A remastered cultural hub at the Pyramid, using £4.99m Town Deal funding to improve the arts centre to become a place that will nurture the arts professionals of the future, providing a modern and flexible creative space to collaborate, produce, present and perform

The recent successful zero emissions buses (ZEBRA) funding bid, which means that Warrington’s Own Buses’ entire fleet will be replaced with electric vehicles, also aligns with plans for the Town Deal’s new bus fleet depot, which will be capable of accommodating an entirely electric fleet.

Chair of the Warrington Town Deal Board and MD of Muse Developments, Matt Crompton, said: “It is exciting to see proposals for our Town Deal moving another important step closer to reality.

“It’s been a momentous month for the Town Deal and it’s clear that we are making good progress. The final four projects have been approved locally and we can now move forward with unlocking the funding for these schemes. Partnership working across the Town Deal board to find solutions and shape these ambitious projects is paying off and I’m looking forward to continuing to witness our pioneering Town Deal’s progression.”

Leader of the Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: “The hard work of all partners on Warrington’s Town Deal Board means that we now have seven ambitious, transformative projects that are fit for development. I am pleased that we previously managed to approve plans for the health and social care academy, new bus depot and sustainable travel package. It’s great news that we have now also approved plans for the remastered cultural hub at Pyramid, a town-centre health and wellbeing hub, a digital enterprise hub and the ACCE centre.

“Local approval of the remaining four Town Deal projects also aligns with our recent ZEBRA funding bid outcome. It means that our shared vision for a ‘future Warrington’ is closer than we might think. The beauty of the Town Deal is that it has the potential to reach and positively impact all of our residents in different ways and I am looking forward to seeing our plans move forward to development.”

For more information about any of the seven key Warrington Town Deal projects, visit warrington.gov.uk/my-town