Business Bolton

St Helena

Welcome to the St Helena development homepage.

The council has characterised Bolton Town Centre into seven areas whose local distinctiveness will guide the architecture and urban design within new developments.  See the Town Centre Action Framework and Building Bolton SPD for further information. St Helena is the area to the northwest of the core town centre bounded by Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Back Bark Street, Pool Street and Marsden Road.  Building Bolton identifies much of the area as within a ‘shatter zone' of poorer quality townscape, however to the southeastern corner the area benefits from frontage to the existing civic and retail core of the town centre.

The St Helena area straddles the River Croal which follows a Victorian channel through its urban setting effectively severing the existing retail core from the northern part of the town centre.  Land rises either side steeply to the north towards Bark Street and more gradually to the south towards Deansgate.  Whilst much of the land area comprises cleared former industrial sites, currently used for surface car parking, there are generally three distinct areas of land and the council has identified two major development opportunities: Central Street and King Street.

Deansgate and Knowsley Street offer the main street frontages at a smaller, historic scale whilst larger buildings including Marsden House and 120 Bark Street dominate the north and western edges.  The remaining land is relatively open with numerous surface car parks and larger warehouse buildings is in two separate areas either side of the 1960s BT exchange building which dominates the centre of the site and whose scale and architecture presents a challenge for new developments in close proximity.

Street frontages
The street frontages of Deansgate, Knowsley Street, Bark Street and Marsden Road are dominated by commercial, primarily retail, uses.  The landmark, eight-storey 120 Bark Street is one of three new Grade A offices in the town centre.  There are also a number of historic buildings to the peripheries including the listed buildings Victoria Hall, St Helena Mill and Marsden Road Bridge and smaller, locally significant buildings on Deansgate.  The frontages are however also characterised by a number of low value uses in buildings which are on the whole of a poorer quality.

Central Street area
Behind the street frontages, the bulk of the area is characterised by large areas of surface car parking, mainly formed following demolition of larger mills and industrial buildings.  There are some poorly lit and overgrown paths and alleyways that lead down to the river croal.  Some of the car parks are unmade and generally of an untidy appearance with poor lighting, stark retaining walls and significant changes in level that create a poor pedestrian and visual environment.

King Street area
To the southwest corner of the area bounded by the river, BT building and Marsden House lies the King Street development opportunity.  the historic street network comprising King Street, Back King Street, St Edmund Street, Blundell Street and Makinson Yard is better preserved than elsewhere in the St Helena area which presents immediate opportunities for development in its surface car parks and poorer quality buildings, including the land rear of the Post Office.  The Post Office itself fronting Deansgate, together with a church and adjoining presbytery on St Edmund Street are identified for their contribution to local distinctiveness in Building Bolton.

The St Helena Development Opportunities

Central Street Phase
The vision for Bolton set by the Local Strategic Partnership aims to narrow the gap between the most and the least well off and to ensure economic prosperity.  Central Bolton is a key economic driver for the borough and wider as a regional shopping destination in particular.  The council has acknowledged the need to address a significant period of change within the Manchester City Region retail sector since the mid 1990's, a period which coincides with the opening of the Trafford Centre.  The 2007 position statement together with the more recent Roger Tym Retail and Leisure Study, highlight the condition of the existing retail offer as impacting on Bolton's potential to attract new investors.  Nevertheless major growth in the retail sector is identified and a critical mass of retail floorspace, anchored by a major store is required to attract quality retailers into units of an appropriate size.

The £90m Market Place redevelopment opened in September 2008 represents a major first phase in meeting the planned retail growth in Bolton and the next phases must build on its success and location by significantly extending the primary shopping offer to provide new destination retailers and upgrade the quality of the shopping environment.  The St Helena area and specifically the Central Street site, has been identified as best placed to accommodate the next phases of planned retail growth. The council's aspirations for the comprehensive redevelopment of the entire area will seek to create a retail led development with the potential to attract over £100m investment and prime retail floorspace together with a range of complementary uses set around new and refurbished streets, squares and spaces.

In 2005 the council selected its development partner, Wilson Bowden Developments who secured outline planning permission in October 2005 for a 33,394 m² (360,000 ft²) £110m development anchored by an 11,000 m² (118,000 ft²) anchor store. By January 2008 Tesco had confirmed their wish to occupy the anchor store enabling the process of preparing legal agreements with Wilson Bowden and the council to gather pace. In order to achieve the comprehensive redevelopment of the area, the council has taken a decision confirming it will consider promoting a compulsory purchase order to consolidate ownership of the land should one be required. Subject to all necessary approvals, the current anticipated start date for the development is Summer 2011 with the development anticipated to open for Christmas 2013.

The council formally adopted the St Helena Development Opportunity Area Brief - Central Street phase in May 2005.  The document is available below is in adobe pdf format.

King Street Phase
The King Street Development Brief was formally adopted as a Statement of Council Policy on 11th December 2006.  The brief has been prepared to guide the redevelopment of land at King Street, Blundell Street and St Edmunds Street in the St Helena area of Bolton Town Centre. 
 
The development brief provides design guidance for the redevelopment of the area and expands on policies in the Bolton Unitary Development Plan (2005). It provides guidance on the planning policies relating to this site, the factors that will constrain any development and the appropriate mix of uses.

The King Street area presents an exciting opportunity for a residential-led mixed-use development that will have a significant regeneration impact. It is an important gateway site for visitors to the town centre, particularly given its close proximity to queens park, and a high standard of design will be required. The council is keen to encourage design that responds to its context; in the King Street area this includes a major street frontage, a sloping topography, a number of historic buildings, the river frontage and the area's industrial associations.

The King Street development brief is available below in adobe pdf format, if you have any problems viewing the below documents, paper copies are available from the contact details below.

Ways to get in touch

For more information, contact Jonathan Berry, Development Manager on 01204 336036 or email at jonathan.berry@bolton.gov.uk