Planned public realm changes for Stalybridge revealed

STALYBRIDGE is set to see almost £5 million of public realm works as work to transform the town takes shape.

And the eventual aim is for two new green spaces – Old Town Hall Gardens and Spring Gardens – to be created.

The area known as Grosvenor Square, where The Society Rooms pub is, would also be transformed as well as major alterations to traffic through the centre.

A meeting of Tameside Council’s executive cabinet on Wednesday, June 19 will be presented with the latest visions for Stalybridge in a wide-ranging document.

The site of the former Stalybridge Town Hall. Image by GGC Media

Described as ‘priority projects’ using grant funding already received, £4.7 million of work is put forward.

Market Street Phase Two will prioritise pedestrians by reducing the size of Market Street/Waterloo Road Junction and introducing one-way traffic movement along the remainder of Market Street.

Old Town Hall/Trinity Gardens will enhance the green space at the Old Town Hall site to form a new eastern arrival into the town centre and create a useable space for events.

Lighting will also be improved and introduce better signage introduced.

The route of Trinity Street to Armentieres Square would be enhanced to give a more attractive space outside the Civic Hall, while £1.2 million will be spent on Armentieres Square itself.

That will see improved activation to the canal, better connections to connections to Melbourne Street, public art, play, events spaces and street furniture, better trees and structured planting, de-cluttering of the existing spaces and the consolidation of pedestrian barriers to water.

It will also contain a review of the existing paving condition and a strategy to provide a sustainable approach to partial replacement.

Nearby Grosvenor Square would be turned into a more vibrant space for people to spend time in.

That would mean increased greenery, enhanced connections to Armentieres Square and artwork ‘that celebrates the independent spirit of Stalybridge.’

According to the document, it would: “Create a setting for local business to thrive in and take ownership over.

“Celebrate the independent spirit of Stalybridge, through enhanced shop fronts and street art, improve connections east and west to existing green spaces and create an inviting link to Armentieres square to improve the connection.”

Two of the bigger changes to the landscape come in the form of green spaces, with the eventual aim of creating a ‘Four Park Town Loop’ including Cheetham Park and Gorse Hall.

Spring Gardens would border Spring Street and Rassbottom Street while Old Town Hall Gardens is self-explanatory.

The document adds: “An outer park loop with enhanced landscape, including street trees and cycle routes, to provide active travel connections between the four parks.

“Enhanced connections from the town centre to existing parks such as Stamford Park and Stalybridge Country Park for both residents and visitors.”

Changes to traffic in Stalybridge town centre are also proposed, both for the short and long term.

More immediate is continuation of the westbound one-way movement on all of Market Street, meaning cars travelling down Rassbottom Street would no longer be able to go straight ahead to The White House pub.

Shepley St on to Market St will be a left hand turn only and there would be no access to the bus station from Market Street, with Waterloo Rd to be used as primary access.

The junction of Castle Street on to Melbourne St would be temporarily closed to start reducing cross town movement and a small section of Melbourne Street would be made one way to its junction with Dean Street.

Long-term, the aims in the document include possibly moving the ‘bus gate’ from directly in front of the Civic Hall, making that area vehicle free, and Armentieres Square to be a one-way bus route and for service access only, vastly reducing the amount of traffic through it.

The public realm development, which is separate from the Stalybridge West masterplan, focuses on several themes, including a big welcome, an independent identity and reconnecting with the water.

Engagement with the public identified issues like a poor sense of arrival and difficulty navigating the town centre, poorly defined public spaces, a lack of cycle and pedestrian infrastructure, a lack of green space and the history of Stalybridge not being celebrated.

The latest document tells councillors: “Stalybridge is rich with assets that can be utilised and celebrated to improve the urban environment of the town centre.

“If addressed, these opportunities can be adopted to create a unique and vibrant town centre for residents and visitors.

“These features can unlock opportunities within the public realm to create more space for public realm, allowing local businesses to grow, frame regeneration and improve the health and wellbeing of the people within the town.

“The parks of Gorse Hall and Cheetham Park, as well as Stalybridge Country Park, sit to the south of the town centre.

“Physical connections into them, despite their close proximity, are poor and they are under used assets for the town. There is a missed opportunity for the town when it comes to connecting to the wider green infrastructure network.

“Despite the Canal and River running through the town, access to water is poor. Access and views to the River Tame, in particular, are very poor and only glimpses of the river corridor are provided by the town’s three bridges.

“The canal towpath is better connected, however it is poor quality and uninviting, with fears around safety to the west of Armentieres Square.”

It has been recommended to Tameside Council’s executive cabinet that it approves what is said in the report and as it is part of the near £20 million the town was awarded by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund, work must be completed by March 2026.

 

6 Replies to “Planned public realm changes for Stalybridge revealed”

  1. Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
    Parlez vous?
    Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
    Parlez vous?
    It didn’t normally take that long,
    For men to realise they’d gone wrong.
    Inky pinky parlez cous.

  2. It will kill Stalybridge trade, it takes far to long for work to start and be completed. We will end up with less shops through lack of footfall while works are in progress. Market st was a sad experience for the traders, parking fees have shot up. Free parking is the answer to get people using our town.

  3. Extracted from the text
    Engagement with the public identified issues like a poor sense of arrival and difficulty navigating the town centre, poorly defined public spaces, a lack of cycle and pedestrian nun, a lack of green space and the history of Stalybridge not being celebrated.

    How can you celebrate the History of Stalybridge when you TMBC keep destroying it?
    If it takes as long as Market Steet we wil probably all be dead before they start Let alone finish.

  4. To be honest, I am a bit worried and wondering what will happen to the local ahops because it looks like the trade will be affected during the works…Local businesses need an improvement in the footfall, not the opposite! ????????

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