Reconnecting Runcorn’s Story

Steel works have gone up on site. For the best view of the progress, take a stroll along the curly bridge or follow our monthly timelapse updates. The project is set to be completed by the end of 2026

July 2025
As part of the Brindley’s transformation into a vibrant cultural hub, the installation of the new glazed façade is set to begin at the end of July. This striking architectural feature will wrap around the front of the building, creating a warm and transparent welcome from the high street. Designed to invite curiosity and connection, the glazing will showcase the interior’s feature lighting and activity, drawing visitors up through the newly envisioned Brindley Green and into the heart of the space. Read more about what this means here.

The enhancement is underway, breaking ground on Wednesday 21^st August!  During the building works, access to the Brindley is now via the Terrace Cafe and there is new signage around the building and adjoining roads to assist visitors to the building. Free parking for the Brindley is now on the former Crosville car park (next to Costa), opposite the Brindley, adjacent to the Bridgewater Canal. You can access to the car park is via the A533 Bridgewater Expressway.

The Brindley’s programme of events will continue as normal, the building work will not have an impact on the quality of the performances. You can also keep up to date with the project via the Brindley website:  www.thebrindley.org.uk and social media.

The work on the theatre enhancement is expected to be complete by June 2026.

Spectacular plans for the Brindley extension by EWA were unveiled in February. See the press release for more information on the plans and download them here.

A public consultation drop in session was held on 14th April at the Brindley, where the public discussed plans with project officers. An online survey was then available for two weeks following this.

Please download the frequently asked questions.

The council updated the brief for this project strand with the co-location of the local Library and the Brindley. Here Ellis Williams Architects (EWA) from Preston Brook were appointed.

See the press release for further information.

In 2020, K2 Architects created a RIBA stage 2 design for the envisaged extension of the Brindley with a café- restaurant and event space.

The K2 plans can be downloaded here.

Estimated to start on site in quarter one of 2025 subject to the progress of other projects.

Spectacular plans for the Brindley extension by EWA were unveiled in February, including the plans for a DDA compliant access route from the High Street through the Brindley Green to the New Brindley entrance door. See slides 7 and 8 of the plans for more information.  Download the plans here.

A public consultation drop in session was held on 14th April at the Brindley, where the public discussed plans with project officers. An online survey was then available for two weeks following this.

Please download the frequently asked questions.

Ellis Williams Architects (EWA) from Preston Brook were appointed to the project.

See the press release for  further information.

In 2020, K2 Architects created a RIBA stage 2 design for the envisaged extension of the Brindley with a café- restaurant and event space.

The K2 plans can be downloaded here.

Following construction of the steel framework the new build element of the projects brickwork is now visible on the High Street, with the installation of cladding and windows to follow. The building is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. In February two young people from Power in Partnership began apprenticeships on site at 57-59 High Street with Warden.

Work is underway at the new youth centre and is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Planning permission was granted in August.

In March, the initial RIBA stage 2 report and plan was developed for the building by K2 architects and can be viewed here.

A public consultation drop-in session was held on 12th April at the Runcorn Library, where the public discussed plans with project officers. An online survey was then available for four weeks following this.

Following this public consultation the RIBA stage 3 plans were developed by K2 Architects. They can be viewed here.

Planning permission was applied for in October.

Plans and designs are being further developed to ensure the future training and learning centre stays on track amid economic challenges. A contractor is due to start on site summer 2025.

In March this year some of the project’s designs and plans were reviewed, in order to stay within budget while delivering a high-quality training and learning space. Since this review the accessible loft space has been taken out of the original proposal. See the amended application here, this was accepted on the 2nd April. Following this the design team are preparing a revised detailed design.

Planning permission was granted in August.

In March, the initial RIBA stage 2 report and plan was developed for the building by K2 architects and can be viewed here.

A public consultation drop in session was held on 12th April at the Runcorn Library, where the public discussed plans with project officers. An online survey was then available for four weeks following this.

Following this public consultation the RIBA stage 3 plans were developed by K2 Architects. They can be viewed here.

Planning permission was applied for in October.

The restoration was completed and Hazlehurst Studios opened their doors on the expansion to the public.

Warden was appointed to carry out the building restoration and works began in February.

Find out more information in the press release.

Planning permission was granted in January 2021.

Cassidy + Ashton Building Surveyors were appointed to prepare and oversee the restoration of the building.

Planning applications were submitted.

June 2025
With the name now officially chosen by the community on the 1^st June, WELL Runcorn is moving full steam ahead. Construction is well underway inside the former library building, and on 11th June, the first steels were installed to support the mezzanine level – the future home of classrooms and learning spaces. This marks a major step forward in delivering a welcoming, one-stop hub for health, education, and wellbeing in the heart of Runcorn Town Centre. Find out more here.

May 2025

Time to vote. Runcorn residents were invited to have their say about the future naming of the new health and education hub coming to Runcorn later on this year with a shortlist of names chosen the final decision was up to you. Read more here. 

Votes were counted and verified and the new name for the upcoming health and education hub in Runcorn town centre is... 

WELL Runcorn.

WELL Runcorn stands for Wellbeing, Education, Lifelong-Learning all of which will be on offer and available for Runcorn residents to access once works on site are complete with the project opening in early 2026.

Read more about this exciting step for the project.

Runcorn residents invited to get involved with naming of new health and education hub

Runcorn residents are being invited to get involved and have their say! As it’s time to choose the name for the new health and education hub on Granville Street in Runcorn Town. After extensive stakeholder engagement the best ideas have been shortlisted, and now it’s your turn to vote.

Residents can take part in the short survey here.

The survey closes on Friday 30^th May and the name of the new hub will be announced in June.

Opening in early 2026, the new hub will be home to a range of health, wellbeing and education services, providing a ‘one-stop’ facility for families, young people and those living with long-term conditions. The services will be delivered from the former Granville Library building.

Construction work started on site on 1^st April with the aim to hand over the new facility to the NHS by the end of the year. Shortly before the works began the library was moved into a temporary location at 6 Church Street before it will relocate into the new Brindley Extension in 2026.

Planning permission for the proposed Health and Education Hub was granted on 26th January.

Planning application was submitted for change of use for the current library building into the envisaged Health and Education Hub. View the plans here.

Initial plans for the hub were drawn up by Cassidy + Ashton, view them here.

July 2025

As the steel framework of the hall is now in, the brickwork stage of this build started on site at the beginning of July and is progressing rapidly. With the project team expecting the building to be completed in its first phase by the end of 2025.

June 2025

Steel work began on site on the 30^th June following the completion of the foundations and floor slab going in on site in May. This was a giant step for the project as it shows the true scale of the building for the first time.

May 2025

The main foundations were cast following the traditional Suad Thon blessing in March, during which monks blessed the grounds to appease the spirits believed to inhabit the land. This ceremony marked the creation of the central Sima Stone chamber. Read more about what this ceremony means to the project here.

Ground was broken for the Ubosot Hall project at the beginning of April. This will become the first purpose-built hall of its kind in the north of England.

The community peace garden is now complete following the ‘Topping off ceremony’ on Sunday 8^th September. To hear more about what the community peace garden means check out the video below.

Work on the garden began in February and it has quickly taken shape within 4 months it is nearly complete. A foundations ceremony took place on Saturday 23^rd June in preparation for the Chedi’s arrival in the UK. To find out more about the progress of the peace garden and what to expect when it is finished click here.

The chedi arrived in Runcorn on Monday 8^th July and will take several weeks to assemble. There will be an unveiling of the finished Peace Garden in September.

The temple applied for planning permission for the piece of grass adjacent to their building to create a spectacular community peace garden. Their application was granted later that year. Find out more.

June 2025

The murals are now complete in Dukesfield. After a busy few weeks on site the team have been reflecting on the overwhelming support for the project during the installation and supporting sold out events taking the public behind the scenes and along the projects journey. Read more about the story of the project here. 

May 2025

As seen on ITV! On Friday 9^th May the team at ITV Granada came down to the Dukesfield Murals and caught up with some of our team including muralist, Liam Bononi as he finished off his murals on site. Watch the full ITV interview here.

Saturday 3^rd May saw a host of events for residents and the local community to learn more about the murals and their stories. With guided tours from the Runcorn & District Historical Society and Hazlehurst Studios, talking through the stories being depicted, the heritage behind the murals and how the project got to where it did today. This was followed on by a Q&A with the artists bringing the viaduct pillars to life, where people were invited to ask questions and get to know the artists involved in the project.

April 2025

Locals were invited to help join artists Liam Bononi and Hayley Garner of Aylo Nomad on Sunday 27^th April as they prepared the pillars for painting to begin on Monday 28^th where the artists would start to bring Runcorn’s history to life.

Friday 25^th April saw a community clean up lead by the Street Art project team with the Halton Veterans Legion and Halton Borough Council to help prepare the site head of the artists getting to work on the 28^th April.

Artists Aylo Nomad and Liam Bononi will create four murals celebrating Runcorn’s history and culture in the Dukesfield area. The murals will be completed over two weeks starting with a community clean up on 26^th April, the artists will then start painting from 28^th April -10^th May. There are several events for the public to attend during these two weeks to hear more about the stories behind the murals as well as getting the chance to ask the artists questions around their approach to murals. For the event details click here. To celebrate the completion of the murals there is a live music event ‘Beyond the Walls’ with local artists performing in Society Taprooms, for tickets to this event click here

The Council is looking for an artist to transform the first (of possibly more) viaduct pillars from the Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn Old Town.

You can find the Street Art Brief here, detailing the application process and requirements, as well as the timetable.

Register your interest by sending your information to [email protected] before deadline Sunday 30 June 2024.

At the beginning of 2023 Hazlehurst Studios were commissioned in collaboration with local illustrator Millie Chesters to deliver this project.

The initial moodboard and concept drawings were created and shared with the public for consultation.

A walkthrough took place with the community where the public had the opportunity to give feedback and visit the locations for the street art.

In November the Runcorn Street Art Stories Booklet was published and shared with the public, bringing the vision to life highlighting the style and stories being used in the project strand. Find out more here.

As part of the plans for improving the High Street Public realm to introduce better cycling and walking paths in the town to strengthen the connectivity in Runcorn there is a proposed alteration as to how Top Locks car park is accessed. The current suggested change makes the car park access point from Station Road only. This will not affect access to the properties or businesses. See the plans here

During the public consultation for the High Street improvements, it was identified by the community and local traders that Church Street needed some attention. Since the consultation work has been going on behind the scenes and a small amount of additional funding has been granted to improve a section of Church Street, from High Street junction to King Street, along with the wider public realm improvements. This funding allows for improvements to the street furniture from bollards, railings, benches, bike racks to traffic signs, as well as the refurbishment of a piece of street art. All whilst cleaning the overall look of the street (streetscape). These improvements will complement the wider regeneration of the area, encouraging further future investment.

The first phase of this project involves deep cleaning of the section on Church Street which is happening on 23^rd September. The next stage is to replace the street furniture in late Autumn. Followed by the final stage, the refurbishment of the Obelisk on the corner of Church Street and King Street.

This project has the opportunity to develop a small pilot project along Church Street with a local housing provider and some local businesses to become an overnight host for a seasonal planter, that during the day would be on the Church Street path where pavement space allows. If you are a business along this section of Church Street and this is something you would like to register your interest in please email [email protected] by 1^st October 2024.

Consultation on the taxi rank has been completed ahead of the drawings being produced.

Following demolition of the mews properties in 2024, a planning application for the St Paul’s Mews footprint has been submitted to show how the proposed new public realm integrates with the plans for the Brindley Green.

The occupied shop left the property in January. From then plans were drawn up and applications were drafted.  In May a planning permission application was submitted for the proposed demolition of the vacant building. The application can be viewed here.

St Pauls Mews property was acquired by Halton Borough Council to help with the delivery of some plans within the wider programme. The property consisted of four vacant shops, four vacant flats and one occupied shop.

Construction of 66 new apartments on High Street, named Mercia Place is ongoing with the steel frameworks completed. The work on elevations has started on site, Halton Housing is hoping to have the project complete early 2026.

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Structures are going in at the High Street New Homes development with Halton Housing. Find out more about this independent living scheme in the video. 

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Architects have developed concept drawings of the proposed enterprise space, which will evolve into more detailed drawings later on in the year.

In June, K2 Architects created the initial RIBA stage 1 brief which set the scene for the project pathway to the delivery. Download the full report here.

Later in August, K2 Architects built the RIBA stage 2 report based on the stage 1 outcomes. This sees a range of workspace options to develop Elite House into a business incubator. The plans can be downloaded here.

Paddock Johnson has been engaged as an Architect by Halton Housing, in partnership with the council, to make a concept design for a new residential development. This new residential development will include a Children’s Care Home, building on ideas previously put forward by the Runcorn Town Community Land Trust.

Contracts have been signed and work has started on site at the end of March.

Planning permission was granted on 2nd July, after being submitted in January. See more information on the plans here.

August 2025

This month the team have announced an exciting partnership with Norton Priory offering cruises along the canal bringing visitors up to the museum and gardens, ready for the cruises to officially start running in September. Book your trip here.

July 2025

Saturday 26^th July Runcorn saw the first of the two boats ‘Aethel’ the 65-foot passenger boat on the Bridgewater Canal as residents came out to celebrate the launch. During the event locals got to meet the team who have been working hard behind the scenes to bring the project and vision to life as well as being one of the first to step aboard the boat. With her striking colours and intricate design Aethel blew everyone in attendance away, along the canal residents were able to get a first look and taste of the cream teas that will be available on board when the first cruises start in September. Read more about the event here.

 June 2025

The Unlock team have announced several volunteer roles for residents to join the team. Find out more here.

May 2025

Auditions were held for the community to become the voice of Aethel and Fraeda the two new passenger trip boats who are nearing completion to begin setting sail along the Bridgewater canal later on this year. Following the auditions six local voices have been found and have begun recording the new soundtracks and audio tours available on board the boats when they launch later on this year. Find out more here. 

3^rd April 2025

Crafted at Collingwood Dock, the boats are expected to be completed in the coming months. And thanks to a spirited community vote, they now proudly bear names rooted in Runcorn’s rich past— ‘Aethel’ and ‘Fraeda’—a tribute to the town’s legendary founder and warrior, Æthelflæd.

Continued development of designs for the canal restoration project, connecting to the Bridgewater Canal. This spring the two boats, which will be doing the trips along the canal, have begun construction. The boats have recently been named by public vote ‘Aethel’ and ‘Fraeda’ with a nod to the heritage and history of Runcorn.

Phase 1 of the project began with the Big Dig on Saturday 31^st August which saw spades go in the ground in the hopes to reach the ‘bullnose’.