Work has begun to demolish Eccles Shopping Centre, car park and Eccles Market Hall as part of regeneration plans to revitalise the town centre.
This work is the first key phase of a long-term plan by Salford City Council to deliver a new shared vision for the future of the town centre, which has seen dwindling footfall in recent years.
It follows a public consultation, which saw 600 residents share their views and aspirations for drastic improvements to the town centre. Feedback highlighted that the current town centre isn’t working for or meeting the needs of the local community.
Residents, stakeholders, and community groups all said change, and a fundamental transformation and the redevelopment of the town centre was needed.
The plan, once demolition work is completed, will be to present a blank canvas to potential development partners. Then the council can work to secure a development partner to help deliver the long-term shared vision for the town centre.
Creating places where people want to live is one of the cornerstones of Salford City Council’s priorities, outlined in our corporate plan This is our Salford. The work taking place at Eccles reflects our commitment to delivering on our ambitions to create a fairer, greener, healthier, and more inclusive city.
The demolition work is being carried out by Salford-based Connell Brothers demolition contractors and is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Construction consultancy Identity Consult have been development managing the project on behalf of Salford City Council.
The demolition of Charles House in the town centre will be completed as part of the next phase of work within the wider Eccles Town Centre scheme.
Councillor Mike McCusker, Lead Member for Planning, Transport and Sustainable Development at Salford City Council and Eccles Ward Councillor, said:
“Through our purchase of the shopping centre, we were able to put the future of the town centre in the hands of the council and the community. It has enabled us to begin this important and long-overdue programme of work, to deliver the vision we have developed with the community.
It enables us to begin the implementation of this shared vision and that starts with this demolition. On site, here in the heart of the town centre it is great to see this work begin in earnest.
Whilst we work on the town centre of the future, today’s town centre remains open for business. I want to stress that this demolition work only affects certain parts of the town centre. The shops and businesses on Church Street are still open for business and unaffected by this work.
