A 15-year, multi-billion-pound plan to regenerate Eccles town centre, including 1,300 new homes and new green spaces, is set to be approved by council bosses at a cabinet meeting next week. The project aims to tackle anti-social behaviour and bring back the area's identity as a market town.
The plan was discussed during a walkabout with City Mayor Paul Dennett, ward councillor and deputy mayor coun Mike McCusker, and the M.E.N. The walkabout was interrupted by a street brawl outside a pub, during which a drunk man was headbutted to the ground. Mr Dennett intervened, picking the bleeding man off the floor.
“So, there are some problems with anti-social behaviour around here,” coun McCusker said. “The plan is to change that, too.”
Homes and Natural Surveillance
The project includes 1,300 new homes across low and mid-rise buildings, alongside a smaller number of tower blocks up to 12 storeys high. It also includes new green and community spaces. One of the benefits of bringing a 'critical' number of residents into the town centre is 'natural surveillance' - busier, safer streets in the evenings, and, hopefully, fewer bar brawls.
For businesses, the plan means customers right on their doorstep. “This used to be a proud market town,” Mr Dennett said. “Its decline has a long tail, from post-industrialisation to the Trafford Centre being built right on its doorstep.”
Coun McCusker added: “Some people even blame the motorway being built. That's more than sixty years ago!”
Bringing Back a Market Town
Council bosses want the regeneration to bring back Eccles' sense of identity as a market town in a modern way. That means bringing in more people to live in the town centre in a mixture of high-rises and town houses, and encouraging the local business and service sector. Supporting independent businesses, encouraging locals to become entrepreneurs, and bringing more markets - such as Eccles' new quarterly maker's market - are all part of the plan.
“We're never going to get it back to how it was in the seventies,” coun McCusker said. “The days of butchers, fruit and veg shops, those are gone because of changing shopping habits and supermarkets. It might not be the market they once had, but we want to bring back the tree-lined streets and level of high street offer Eccles was once famous for.”
Mr Dennett added: “I'm really clear that I want Eccles to be the place where we support the independent businesses, the makers, the artisans. I want this to be the Brooklyn to the Manhattan, in terms of its relationship with the city centre, and Manchester.”
Current State and Early Steps
Eccles is currently a far cry from that. There are some 'excellent' independent businesses, including Pacifica Cantonese, which coun McCusker insists is the 'best Chinese in Greater Manchester'. But much of the high street is shuttered up, with historic buildings' windows shattered and covered in graffiti. The centre-piece in the square at the end of Church Street, which once held a large tree, is now a raised concrete bed with a patch of grass.
Speaking to the M.E.N. earlier this year, locals shared that it was 'frustrating to watch everything die in Eccles'. The plan is in its earliest stages. The council acquired the shopping centre for £4.3 in December 2023. A number of buildings have been demolished, and improvement works have taken place at the former townhall and the library.
Once council bosses greenlight the masterplan next week, work can begin on planning applications. The first is expected to be a social housing block, alongside outline planning permission for other parts of the designs. In the meantime, there are small-scale plans to rejuvenate the area while residents wait for larger-scale changes. The council hopes to be awarded some of GMCA's Good Growth High Streets Fund, a pot of money businesses and charities can bid for to make improvements to their town centres.
“There's lots of things we can do in the meantime, because we want residents to feel the benefits now, not just in 10 or 15 years,” coun McCusker said, with suggestions including a new play area, more greenery, and public realm improvements. “But the bigger project is still going to take some time.”
As the walkabout ended, a parked police car attended the bar brawl, its blue and red lights illuminating the buildings. Not everyone may agree with the plan, but it's clear something needs to change around here.
