To what extent do economic, social and environmental factors
influence stakeholders’ goals for regeneration in Warrington
Town Centre?
Figure 1
, Introduction:
Regeneration is defined as “a term for the various strategies to restore profitability
and/or repopulate areas of the city deemed to be in decline [...] in essence, urban
regeneration promises physical, material or spatial solutions to social and economic
problems”.1
This independent investigation aims to discover three key stakeholders’ - local
residents, businesses, and the local government – views and aims for future
regeneration, and how much this has been influenced by socioeconomic factors
(such as living standards, levels of deprivation and income) and environmental
factors within the context of Warrington Town Centre. This is because
Warrington’s local government has recently begun a regeneration programme – the
Central 6 Masterplan2 - with a particular emphasis on improving the quality of the
town centre’s transport and health.
My investigation plans to use a combination of primary data – gathering interviews,
questionnaires, EQS surveys, and re-imaging assessment indexes - and secondary
data (IMD scores, census data, age demographics and vacancy rates) in order to
explore how various groups perceive the need for regeneration, and which methods
of regeneration are needed most.
Link to Specification:
1
Castree, N., Kitchin, R. and Rogers, A., 2013. A dictionary of human geography. Oxford University Press,
USA.
2
www.warrington.gov.uk. (n.d.). Central 6 Regeneration Masterplan | warrington.gov.uk. [online]
Available at: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/central6.
,My investigation will reflect 4A.4, c) on the specification by investigating to what extent
the different stakeholders involved in the regeneration of Warrington Town Centre are
motivated by potential economic or social inequalities – likely due to factors like residents’
job opportunities or how the health of the high street might impact the council’s policy
decisions.
Hypotheses:
1: Local residents living in the town centre will be the most disadvantaged in terms
of socioeconomic inequality, therefore they will want regeneration directed
towards them.
2: Businesses will be suffering from high vacancy rates and therefore economic-
led regeneration in the shopping centre will be demanded by them.
3: The local government will have plans for a more comprehensive approach but
may have more long-term goals rather than short-term actions.
Rationale for Each Hypothesis:
• 1: Residents living in the town centre will be the most disadvantaged
in terms of socioeconomic inequality, therefore they will want
regeneration directed towards them.
Many residents of Warrington’s town centre may be older or have family who may
remember the de-industrialisation across Merseyside (during which, Warrington
was one of the towns to share in the overall 230,000 industrial jobs which were
, lost and suffered a –20 percentage point decrease in industrial share from 1971-
1991) 3 . Recent years have seen this continue, with events such as the historic
closure of the Unilever factory after 130 years in 20204 and the closure of Golden
Square shopping centre’s largest store, Debenhams, in May 20215.
High vacancy rates and decreasing levels of employment usually signal that an area
has entered a spiral of decline, where one major loss – such as the closure of a shop
– creates a domino of events, as lower employment means that the local government
receives decreased tax revenue and cannot subsequently re-invest in the area. This
causes a general decline in the quality of life and services in a location. Residents
therefore may be inclined to support investment back into the high street –
especially in Warrington, which has a town centre built around the retail area,
Golden Square – given that this accounts for 5% of the UK’s total economic output6
and will allow for a wide array of age groups to access new jobs, whether they are
young and looking for work experience or are older but with less qualifications.
Local residents are the players (“those involved in an issue, proposal or project” 7)
with the most individuals involved, and with the most to lose as their incomes will
be smaller than a business or the council. Consequently, locals (who have already
suffered from historic economic decline) will likely feel that regeneration is needed
with a “bottom-up” approach which will positively impact them first, usually by
creating new jobs, improving the quality of the built environment, and filling up
shop spaces with the town centre itself, whereas local councils may decide to focus
on raising social standards rather than a more economically-driven process.
My investigation into this hypothesis will focus on examining the quality of the
living and built environment, as well as interviewing locals, to gauge whether local
sentiment reflects the sentiment that economic-led regeneration is the most
necessary step forward.
3
PB305,combined.pdf (liverpool.ac.uk)
4
Everett, A. (2020). Unilever’s Warrington factory closes today after 130 years. [online] Warrington
Guardian. Available at: https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/18797772.unilevers-warrington-
factory-closes-today-130-years/
5
Dean, L. (2023). Talks under way to fill Debenhams unit at Golden Square. [online] Warrington Guardian. Available
at: https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23970291.talks-way-fill-debenhams-unit-golden-square/
6
The Grocer (2024). Think local to improve Britain’s high streets. [online] The Grocer. Available at:
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/high-street/think-local-to-improve-britains-high-streets/694853.article
7
Digby, B., 2020. Geography for Edexcel A Level Year 1 and AS. Oxford University Press-Children.
influence stakeholders’ goals for regeneration in Warrington
Town Centre?
Figure 1
, Introduction:
Regeneration is defined as “a term for the various strategies to restore profitability
and/or repopulate areas of the city deemed to be in decline [...] in essence, urban
regeneration promises physical, material or spatial solutions to social and economic
problems”.1
This independent investigation aims to discover three key stakeholders’ - local
residents, businesses, and the local government – views and aims for future
regeneration, and how much this has been influenced by socioeconomic factors
(such as living standards, levels of deprivation and income) and environmental
factors within the context of Warrington Town Centre. This is because
Warrington’s local government has recently begun a regeneration programme – the
Central 6 Masterplan2 - with a particular emphasis on improving the quality of the
town centre’s transport and health.
My investigation plans to use a combination of primary data – gathering interviews,
questionnaires, EQS surveys, and re-imaging assessment indexes - and secondary
data (IMD scores, census data, age demographics and vacancy rates) in order to
explore how various groups perceive the need for regeneration, and which methods
of regeneration are needed most.
Link to Specification:
1
Castree, N., Kitchin, R. and Rogers, A., 2013. A dictionary of human geography. Oxford University Press,
USA.
2
www.warrington.gov.uk. (n.d.). Central 6 Regeneration Masterplan | warrington.gov.uk. [online]
Available at: https://www.warrington.gov.uk/central6.
,My investigation will reflect 4A.4, c) on the specification by investigating to what extent
the different stakeholders involved in the regeneration of Warrington Town Centre are
motivated by potential economic or social inequalities – likely due to factors like residents’
job opportunities or how the health of the high street might impact the council’s policy
decisions.
Hypotheses:
1: Local residents living in the town centre will be the most disadvantaged in terms
of socioeconomic inequality, therefore they will want regeneration directed
towards them.
2: Businesses will be suffering from high vacancy rates and therefore economic-
led regeneration in the shopping centre will be demanded by them.
3: The local government will have plans for a more comprehensive approach but
may have more long-term goals rather than short-term actions.
Rationale for Each Hypothesis:
• 1: Residents living in the town centre will be the most disadvantaged
in terms of socioeconomic inequality, therefore they will want
regeneration directed towards them.
Many residents of Warrington’s town centre may be older or have family who may
remember the de-industrialisation across Merseyside (during which, Warrington
was one of the towns to share in the overall 230,000 industrial jobs which were
, lost and suffered a –20 percentage point decrease in industrial share from 1971-
1991) 3 . Recent years have seen this continue, with events such as the historic
closure of the Unilever factory after 130 years in 20204 and the closure of Golden
Square shopping centre’s largest store, Debenhams, in May 20215.
High vacancy rates and decreasing levels of employment usually signal that an area
has entered a spiral of decline, where one major loss – such as the closure of a shop
– creates a domino of events, as lower employment means that the local government
receives decreased tax revenue and cannot subsequently re-invest in the area. This
causes a general decline in the quality of life and services in a location. Residents
therefore may be inclined to support investment back into the high street –
especially in Warrington, which has a town centre built around the retail area,
Golden Square – given that this accounts for 5% of the UK’s total economic output6
and will allow for a wide array of age groups to access new jobs, whether they are
young and looking for work experience or are older but with less qualifications.
Local residents are the players (“those involved in an issue, proposal or project” 7)
with the most individuals involved, and with the most to lose as their incomes will
be smaller than a business or the council. Consequently, locals (who have already
suffered from historic economic decline) will likely feel that regeneration is needed
with a “bottom-up” approach which will positively impact them first, usually by
creating new jobs, improving the quality of the built environment, and filling up
shop spaces with the town centre itself, whereas local councils may decide to focus
on raising social standards rather than a more economically-driven process.
My investigation into this hypothesis will focus on examining the quality of the
living and built environment, as well as interviewing locals, to gauge whether local
sentiment reflects the sentiment that economic-led regeneration is the most
necessary step forward.
3
PB305,combined.pdf (liverpool.ac.uk)
4
Everett, A. (2020). Unilever’s Warrington factory closes today after 130 years. [online] Warrington
Guardian. Available at: https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/18797772.unilevers-warrington-
factory-closes-today-130-years/
5
Dean, L. (2023). Talks under way to fill Debenhams unit at Golden Square. [online] Warrington Guardian. Available
at: https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/23970291.talks-way-fill-debenhams-unit-golden-square/
6
The Grocer (2024). Think local to improve Britain’s high streets. [online] The Grocer. Available at:
https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/high-street/think-local-to-improve-britains-high-streets/694853.article
7
Digby, B., 2020. Geography for Edexcel A Level Year 1 and AS. Oxford University Press-Children.
