Designing the new 'industrial landscape'

CGI view of redevelopment of St Petersfield, Tameside, Greater Manchester (LDA Design)

LDA Design is leading a masterplan approved by Tameside Council for the town of Ashton in Greater Manchester to create a new business neighbourhood location for the innovation, design and tech sector.

St Petersfield will become a more connected part of the town through a mix of welcoming new public spaces, revitalised streets and uses.

The site is already home to the Victorian Grade II - listed Aston Old Baths, now a digital incubator centre and co-working space, and the vision seeks to capitalise on this success to catalyse further growth. It will create a framework for wider regeneration and investment and bring coherence to previous ad hoc development. The pan provides scope for new homes, 193,000 square feet of commercial space and a hotel.

Designated as an employment area, St Petersfield will benefit from a Dark Fibre network ensuring it has amongst the best digital connectivity in the country. It forms part of a new Mayoral Development Zone in Ashton, which also encompasses Ashton Moss West where LDA Design is shaping plans for a new centre for advanced manufacturing.

Mark Graham, a director at LDA Design and project lead for St Petersfield, explains the vision behind the approved masterplan:

'The textile industry shaped Ashton and the cotton mills which remain today are a legacy of this town's importance in the Greater Manchester landscape. Now it's time for a new kind of industrial landscape to emerge, with creative and digital start-ups working alongside more established businesses to create new patterns of working and a strong commercial offer in a town centre location.

'Our ambition is to make the most of every opportunity to create a sociable neighbourhood with high quality public realm that fits in and supports the whole of the town.'

Tameside Council was awarded almost £20 million from the government's Levelling Up Fund last year to revamp the town centre. The council is now actively seeking a development partner to bring forward the St Petersfield scheme.