Priority Areas

During the autumn community conversation, we asked for your views on the identified priority areas across Eccles town centre and how these spaces could be improved.

We have taken this feedback on board, alongside the wider themes that emerged from the conversation, to update and refine the character areas. These updated priority areas now directly inform the town centre opportunities within the draft masterplan, ensuring they better reflect local priorities around movement, safety, green space and activity.

During the initial community conversation, people told us that Church Street and Regent Street should feel brighter, safer and greener, with higher-quality public spaces that respect local heritage and make it easier and more pleasant to walk through the town centre

Church Street and Regent Street will be revitalised to feel brighter, safer and more welcoming, with better routes for people walking through the town centre.
 

• Church Street and the new public square, will be brought to life through a series of curated community events and activities.
• The sense of arrival at the train station will be improved by reworking the vehicle route along Vicarage Grove. This enables a new pedestrian crossing to be provided to the north of Church Street.
• Limiting traffic along Regent Street will create clearer, safer walking connections between the bus station and the rest of the town centre.

During the initial community conversation, people told us that St Mary’s Gardens should feel safer, greener and more welcoming, while remaining calm and respectful of its heritage setting.

St. Mary’s Gardens sits at the centre of the town and has the potential to play a bigger role in everyday town centre life.
 

• Improved lighting and signage will make the gardens easier to find and feel safer to use.
• New features such as natural play and community growing areas will encourage people of all ages to spend time here, using elements like stepping logs, rocks and informal play features integrated into the landscape.
• The history and heritage of St Mary’s will be celebrated through storytelling and interpretation.
• Better paths will improve east-west walking routes through the gardens.

During the initial community conversation, people told us this area should feel like a clear and welcoming gateway into Eccles Town Centre, safer, greener and more active, rather than dominated by traffic or feeling like a leftover space.

As the masterplan has progressed, the priority area has evolved and the name has been updated from Vicarage Gardens to Vicarage Walk & Church Square to better reflect its role and function within the town centre. The updated name highlights two distinct but connected elements: Vicarage Walk, a new east–west route designed to improve movement and create a pleasant, tree-lined street with places to sit and spend time; and Church Square, a new public square intended to support activity, events and everyday social use.

Together, the name reflects how the area will work as an active gateway and public space, shaped by feedback and the emerging masterplan proposals.
 

• Albert Street will be redesigned to reduce the car dominance and create a more pedestrian friendly environment, creating a stronger sense of arrival into the town centre.
• Vicarage Walk will be a new tree-lined street with places to sit, play, meet and spend time, making it a pleasant route through the town.
• Church Square will form part of a new mixed-use community hub, providing flexible space for events, activities and everyday socialising, and creating a new heart for the town centre.

During the initial community conversation, people told us that arriving in Eccles by train should feel welcoming, safe and clearly connected to the town centre, with better lighting, clearer routes and a greener, better cared-for environment.

Improvements along Vicarage Grove and John William Street will create a better first impression for people arriving by train and make the area feel greener and easier to navigate.

As the masterplan has developed, this priority area has been expanded to include John William Street to reflect how the two streets function together as part of the main route between Eccles train station and the town centre. Changes proposed along Vicarage Grove and John William Street are closely linked, working together to improve movement, accessibility and the overall sense of arrival, and the updated priority area name reflects this joined-up approach.
 

• A one-way traffic loop will help slow vehicles down, reducing the dominance of cars and creating a calmer town centre.
• New drop-off points and on-street parking will make it easier to access the station and nearby shops and services.
• Tree-lined streets and improved public spaces will help soften the environment and make the area more attractive.

During the initial community conversation, people highlighted the importance of safer, more welcoming routes between the town centre and surrounding neighbourhoods, including the bridge connections.

Improvements to the bridge links will make it easier and more pleasant to walk and cycle between neighbourhoods and the town centre, strengthening everyday connections.

Planting, improved lighting and clearer signage will help create a more welcoming environment and make the bridges easier to navigate. Together, these changes will encourage more people to travel into Eccles on foot or by bike, reducing reliance on cars and supporting a more connected town centre.

We’re keen to introduce some early improvements that can help bring life, activity and confidence back into Eccles town centre while the longer-term masterplan is taken forward.

You told us that quick wins or early changes should be welcoming, well managed and easy to take part in.

This includes:

• Supporting local businesses and independent traders through flexible, short-term spaces.
• Community and cultural events led by local groups.
• More green space and places to sit and spend time.
• Activities for children and young people.
• Family-friendly uses, particularly in the evenings and at weekends.

 
These early improvements will help keep Eccles active and well used, encouraging footfall, supporting local enterprise and testing ideas that can inform longer-term plans.