THE development of a £50 million apartment block and public multi-storey car park in Warrington town centre has started.

Planning chiefs approved a scheme to build the eight-storey block, with 362 homes, and a 796-space car park on the site, on Winwick Street and John Street, last year.

RAM Properties subsequently sold the land to High Street Residential in a £3 million deal.

Steve Park, the council’s operational director of economic growth, said the location has been ‘somewhat of a blight’ over the last nine years during Tuesday’s supporting the local economy policy committee meeting.

But he hailed the start of the development and told members that the apartments will deliver a ‘huge boost’ to the street scene.

He said: “We are starting to see that having a more positive effect on some of the existing units along John Street.

“It is interesting that as soon as diggers move onto the site, land owners start to come forward and say ‘we want to do something with our site as well’.

“It has had that catalytic effect.”

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Mr Park also provided an update on Time Square, the council’s flagship town centre regeneration scheme.

He confirmed the authority is ‘continuing to engage’ with restaurant operators, with a view to having them signed up and ready to open next year.

The project remains on track to officially open in early 2020.

Mr Park added: “The works are still slightly ahead of programme.

“The car park is still encountering some lower level defects but still important defects.

“They are not necessarily visible to the users but they are visible to the council and we are working very closely with the contractor to close those out.”