I have always been a supporter of Northwich’s Barons Quay development and have a real desire to see it succeed.

I’m prepared to concede, it has had a somewhat troubled and well-documented history. No one could have legislated for the previous plan that had been worked on for years being consigned to the bin after Vale Royal Council ceased to exist and the extravagantly named Cheshire West and Chester (CWAC) took over.

Then there were all the fun and games with an untried and untested scheme to stabilise the salt mine cavities under the site. History dictates that the scheme was a success but who knew that even after a 12-month ‘proving’ period, no one would run the risk of building there without some kind of indemnity from the government to underwrite the risk of subsidence.

Once all those hurdles were cleared, needless to say we, wandered into the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent change in purchasing habits – away from bricks and mortar to increasingly on line shopping – that saw an irreversible change in town centre shopping. So just as the High Street started to die, Northwich built a shiny, new ‘High Street’. They say in life timing is everything and bad timing certainly seemed to be the case for Barons Quay.

Would there be any light at the end of the tunnel or would Barons Quay be condemned to lie more or less empty as a vacant monument to lack of action, missed opportunities and changing consumer trends?

For what seemed like an interminable age, it really looked like it would be the albatross around the neck of CWAC. What was the council to do? Did it stick or twist? The decision, of course, was to continue to back the flagship development and hope for some kind of upturn.

So more money was pumped into Barons Quay, much to the ire of a lot of Northwich naysayers who were quick to take to social media and on line comments sections to criticise the council, branding the scheme a white elephant.

But there’s something of a change going on in towns that have realised things are never going to be the same as they were 10 or 15 years ago. Just look at all the big name retailers who have gone bust in recent years. They are never coming back. But what is there to replace all those empty units that will revitalise our town centres?

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In this part of the world, the poster boy for town centre regeneration is Altrincham. I have to confess that I worked in that area for a while and at that time, Altrincham was a desperate and depressing place. It had the heart ripped out of it when the Trafford Centre – with all its free parking – opened up a couple of miles down the road and it took a long time for the town to recover.

But recover it has after determining that the future did not belong to high street retail, the future belongs to town centre leisure.

Which brings me back to Barons Quay. I very much suspect that when the original plans were drawn up – even when the second round of plans were conceived – at the heart of them were retail units. But that time has gone, probably never to return. And yes, there was something of a lull when a lot of the units at Barons Quay remained empty, but there is hope on the horizon.

As reported by the Guardian recently, Puddle Ducks, Radio Northwich, Barrhead Travel and Geek Retreat will soon move in after exchanging contracts with the council.

The council also says the £80 million development will be 80 per cent full by the time the next wave of tenants – including The Coffee House, Sticky Paws and BEAR – open their doors. There’s not much high street retail in that list, but that’s just the way of the world these days.

I don’t normally set much store by what councillors have to say but I’ll cut Cllr Richard Beacham, Cheshire West and Chester Council cabinet member for regeneration and growth, some slack when he said: “Puddle Ducks is an extremely welcome addition to Barons Quay.

“The council’s ambition has always been to create a modern leisure and retail hub in the heart of Northwich, complementing existing businesses and attracting new visitors to the town. There really is something for everyone in Northwich.”

I hope he’s right. As I said at the start, I have a real desire to see Barons Quay succeed. Let’s hope Cllr Beacham’s optimism isn’t misplaced.