My Vision for Halton in 2026

1)Built Environment

1. Housing – New replacement housing is well under way. The Council is acting as a facilitator in ensuring funding for the replacement of the houses in the Kingsway Estate, Cherry Sutton and Ditton Estates. Some of the existing stock has been kept and simply updated with new environmental insulation and electrical generation (photovoltanic roofs etc). In Runcorn most of the 1960’s houses have been updated and the required insulation levels have now been bettered for all of the homes in Halton Borough Council
2. Schools – Have all been brought up into the 21 century by either knocking them down and rebuilding or insulating them to the latest standards. Helical wind turbines now generate electricity located around the edge of the playing fields. New glass technology means that most of the classes are open for all to see and yet meet the latest insulation levels for both sound and heating.
3. New Council Offices Planned – New centralised highly efficient public buildings will be in the process of being planned / built. New offices to be developed in a central location in either Runcorn (north of the Bridgewater Canal) or West Bank, connected to the public transport system utilizing the SJB Bridge minus the existing concrete viaduct. It has been recognised that costs would be dramatically reduced if all of the facilities were in one highly efficient building in a central location, with only the one stop shops being located in each district
4. The Canal Quarter in Runcorn – will have been developed along with the Council Offices in this new prestigious location. The shopping area will still be there but on a smaller more up market group of shops selling local produce. There will be no large stores in this area. The shopping area will have the feel of a market town. Restaurants will also be located in this area, ensuring that the quarter does not “die” at night. A number of studio apartments would also have been built into the new building area.
5. Entertainment Area in Widnes –The ice skating rinks and bowling alleys etc on Widnes Waterfront will by now require a major makeover. Once again new insulation methods will be used to reduce the carbon footprint and the generation of electricity will be enhanced by the new hydrogen plant close by. New garages throughout the Borough will be in the process of changing over completely from petrol to hydrogen
6. A New Marina- will be planned for the new Mersey Water, as soon as the barrage across the mouth of the Mersey is complete. Halton will be proud to say that they were one of the lead partners in this scheme, to generate electricity from the water held back in the new lagoon
7. Hydrogenating Plants – progress will have been made on the new hydrogenating plants located along the banks of the Mersey. These plants will be producing hydrogen from microscopic organisms fed by the clean water from the Mersey. They will be built from West Bank through to Halebank and be large tanks hidden away by lots of trees and banking. On the Runcorn side of the River the old Astmoor industrial estates will also have been replaced with these hydrogenating plants. Halton will be one of the World’s leading areas in this new technology to produce hydrogen without creating any of the toxic by-products
8. New Bridge- Halton will be helping Warrington to build a new bridge across the Mersey at Fiddlers ferry. This bridge will be modest in size compared to the Mersey Gateway but would be seen as being helpful for the local traffic for the people of East Runcorn and Widnes. The old Mersey gateway team would be heading up the new consortium

2)Education and Learning

1. Nursery Education- more learning through play will have been instigated. Targets will have been replaced by aspirations and the realization that every child needs to be treated individually and that throughout their learning they will progress at different rates in different subjects. Only aspirations will allow the flexibility needed to adopt this system. It will also be recognized that one of the most important factors in schooling is that children need to progress through their education by staying together as they move from one school to another. Placement at primary school will determine which secondary school they should go to.
2. Primary/Junior schools – because many of the lessons will be interactive with both their individual and communal computers, children will not only be taught by their teachers within the classroom but also by teachers from anywhere else in the world. For example if children were being taught about a new irrigation systems in Angola, then the class would be transported by a large walk in screen to Angola, and the teacher there. No longer would a child have to shiver in a wet classroom in Halton discussing the drought situation in Ethiopia. If the new/ old bridge design was being discussed then the mathematical equations and structural design concepts could be discussed whilst being transported across the top of the bridge.
3. Secondary Schools and Adult Learning College – would be more interactive in that the pupils from the secondary schools would be amalgamated into the further education system by having lecturers from the college taking some of their lessons in the schools. There would only be one Principal to cover all of the educational needs with Vice Principals in each of the learning establishments. There would be more courses offered because there would be more flexibility. Again because each pupil would be treated on their aspirations there would be streaming for all based upon their skills in each subject. A pupil who is good at mathematics does not always mean that they are good at English and therefore he streaming system should allow for this and tailored to each pupil’s need. Testing and Exams would be a regular occurrence so that the teaching staff could ensure that all the pupils are individually stretched to their full potential. The worst scenario is that a pupil is held back to ensure that they are treated equally. We should all have the same opportunity but those with greater potential should also be welcomed and encouraged. Because teaching can and will be on a more individual basis, each pupil will be encouraged to maximise their potential. There will be a basic assumption that all the pupils will become the next prime minister. If you don’t aim high you certainly won’t achieve your goals.
4. The Adult Learning College – will not try and do what the schools are doing. That is a pointless waste of time and energy. If a pupil needs to continue at school to complete their basic education then they should stay there. There is no point in keeping students at school to keep them off the dole. Education should be both academic and vocational. But regardless of what a student is studying it has got to be made interesting. More of the courses have to be made hands on. Nobody wants to go to lectures to listen to people drone on. With the advent of more inclusive teaching provided for by computerization etc there will be no need for the old boring teaching systems. Teachers tend to be people who enjoyed school life and therefore perpetuate that way of teaching. More innovative methods will have been developed in Halton to make students want to learn whatever subject they are interested in

3)Health

1. Hospital – Halton will be looking o introduce a new form of health care. In 2026 medicines will not be used as they are at present. Genetic engineering will have replaced the existing medicines and surgery. Many illnesses will have been diagnosed as more of a mental state of mind rather than a physical defect. Hospitals will have become more of a recuperative centre for both the mind soul and body. Maintenance bays for replacing spare parts and giving overhauls will have replaced the Victorian dungeons that we infest at present. The river with the movement of water and ever changing light patterns will be a perfect location for this recuperative technology and care. In 2026 we should be planning for a new hospital on the green banks of the clean river Mersey.
2. New fitness centres – will have been built or planned to be built as more people realize that health fitness and eating are more important than pills. More people will be encouraged to walk and exercise. The new wave of virtual reality centres will help, as instead of being in a fitness suite along with ten thousand other sweaty skinny people, all will be able to go for gentle walks through the mountains either on their own or in small groups. Even fat people will be able to enjoy going to a fitness centre
3. Virtual Reality Holidays – Halton will be one of the first places in the world to embrace this new idea. Instead of people flying off around the world new virtual reality centres will have been built that bring the far off places here. You will be able to enter an exclusive bar with swimming pool and restaurant in Hong Kong, Barbados, or the South Sea Islands etc and enjoy a day/ week/ basking in the artificial sunlight enjoying the food and drink served up by either Chinese, West Indian, or Polynesian waiters. In reality you might be in Weston Point on the site of the old chemical factories. Halton will be planning to become one of the first Local Holiday destinations

4)Industry

1. The Old Industry – will have gone. Our dependence upon the chemical industry will have all but disappeared. Instead we will have diversified into other sectors.
2. Logistics – the warehousing and transportation industry will have increased dramatically. Teaching of transportation and warehousing skills will have become second to none. Halton will have become a central hub for the North West. More research will be under way to ensure that we do not lose our grasp on this vital industry and consequently there will be a research centre into the packaging industry
3. Commercial Sector –As companies in Manchester and Liverpool realize that they have massive overheads, both capital and logistical costs, they will see the merit in moving into a new clean environment with low local taxes, with fantastically good access (main line railway station, close to two major cities with good public access, linked to 3 major motorways and two international airports and an infrastructure second to none). Halton will by then have become a major centre for commercial offices
4. Innovation Centre – The Daresbury innovation centre will be world recognised and planning will be taking place to encourage both the maintenance of what is there but also looking to the future to ensure that innovative thinking is kept in Halton. One offshoot of this would be the increased demand in high quality housing and a reflection in the educational system of more flexibility of learning
5. Virtual Reality – Halton will have embraced this technology and become a place for entertainment and holidaying. Virtual reality centres will allow people to drive and race against their friends on full scale motor racing circuits, without moving an inch, whilst others can climb Mount Everest without climbing more than 2m from the floor.

5)Transportation

1. Petrol Engine Vehicles.- final plans will be in place to ban these archaic forms of transport from the road system in Halton. Only hydrogen propelled or electric powered vehicles will be allowed. The public transport system will all be using sustainable forms of propulsion
2. Trams/ Light Railway – this new public transportation system will be under construction. After the success of the Mersey Gateway Halton will be well on the way to massively improving the public transport system having realized that the only way of reducing private transporters is if the public systems are proven to be more efficient, more passenger friendly and more convenient, with improved frequency and cheaper
3. Travellators- As part of the new building infrastructure travellators will be included in the basic design. It will have been recognised that although more people want to walk, time itself is a major pressure. A New travellator will cross the SJB connecting the two town centres. This covered walkway will mean that people will be travelling from one centre to the other in less than ten minutes, thereby making the need to travel in a vehicle obsolete. Other travellators will be planned to connect the housing areas into the commercial and shopping centres. They will all be powered by sustainable energy systems.

Phil Balmer

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