St Helens Council agrees funding for £69m town centre redevelopment

The biggest investment in St Helens town centre has been approved by St Helens Borough Council’s cabinet meeting today (September 14).

It saw a £69.2m package confirmed for Phase One A of the large-scale transformation project the council is bringing forward in partnership with The English Cities Fund (ECF).

The once-in-a-generation investment will kick-start the regeneration of St Helens town centre, with a new market hall flanked by a mixed-use area that includes a 120-bedroom globally branded hotel, 64 new homes and 11,000 sq ft of modern retail space to be delivered in the initial phase.

The different elements will all be linked together by extensive improvements to public areas, alongside a new and extended bus station.

The new buildings and public spaces will collectively act as a catalyst for the radical transformation of the town centre while improving the viability of future phases.

During the design stages, significant inflation has been experienced across the global economy, including increased interest rate charges for borrowing and dramatic rises in construction materials.

As the council is committed to the delivery of the scheme, a pragmatic delivery solution has been found that divides the works into Phase One A and Phase One B.

The former includes the new market hall, homes, retail space, and bus station components, together with related and connecting public realm improvements. The latter will see new offices and the refurbishment/reuse of the former Marks and Spencer building complete.

Council leader, Cllr David Baines, said: “What we have before us now is a long awaited and much needed town centre transformation, one that will act as a catalyst for wider investment and regeneration. We have consulted widely, and market tested the best ideas for our area – all the while taking great care to ensure that ‘St Helensness’ is retained in the look and feel of everything we deliver.”

He added: “From the outset of the partnership with The English Cities Fund it was recognised that the deep-rooted challenges facing St Helens town centre would require significant investment from the council to enable the first phase to go ahead and we have planned for this reality.

“Given the inflationary pressure being experienced across the global economy, increased borrowing costs and rises in construction materials, along with increasing demand for council services, we have not lacked for challenges. Yet we are finally ready to go, and, pending planning approval, will focus on delivering the improvements everyone in our community wants to see.”

Max Bentham, development director for ECF, said: “The scale of Phase One will bring radical change for the better for the people of St Helens and help the town thrive again. We are grateful for the input from the council on a delivery strategy that helps mitigate the challenges posed by inflation, which are being felt everywhere.”

The next step will be ECF, in conjunction with the council, advancing the detailed designs ahead of a reserved matters planning application submission in the autumn. Other forthcoming milestones include finalising the appointment of a main contractor to enable the earliest commencement and completion of the phase one works.

Approval for the investment of £69.2m of council funding to deliver Phase One of the initiative has been identified within the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy pipeline.

The scheme is the centrepiece of the St Helens Town Investment Plan and is part of the council’s medium term budget. Support is also being made available in the form of £21.49m in grants from the Government and equity investment by ECF.

Specifically, there are two related government Town Deal grants totalling £10.49m. The phase one proposals have also been awarded £0.812m from the One Public Estate Brownfield Land Release Fund to help deliver the residential element.

In addition to this backing, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has also provided financial support for the new St Helens bus station, which will be extended and renewed with a new modern interchange to encourage public transport and active travel usage.

The scheme is expected to lead to some 485 new jobs across the development once it is fully occupied, generating £23.2m GVA each year.

Last month a Planning Inspector, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, confirmed a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) in favour of St Helens Council and English Cities Fund.

The decision, following a public inquiry held in St Helens on August 8, confirmed the council can use its compulsory purchase powers where private agreements cannot be reached.