£20m redevelopment plans for Bootle’s Strand approved by councillors

CGI of proposed plans

Sefton Council’s planning committee has approved the first of four phases in £20m regeneration plans for the Strand shopping centre at this week’s (January 15) meeting.

The proposals were recommended for approval by planning officers and will be supported by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and £20m of government funding.

Plans include a new town square, green spaces and community areas as well as an improved connection between the shopping centre, the Salt and Tar site to the rear and the canalside and a new, lighter atmosphere indoors and out, thanks to the glass roof covering part of the area.

In addition, changes to the former M&S building will see it repurposed into six individual units and a community space.

The plans also envisage the site being fully accessible by wheelchairs and pushchairs, and easy to use by people with impaired mobility.

The council submitted a planning application for the next stage of work in the transformation of Bootle town centre at the end of last October.

The first phase or redevelopment is set for completion by March 2026.

The plans were shaped by responses to consultation from people who live in, work in, and visit Bootle.

They also included ways to reduce carbon use as much as possible and detail sustainability targets in line with Sefton Council’s Net Zero ambitions.

Last September, hoardings went up inside the centre to allow for preparatory work to take place ahead of this year’s partial demolition, which is due to start in the spring.

Sefton Council bought the Strand in 2017, for £32.5m.

The Strand will remain open to the public during all works and disruption to the public will be kept to a minimum.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said: “Approval of our ambitious and exciting plans for the Strand are an exciting next step in the regeneration of Bootle town centre.

“We consulted local people on our plans and the overwhelming majority of those who responded were in support, so I am sure they will be pleased we can move ahead to the next stage of the development.”

Cllr Lappin added: “We realise the importance of the Strand to the people who use it and the businesses based there, which is the reason for our refurbishment programme.

“That’s why our aim is to minimise disruption to businesses and customers while the work takes place.”

The application has been progressed by Avison Young, K2 Architects, SLR Consulting, NewRiver REIT and WSP working alongside Vinci Building UK.

Watch a fly-through of the proposed redevelopment here.

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