Re-vitalising St Helens town centre

St Helens, Lancashire (St Helens Chamber of Commerce)

St Helens Council and The English Cities Fund are joining forces to look at borough-wide regeneration. Described as a game-changing partnership over the next 20 years, an early benefit might be the development of St Helens town centre to the tune of £200 million investment.

The town centre re-vitalisation could include new homes, along with high-quality retail, leisure and office space.

Phil Mayall, regional director at The English Cities Fund described how the council shares a progressive vision for creating innovative spaces and places to benefit the community, bringing together both the borough's rich heritage and aspirations for the future:

'We are excited for the weeks ahead as we progress discussions towards an agreement'.

Cllr David Baines, leader of St Helen's Council heralded the partnership, saying:

'This is a hugely significant step forwards for us to make our ambitions for a modern St Helens Borough a reality...The English Cities Fund offer much more than a traditional delivery partner and they have a track record of transforming areas that others thought were beyond investment. Their work in places like London, Liverpool, Plymouth and Salford has seen high-quality regeneration which is sustainable so that the changing face of our borough will be fit for the future...this deal could help us unlock brownfield sites for regeneration that have previously been dismissed'.

Proposals will be worked on in the next six months and these will go to Cabinet for approval in the autumn, says David.