Christmas spirit shines bright thanks to sponsors

Article date: December 17th 2024

St Helens and Earlestown town centres shine bright thanks to traditional real Christmas trees supplied by Rainford's Christmas Trees, funded with thanks to sponsors who are supporting the borough's key regeneration and transformation projects including:

·       English Cities Fund, who are partners in the regeneration of St Helens Borough

·       VINCI Building, who has been appointed contractors for St Helens town centre regeneration

·       Mott MacDonald, who are leading on transport schemes across the borough

·       Planit, who are supporting the regeneration across the borough

·       CJ Founds Associates, who are leading on the digital infrastructure project in St Helens town centre

·       Flinders Chase, who are supporting transport schemes in the borough

Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth and Regeneration, said: "We are very proud of the partnerships we have built over the years and delighted to see them stepping up again and giving back to our borough by supporting our Christmas trees and lights in the two town centres. This next year will see the culmination of their works taking shape into the physical transformation of our borough and 2025 will be an exciting year for residents to see the changes start to happen."

On behalf of ECF, Matt Whiteley, Senior Development Manager said: "The tradition of Christmas tree lights in our towns and cities goes back a long way and is about community bonding, civic pride and giving local businesses a boost. We are pleased to support the lights in St Helens and hope people enjoy the spectacle."

"We're overjoyed this year to be supporting St Helens and Earlstown with their festive celebrations. It's an important community event and we're looking forward to progressing St Helen's town centre regeneration in the New Year." Comments Sean Swarbrick, Principal Landscape Architect at Planit.

Managing Director - Chris Founds at CJ Founds Associates commented: "We are delighted to continue our support with St Helens Council and contribute to the festive cheer across the Borough alongside other Partners. We are looking forward to seeing the transformation of the Town Centre, with residents and businesses finally gaining access to Gigabit capable digital infrastructure as the fibre network is built during 2025."

Richard Skitt from Mott MacDonald added: "It continues to be a pleasure supporting St Helens Council in their ambitious plans for the Borough. Our enjoyment working for the Council and this sponsorship is a reflection of the collaborative relationship fostered by the Council's Growth Delivering Prosperity team, and we would like to offer our best regards and season's greetings to all."

Kerrie Norman, Director at Flinders Chase, said: "As a local SME with several staff from St Helens, we are very pleased to be able to give back and support the Christmas installations across the borough."