Rainhill health services to be boosted as part of council property review
Rainhill will see improved healthcare facilities through a purchase of the former Rainhill Library site by Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust so that it can expand its current estate at the adjoining Rainhill Clinic on View Road in the centre of Rainhill Village.
Article date: February 6th 2025
Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth and Regeneration said: "This is a great example of partnership working. Opportunities for the physical expansion of facilities in tightly developed areas such as Rainhill is highly constrained and so I'm confident that this initiative will provide positive benefits for the community here in response to growing demand for healthcare.
"Our Corporate Asset Strategy and Asset Management Plan provides a robust and forward-looking strategy for the effective management of the council's land and buildings is crucial to ensure that the right decisions are made regarding their future use, management, development, and disposal - this is clearly the case with this decision, which will benefit all members of the Rainhill community and for generations to come.
Following completion of the purchase the trust will engage with the local community on their vision for the extended Rainhill Clinic site."
The announcement of the move is one of several decisions being taken as part of the review of council buildings that are no longer required to deliver Council services.
The sites of former library buildings in Billinge and Rainford will be offered for sale to the open market to maximise capital receipts that will then fund investment into essential priority Council services.
Councillor Kate Groucutt, Cabinet Member for Business, Leisure and Culture said: "We fully understand that this will be disappointing to some community groups, particularly those who are keen to open community managed libraries in their area.
"We are committed to supporting any groups interested in making their own community managed library and we would encourage them to look at potential alternative options that could be supported by our new Community Library Grant fund that will be launched this month. Our library outreach team will continue to work with groups interested in community managed libraries through their journey and other possible funding opportunities from a variety of sources."
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