Newton-le-Willows residents help to shape vision for town

Article date: 29 July 2025

Between 7 April and 18 May 2025, the Newton-le-Willows Neighbourhood Board, supported by St Helens Borough Council, commissioned extensive public consultation reaching 60,000 people and actively engaging almost 700 people through a series of events, school workshops and online surveys.  

The findings of the public consultation show that the top three priority areas of investment for residents are:  

• Regeneration, High Streets and Heritage (20%)
• Education and Opportunity (19.5%)
• Health and Wellbeing (16.7%) 

These insights will guide the Newton-le-Willows Neighbourhood Board during the development of a 10-Year Regeneration Plan and 4-Year Investment Plan for the area, ensuring that the priorities of local residents are informing the vision for their town.  

The results come from a sample that is twice the size typically considered statistically reliable for a town with Newton-le-Willow's population, demonstrating the community's commitment to positively influence the future of their area and giving a high level of confidence that they accurately reflect community views. 

The findings have been released following news that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has approved the next round of funding for Newton-le-Willows to be used to build local capacity and capability to deliver the Plan for Neighbourhoods programme which will see £20million invested in the town over the next ten years.  

David Baines MP, Member of Parliament for St Helens North said:  

"I want to thank all those residents of Newton-le-Willows who have taken the time to give their views on how we should move the town forward over the next few years, utilising the £20 million investment I, working with the council and central government helped to secure. Now the voices of residents have been heard and will continue to be heard. The Board will be getting down to the work of delivering real change. Newton-le-Willows is a great community with a thriving high street, and wonderful community spirit, now is a great opportunity to build on that." 

Councillor Kate Groucutt, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business and Inclusive Growth, said: 

"It is fantastic to see such meaningful engagement from the residents of Newton-le-Willows and to get real insight into what their priorities are for the area. Regeneration is not just about improving places; it's about creating better prospects for our residents, and building thriving communities where people are proud to live. I am pleased that St Helens Borough Council with the support of David Baines MP has secured this vital investment for the local area and am excited to work with the Newton-le-Willows Neighbourhood Board to deliver real change for the people of the town."  

Chris Hickey, Chair of the Newton-le-Willows Neighbourhood Board said:  

"As a Board, we have been really encouraged by the active participation from the people of Newton-le-Willows in the consultation process and we are committed to continuing to positively engage with the community as we move forward. We already know that Newton-le-Willows is a fantastic place and through our combined efforts we can build on existing foundations to make it an even more attractive, vibrant place for people to live, work and visit."  

A detailed Public Consultation Findings Report and Engagement Summary highlighting the key findings can be found below. These responses and findings from the public consultation will inform the Newton-le-Willows Regeneration Plans which will be submitted to Government by 28 November 2025.