St Helens Borough transformation plans on show to national business team

Article date: 20 January 2023

Delegates from the department took in a tour of regeneration sites including St Helens Towns Fund projects like The World of Glass Healthy Communities to understand how the borough would benefit from the up to £25m on offer through the funding and visited  Earlestown town centre to see how the £20m from the Levelling Up Fund will be put to use and the Parkside Link Road to see works that are progressing. 

They also heard more about the plans for regeneration with partners The English Cities Fund for both Earlestown and St Helens town centres, including the masterplans for both towns and the vision for historic buildings like The Gamble and Earlestown Town Hall. 

Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, said: "We believe that St Helens Borough is a place that can continue to lead by example when it comes to ambitious regeneration plans that are fit-for-the-future, with many schemes ready to go or already in motion. These projects like our town centre masterplans, alongside key economic areas of growth at the likes of Parkside and Omega West, show that our borough can punch well above its weight as the country looks to grow. 

"We will continue to work with our partners at BEIS and it was great to be able to show them in person many of the projects they have been reading about to understand the real potential our borough has to improve prosperity for our residents and the country as a whole." 

Thomas Frater, Area Director, North West and Northern Powerhouse, BEIS, said: 

 "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to visit St Helens to conduct an informal yet informative tour of the town to showcase the noteworthy initiatives and developments being undertaken. I was particularly eager to explore the regional priorities and observe the strategies employed through Towns Fund and other funding sources in addressing them. I am impressed by the strong representation of local partners and consider it to be a testament to the high level of engagement with government policies and the valuable role that the area team can play as facilitators and interpreters of government positions within the community."