St Helens Growth Board to support borough economy

Article date: November 30 2023

Business leaders joined St Helens Borough Council's leadership and representatives from St Helens Chamber, Homes England, Torus and St Helens College to lay the foundations for a future brimming with growth and opportunity. 

The St Helens Growth Board will focus on delivery over six themes which are: 

·       Economic development 

·       Business engagement  

·       Employment and skills 

·       Town centre regeneration 

·       Housing development 

·       Green growth 

Councillor Kate Groucutt, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Economy, said: "The St Helens Growth Board has been formed at a pivotal time with such a diverse range of schemes that will provide transformational growth for our borough. We are committed to realising the full potential of our borough by bringing key figures together to work collaboratively on the skills, jobs and regeneration opportunities that will build a brighter future for St Helens Borough. 

"The collective expertise of our board members and their resounding commitment to St Helens, along with the support of local businesses, will help us navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities that lie ahead. 

"The St Helens Growth Board's commitment to promoting sustainable investment and creating new opportunities aligns with St Helens Borough's rich history of innovation and industry. The current outlook with investments such as Glass Futures, Parkside, the English Cities Fund regeneration of our town centres, and so many more projects, the St Helens Growth Board is well placed to help maximise their positive outcomes." 

The board will meet regularly to discuss the challenges and opportunities; focus on making sure that growth has a positive impact on communities, in line with the council's Inclusive Growth Strategy; looking at innovation in sustainable and green developments to meet with the demands that climate change will have on businesses and much more. 

Neil Syder, managing director at Pilkington UK, said: "St Helens continues to be an internationally significant hub for industrial innovation, with pioneering work underway locally that will enable the global glass industry to decarbonise. 

"This work relies on the broader success of St Helens as a place to live, work and to invest in. The Growth Board, in bringing together the public and private sector, will help local leaders to identify, share and pursue opportunities for the prosperity of the town." 

Hazel James, Managing Director of Brendan International, added: "I provide a strong, inclusive, and well-connected workplace for my colleagues and their families. The Growth Board's priorities create this for future generations, and I am honoured to represent the businesses like myself in these actions that will create the strong, thriving, inclusive, and well-connected local economy for St Helens and its families."