Consultation launches to fine-tune Bootle Strand revamp
Sefton Council is seeking feedback on its first phase of plans for the shopping centre, which include introducing additional landscaped public spaces, refurbishing the former Marks & Spencer building into a mixed-use space, and refreshing Mons Square.
The consultation for The Strand in Bootle plans runs until 19 September and can be accessed at sefton.gov.uk/miscellaneous-pages/bootle-strand/engagement.
The revamp is well underway, with music and event venue Salt and Tar opening earlier this year. Salt and Tar welcomed more than 12,000 attendees for the Music Weekender festival in August.
Demolition was approved in December for part of the shopping centre and nearby vacant housing stock.
The details of what will happen with the old M&S building and Mons Square have not yet been decided though. Sefton Council is working alongside Ellandi, WSP, K2 Architects, OPEN, and Avison Young to craft proposals – but wants the public to weigh in.
Accordingly, citizens are encouraged to vote on which vision they prefer for Mons Square and what kind of spaces they’d like to see at the M&S block
Once the feedback has been taken on board, it will feed into future plans. The council hopes to start bringing those proposals to fruition in 2026.
“As always, consultation is a vital part of our planning, and we hope residents will take the opportunity to have their say,” said Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, economy, and skills.
“We’re entering an exciting period of transformation in Bootle. We want the changes to reflect the needs of residents, businesses, and visitors, and to help us achieve our goal of making Bootle an attractive destination for all these groups,” she continued
“Working together has always had brilliant results, such as Salt and Tar, which has been a big success. I’m sure that we will get lots of valuable suggestions and I look forward to hearing what people have to say.”
It’s a tricky place, Bootle, given underlying economic and social issues, but as the recent music festival showed, when you get it right the public will respond.
Put another way, they have to really aim high here, not just in terms of design and place-making quality, but also with regards to the project’s on-going curation.
By More Anonymous than the others
A lot of us have our origins in Bootle even though we’re now scattered around the Liverpool region and elsewhere. I went to one of the festival days at Salt and Tar recently. I now live nearly ten miles further up the coast, but like many others I want Bootle to succeed and get back some of its lustre, and we will support it with our feet when the Council gets it right. There are opportunities to link Bootle in with Liverpool’s tourism offer with a bit of imagination. People are staying all over our city region now. Why not Bootle? It was a resort before Southport was when the bathing huts left Liverpool’s North Shore following the expansion of the docks.
By Paul Blackburn
Not to be disrespectful but why can’t the planners and designers work out what is best for Bootle, if you consult with most people they haven’t got a clue about urban planning. People with maybe limited expectations will pitch their wish-list low, but Bootle needs a place that is enjoyable to be both in retail and leisure terms, a really interesting market like they have in continental towns would be a positive and a hotel or two which could attract football match-goers and other travellers.
By Anonymous
I would like to have a reel cinema in the shopping centre and a leisure complex with 10 pin bowling
By Megan Savage
Why don’t they make the trade in to one bedroom self contain flats the make money
By Anonymous
Don’t loose sight of what Bootle needs as a whole community.
Shops selling good quality items and keeping the historic community hub that the people of Bootle is essential.
Isolation , loneliness and seeing a familiar face is one of The Strands most important factors, this mustn’t be allowed to be broken with so called gentrification.
The Strand space is for the people of Bootle to be proud of and still feel a belonging.
By Anon
Knock the LOT down, it’s embarrassing to go in there.It’s quite obvious that it was “thrown-up on a shoestring.First of all it’s way too big, something more down-to-scale should be built in its place.Why is everything built too big these days??? We live on a tiny Island,and yet all these developers think we live in a country the size of Russia.PLEASE rebuild the whole lot but on a smaller scale.Thanking you, M.Gaskell.
By Michael Gaskell
The Duke of Westminster must be delighted at the demolition of the shopping centres of Bootle, Saint Helens and Birkenhead.
Yes, all the chaos over the next two will be excellent for Liverpool One, Church Street and Bold Street catchment areas.
By Anonymous
I think, there should be units for new small business especially for young people eg Arts, crafts clothes etc. when is the beautiful children’s book shop reopening. It was situated on the lower level of the shopping centre and has now I believe taken on one of the old banks at the front of the Strand.
By Andrea Wright
They would be better finding some shops to go into the strand
By Lin
Demolish the whole site and start again
By Anonymous
Salt and Tar music festival was good however it would be interesting to find out which local businesses benefited. For example: drinks could only be purchased from one venue. You couldn’t buy food and drink, separate queues ? The security, where were they from ? Liverpool… advertising was the company Bootle based , I think you.ll find these were not local companies 🤔 but Manchester based…shameful Sefton Council.
By Anonymous
Why have you got to take away some of the shops ,don’t you think it would give you more revenue and for taking the roof off ,the company who built it should be made to fix the problem,one more thing lower your rents and you the council could lower the rates so people who are trying to make a living can .🇬🇧🏴🏴🇨🇮🏴⚜️👍
By James
The upgrade is needed and the creation of Salt & Tar next to the canal is a good idea – WITH SOUND CONTROL….. Status Quo was OTT +++ – as is canal side catering etc etc. The Strand is a reasonably good shopping centre. Mapi the Cafe is an absolutely splendid business the quality of which isn’t usually found outside main city centres!
By Ken Orme
Its a shame the Council aren’t looking at the town as a whole. The Strand is only one small part and the Council/their advisors missed a trick not buying in the old HMRC offices within the Triad above when it sold for a bargain price a few years back.
The fact that all the focus is on the Strand, whilst Grade A offices are being demolished just down the road to be replaced by single storey retail schemes – which will drag footfall away from the Strand, provides a good example of the disjointed strategy employed.
By Stanley R
Has Sefton Council ever shared a viable business case for spending £32.5million of its taxpayer’s money on a dying shopping centre worth a small fraction of that even 7 years ago, or is it a case of “We got bailed out by Michael Gove so let’s not dwell on the past, and this isnt a vacant demolition site, it is in fact an exciting event arena”?
Still a lot of money for what will end up being a small retail park of value retailers with the rest resi.
Agree with the other comment about Sefton then being foolish not to buy the Triad when it was going cheap; now either likely to stay long-term vacant while it passes between outside investors, or be turned into grotty PDR flats like Daniel House down the road, also the likely fate of the rest of what was billed many years ago as a previous Whitehall of the North…
By Stanley Toad