Earlestown’s £29m masterplan gets underway
St Helens Council signed off on £7.5m match funding for the town’s regeneration at its cabinet meeting yesterday to support its successful £20m Levelling Up Fund bid.
The cabinet also approved the drawdown of £500,000 to create the positions of Earlestown town centre programme lead and townscape heritage officer, enabling plans to progress.
Earlestown’s regeneration will see the revitalisation of its market square, grade two-listed town hall, and railway station.
A covered canopy and free-standing retail kiosks will be introduced to the market square, as well as more public realm improvements.
The vacant town hall will be transformed into a community and workspace hub, while the station will see increased safety and amenities.
The £28.7m masterplan will be delivered by English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Muse, Legal & General, and Homes England.
The JV worked with St Helens Council on the successful LUF bid, which was accepted by the council’s cabinet last February.
The council was subsequently awarded £20m in January from the central government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The remaining £700,000 will come from St Helens’ Council Capital Programme and Section 106.
Repair works have already begun on the town hall, while outline permission was granted for the market square improvements last August.
More about the plans for Earlestown’s market square can be found by searching for application number P/2022/0213/HYBR on St Helen’s Council’s planning portal.
I’m sure 29 million might buy a small nuclear warhead, much better use to regenerate the place
By Anonymous
The sooner the better
By Scarth family