Sefton regeneration gathers pace 

A pair of £20m bids to Whitehall’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund are poised for council approval this week, while the authority has also lodged plans to create a multi-functional events, entertainment, and hospitality venue next to Bootle Strand. 

One of the Levelling Up Fund bids focuses on the regeneration of Crosby town centre, where a mixed-use scheme on the Green, a council-owned site currently used as a surface car park, is proposed. 

The project will provide “a statement mixed-use building on a key gateway site within Crosby town centre”, according to Sefton Council. 

As well as the library, the scheme is to feature healthcare provision, public café facilities, and new residential accommodation. 

In Bootle, Sefton has lodged a planning application to transform a swathe of land next to the Strand shopping centre into an events and leisure space that is due to open this summer. 

Designed by Nottingham-based Leonard Design Architects, the project features a multipurpose venue that will sit alongside the Leeds Liverpool Canal off Washington Parade in Bootle town centre.   

Low rent realisations during the pandemic have delayed the Strand’s redevelopment

Under the proposals, Bootle Canalside would include a food and drink offer, events spaces, and an urban garden. 

Work to clear the site is underway and, subject to planning approval, the venue is to host a calendar of events including a food and drink festival in the summer and Christmas markets in December. 

Cllr Ian Maher, leader of Sefton Council said: “The plans for Bootle Canalside will transform the space in the interim, creating a multipurpose events space to kickstart the regeneration of Bootle town centre. 

“It is great to see a regeneration project like this one, with local businesses, the local community and economic recovery at its heart.” 

Earlier this year, Sefton rejected a £33m plan from charitable developer SAFE Regeneration to redevelop the site into a mixed-use community featuring nearly 200 homes.

The wider redevelopment of the 400,000 sq ft Strand, which Sefton Council bought for £32.5m in 2017, has been pushed back due to the “severe impacts” of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Sefton’s £20m levelling up bid for Bootle centres on the desire to build on the canalside leisure offer by creating a flying theatre, similar to the one being delivered as part of Nikal’s £300m Blackpool Central scheme.   

The council is in talks with developer Simworx Robocoaster about the attraction. 

Elsewhere in the borough, Sefton Council was awarded £37.5m from the Government’s Town Deal fund to support projects in Southport earlier this year.