Sefton sets out £20m Bootle Strand strategy

The council is anticipating a February 2024 start date for the repurposing of the 400,000 sq ft shopping complex to create a more community-focused town centre.

Sefton Council has worked alongside consultants Avison Young and K2 Architects to draw up its masterplan for Bootle Strand, which the authority bought for £32.5m in 2017.

Plans seek to refurbish and repurpose existing buildings through an enhanced retail offering and new health and education amenities, as well as digital facilities.

A digital creative hub will be built to offer office space and high-tech facilities, while an integrated health and social care facility will consolidate a range of easy-accessible services.

Improvements to the public realm will include the removal of major parts of Bootle Strand’s roof and the introduction of “green corridors” in the area.

The project will also see the introduction of Bootle Canalside, which was granted planning permission in August 2021. Canalside will introduce a food, drink, and events space next to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal.

In March, Sefton Council was awarded £20m from the government’s Levelling Up fund. This will fund the scheme.

In addition, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has invested £500,000 from its Mayoral Towns Fund and £1.8m of strategic investment funding into the Bootle Canalside project.

The council hopes that work on the whole redevelopment will complete by 2030.