St Helens transport interchange tipped for go-ahead
ECF and St Helens Council, in partnership with Mersey Travel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, are seeking a green light from the local authority for the scale, layout, and appearance of the project’s second phase, recommended for approval at next week’s planning committee meeting.
Proposals centre around the creation of a refreshed and expanded bus station, known as the Multi-Modal Interchange, on a 3.2-acre plot directly south of Bickerstaffe Street and east of the town centre.
Austin Smith: Lord is behind all the design work for the scheme, with Vinci Construction is the primary contractor.
Plans set out the construction of a north concourse building comprising commercial units, public toilets, a server room, a storage area, and 7,770 sq ft of traveller space.
A south concourse building comprising a Merseytravel travel centre, a ticket and information stand, staff welfare facilities, a plant room, and a staff-only control room would cover 5,600 sq ft.
Furthermore, 11 bus stands, 7 bus lay-bys, Merseytravel car parking bays, and a realignment of access layouts between Bickerstaffe Street, Hall Street and the interchange area.
Currently, the station can only host nine buses.
The area is to be landscaped by Planit to complement the delivery of Gamble Square, a revitalising civic square adjacent to the interchange, which the Gamble Building faces onto.
Most of the external realm associated with the interchange will be publicly owned and maintained, with private threshold areas clearly defined.
Plans for the upgrades were submitted by CBRE on behalf of ECF, with Vinci Construction appointed contractor in April 2025.
The scheme gained momentum in October 2024, when it secured a £32m funding package from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
During the construction period, a temporary interchange was opened on Chalon Way West to mitigate disruption.
Firms that provided expertise toward the application include Eddisons, Powers, Futureserv, AJP, TEP, and Hilson Moran.
Those interested in viewing the reserved matters application, use the planning reference: P/2025/0235/RES on St Helens Council’s planning portal.
Given it’s a bus station, can it be clarified what the “multi” refers to in the multi-modal title?
By John
It’s not too late to rethink this. I believe that the ‘tempoary’ bus station is better located for the town centre and allows the release of this site for rezoning for other uses
By Anonymous
Better keeping the bus station where it is now, much easier to access parts of the town people want to be,if put back where it was,it would be more difficult to access the main shops where people want to be
By Ged
I too think the current temp bus station is probably more convenient, but to make it properly multimodal, it should have gone behind the rail station which has a portion of available land and could have made to have been very attractive by restoring the canal to full use at that location. That way the buses could have connected much better with the various retail parks that are presently quite difficult to route buses through because they’re not on the path of many of the services.
By Anonymous
I think the bus station would be good where it is now , near range , . Easier for shoppers using buses ,
By Mrs mather
All those people are a bit optimistic aren’t they? There is going to be little need for a bus station as there is nothing here now and there will be even less once the swanky new hotel and bus station is finally completed !
By Vicky
Why does St Helens have the oldest busses In Merseyside? Most are between 10-15 years old. We seem to get other authorities cast offs?
By Anonymous
Wot, no rooftop park? You’ll never win awards like that.
By Stockport
Who wants to come to St Helens. It’s full of empty shops and full of pubs.
By Anonymous
Will there be disabled access and level pavements instead of broken ones. We do not want to be facing obstacles like steps in srupid places. I do not get why there are steps going to aldi and home bargain. There should have been a ramp. I hate driving my chair on half of the road
By Anonymous
Just my opinion but the bus station where it is now is a big improvement, made everything far more accessible, the bus drivers could be asked for their thoughts.
By Barry Cotton
I wonder is it going to be a real bus station like bus stations in other towns where the bus drops you at the station and picks up at the station. The old one was a joke station pick up only and drop people all over the town.
By G