Work kicks off at £35m St Helens Interchange
VINCI is leading the construction of the refreshed and expanded town centre bus station on behalf of St Helens Council and ECF, the joint venture between Homes England, L&G, and Muse.
Work has now begun to stabilise the ground for foundations and to remove any coal seams left over from St Helens’ coal mining past.
Once complete, the interchange will have 11 bus stands, up from nine, warm waiting areas, 13,400 sq ft of concourses, step-free access, and a travel centre.
The surrounding public realm and civic square is also to get a makeover, establishing the interchange as a gateway to local landmarks, including the Gamble Building and square, the Theatre Royal, and the upcoming Hampton by Hilton Hotel.
Martin Horton, senior project manager at VINCI, said: “Today’s ground stabilisation techniques ensure that this legacy does not create settlement or subsidence issues in the future, giving the new transport interchange a secure foundation for generations to come.”
Matt Whiteley, senior development manager at ECF, said: “Everyone on the project team is pleased to be pressing on and moving towards the construction phase on the new St Helens Transport Interchange.
“Britain’s industrial heritage is never far away when you are working in urban environments, particularly in the North West, but we have the skills and the technologies to make sure that brownfield sites can be successfully redeveloped.”
Work to improve the public realm surrounding the interchange will also be undertaken by VINCI. Credit: via ECF
Steve Foukles, Chair of the transport committee at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, added: “It’s excellent to see the St Helens Interchange project moving into its next phase, laying the groundwork for a new era of connectivity in the town.
“Being delivered with £32m of funding from the LCRCA, the scheme will better connect bus and rail services with active travel links.
“It’s part of Mayor Steve Rotheram’s plans to create a transport system for the region that’s faster, cheaper, greener, and better connected – and with local people at its heart.”
Plans for the upgrades were submitted by CBRE on behalf of ECF, with VINCI appointed contractor in April 2025.
The scheme secured a £32m funding package from the LCRCA in October 2024.
Really positive news for the future of St. Helens.
By Anonymous
£3m per bus stop? Incredible.
By Anonymous
But there’s nothing in St Helens town centre anymore, shop wise.
By Anonymous
All looks very nice but how long is it going to take to build i guess 2 years plus and will there be shops in the centre
By Anthony meakin
Hope it turns out well.. these interchanges are opportunities to make mobility of people easier and can be a great hit or very much a miss like stockports hideous lifted walkway no one uses at night
By Anonymous
Will they be looking for bricklayers
By Billy
What? No roof-top park?
By Stockport
As I have stated on other threads of this nature, £35 million costs and they couldn’t factor in saving one of the oldest public houses left in St.Helens. A pub that had it been left in situ would have been one of the first or last port of call before continuing ones journey, not to mention the amount of theatre attendees that used to look forward to a beverage and conversation pre and post shows.Heated shelters and enough concourse to land a plane on excellent ! This will no doubt move the daily wine and cheese tasting fraternity from the Victoria square and Quaker park areas and allow them to go about their meetings in a much finer ambience.
How much money was wasted on a now almost empty market frontage that faces the glass museum? A road that no one is allowed to drive through and is obviously becoming less used by pedestrians due to the decline of attendees at the museum itself? Whilst on this note I would like to hear the views of other St Helens folk on what I personally think is an absurd decision to spend a large amount of money to bring back in line the old furnace in front of the Tesco car park ? Turn the area into a CHEAP car park for fans attending the Wicked Stadium. This will alleviate traffic parking on grass verges and footpaths on the surrounding roadways and may even pave way for it to become more used as a a concert venue. Thoughts anyone ?
By Captain Flabbergasted