ST HELENS Council has secured more than £70,000 to undertake work to support upgrades to Lea Green railway station.

In November, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor for the Liverpool City Region, launched the second round of the £500 million strategic investment fund (SIF).

He then invited the public and private sectors to come up with ideas for projects.

The first round of SIF funding allocated £400 million to projects across the city region, including £24 million for the Parkside Link Road project in Newton-le-Willows.

In the six months since launching the second round of funding, the combined authority has approved four pre-development funding applications, according to a new report.

One of these is a £70,500 allocation to St Helens Council for feasibility and planning work to support upgrades to Lea Green Station, as well as supporting local transportation improvements.

The work will focus on looking at the feasability of extending the park and ride car park and improving public transport links, as well as walking and cycling routes to the station to encourage people to use more sustainable modes of transport.

Speaking at the combined authority meeting on Friday, Kate Groucutt, deputy portfolio holder for inclusive economy and third sector, said: "I am pleased to see development funding to work on the transport solution at Lea Green in St Helens.

“I know that predevelopment funding is welcomed by all the local authorities.”

SIF round two launched with up to £40 million in capital and £20 million in revenue available.

The report says that since the launch, the SIF team’s first priority has been to identify and qualify a pipeline of funding opportunities sufficient to commit the funding available.

This work is now complete, and the team is now focused on moving qualified schemes through the approval process while exploring new opportunities.

Cllr Groucutt, who is also the St Helens Council cabinet member for corporate services, estates and communication, presented a quarterly update of SIF activities at the combined authority’s meeting on Friday.

“The SIF round two pipeline highlights the city region’s potential for growth and the ambition we have for our residents." Cllr Groucutt said.

“These are projects capable of delivering real value to our economy and the wider north.

“The numbers are significant. The report highlights that the SIF team has engaged with 117 projects, representing over £600 million investment opportunity.

“It also makes clear that the combined authority needs sight of greater funding and the government should increase its commitment to devolution with greater financial backing."