A BUSINESSMAN wants to continue investing in St Helens town centre by creating a bakery and expanding a gin bar.
Ian Pitts is aiming to develop the Imperial Quarter on Ormskirk Street, St Helens, as he continues his ambitions to breathe new life into the area.
The leisure entrepreneur revealed to the Star his latest plans to redevelop a former sports shop, which is next to the Secret Garden and Cork and Dough.
The expansion would see two new shop units - made up of a local bakery and another independent business - created.
The Secret Garden gin bar would also be expanded with a balcony sitting above the shops, as shown in the artist’s image.
Mr Pitts told the Star: “[This would create] four further full time jobs at the Secret Garden balcony - [the] first floor will accommodate breakfast and brunch for the new quarter - creating jobs [and] bringing the area to a city level and regenerating an area.
The Imperial Food and Drink Quarter is under development
“I am 100 per cent behind the exciting town centre plans.
“The independents are crucial for St Helens town centre day time and night time economy.”
As previously reported, Mr Pitts is due to open the Imperial Food and Drink Quarter this year at the redeveloped site of a former public toilets on Brook Street, which is opposite the main entrance of St Helens College.
He has also drawn up plans to create a hotel, restaurant and medical quarter on an area of land behind Hardshaw Street, which is currently used for car parking.
The Star reported last year how the developer had bought the former Counting House pub, which has been empty for several years, along with adjoining buildings and the parcel of land behind the properties.
It is understood an initial planning application has been drawn up for a hotel, apart hotel, restaurant, coffee shop and sky bar.
Mr Pitts hopes his investment proposals – which will be published in the coming weeks – will complement the council's vision, which has been drawn up with the English Cities Fund, and lead to the creation of hundreds of new jobs.
A council CGI of the town centre plans
Phase one of the local authority's draft proposals would see the Hardshaw Centre flattened and a new St Helens food market created, while a new bus station and a hotel, separate to the one being proposed by Mr Pitts, could be created.
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