THERE is widespread acceptance that St Helens town centre is in urgent need of regeneration, but to achieve genuine transformation it will inevitably be a costly endeavour.
With years of stagnation resulting in St Helens becoming the 26th most deprived area in England, St Helens Council announced its town centre 'Masterplan' last February, designed to rejuvenate the town and address the economic challenges facing the borough.
The masterplan laid out proposals to build new homes, offices, a market hall and a hotel in the town centre, with the leader of the council, Cllr David Baines, explaining that the plans highlight a "scale of regeneration [not seen] since the Second World War".
But as previous attempts to revive the town have failed and frustration in the community has grown, it is understandable that local residents want to see such investment spent promptly and wisely.
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How much will the plans cost?
In the public inquiry regarding the Swan pub's Compulsory Purchase Order on Tuesday, August 8, it was said that the regeneration of the town centre is of "absolute critical need" and the council's "number one priority".
In addition to other regeneration projects across the borough, such as the construction of the £54m Glass Futures site and the £20m fund for Earlestown's market square and town hall, the town centre proposals are said to be part of a comprehensive plan that has been "robustly" packaged and funded.
To properly fund the first phase of the regeneration plans in the town centre, the St Helens Town Hall inquiry heard it would cost an eye-watering £94.8m.
This has been worked out from a proposed £81m construction bill and £13.8m in estimated acquisition costs, i.e. purchasing the necessary land to proceed with the council's proposals.
Examples were given that £20.2m of this sum will go towards the construction of "Grade A" office space, while £10.7m will be spent on building the town's new bus station - which will be part-funded by the Liverpool City Region.
In order to fund these ambitious projects, St Helens Council has allocated £72.42m from its Medium Term budget strategy, underpinned by loans from the Public Works Loan Board.
£7.24m will come out of the 'Town Centre Living and Regernation' section of the Government's £25m Towns Deal fund, which will help to construct accommodation and retail space.
£3.25m will also be used from the 'Connected Places' section of the Towns Deal funding, to contribute towards the new bus station and public realm upgrades.
Another £800k has been earmarked through the One Public Estate Brownfield Land Release Fund to assist with reviving town centre brownfield sites.
In total that leaves a funding gap of £11.16m to complete the council's town centre vision, but the public inquiry heard that this can be clawed back through future rents from new residential, retail, and office tenants.
Potential savings may also be made on construction materials, while it hoped that businesses will start to invest in the town once the regeneration plans start to take shape.
Why is regeneration taking place?
Like many high streets across the country, St Helens has suffered from changing shopping habits and people choosing to shop online or at retail parks.
With big-name businesses like Marks and Spencers leaving a hole in the high street, the council's plans aim to bring more people into the town centre, which can encourage external investment and provide a lifeline to the high street.
As St Helens currently sits as the 26th most deprived local authority in England, and contains 29 neighbourhoods classed as the 10% most deprived across the country, the regeneration plans are said to be "critical" to reverse the health and deprivation figures in the borough.
Previous regeneration failed without a 'credible deliverable strategy'
At the public inquiry, Sean Traynor, director of Strategic Growth at St Helens Council, said: "The need for regeneration has long been supported in St Helens [...] with the last significant investment in the town occurring in the mid-1990s with St Helens Linkway linking outer ring roads to the town centre.
"Previous attempts to regenerate the town have failed because we haven't had a credible delivery strategy, and because of these false dawns, there has been growing frustration in the community.
"But we now have identified a trusted and deliverable partner with the English Cities Fund [...] and there is robust confidence that all the funding will be available to complete the regeneration plans."
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