Consultants paid millions for St Helens and Earlestown regeneration

The regeneration plans in St Helens and Earlestown have been described as a "once in a lifetime" projects, with the aim of restoring a sense of genuine pride in the areas.

In St Helens, new homes, office space, a hotel and market hall are set to be constructed in the town centre, while Earlestown's plans centre around improving its historic market square, Town Hall, and train station.

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Regeneration a costly endeavour

New homes, offices, a hotel and market hall are planned to be built in St Helens (Image: St Helens Council)
With the construction of both projects set to begin early next year, the overhauls will inevitably be a costly endeavour.

St Helens Council's cabinet approved a £69.2m financial package for phase one of the town centre project in September, which is allocated from its Medium Term budget strategy and underpinned by loans from the Public Works Loan Board.

Support has also been made available in the form of £21.49 million in grants from the government and equity investment by English Cities Fund, the council's partner in the regeneration projects.

It is expected that construction costs will total £81m for St Helens’ plans, while an extra £13.8m has been estimated in building acquisition costs.

Funds are expected to be clawed back in future rents from new residential, retail, and office tenants, while a revived town centre is hoped to encourage further investment.

Earlestown's regeneration project has been subsidised by a £20m grant from the government after a successful bid from the Levelling Up Fund.

Millions spent on consultant fees

Earlestown's plans focus on its market square, town hall, and train station (Image: St Helens Council)
While the English Cities Fund has been the council's main partner for its two regeneration projects, a host of consultant organisations have also been used to help devise the plans and make the projects a reality.

The costs were revealed in a Freedom of Information request shared with the Star by one of our readers.

In relation to St Helens town centre regeneration plans, the council confirmed that 25 consultant organisations have been used from the project's inception, and are expected to be used until the first phase of regeneration is completed.

The cost of these consultants' services throughout phase one of the project has been confirmed as £7.5m, of which £3.4m has been paid.

Around 25 consultant organisations are also being used for Earlestown's regeneration project, at a cost of around £2m from inception to completion.

The council has confirmed that these fees have been funded by the English Cities Fund.

The consultant organisations that have been used were also appointed by the English Cities Fund, after submissions were assessed and aligned with industry benchmarks.

Further consultants are expected to be used for further phases of regeneration.