Landlady confirms the final day of trading for the Swan pub

In September 2022, St Helens Council announced plans to take over and demolish the Swan pub on Corporation Street, in order to make way for a new and improved bus station.

With the Swan operating as a busy town centre pub, as it has done for more than a century, the plans proved intensely controversial and almost 2,000 people signed a petition to 'Save the Swan'.

Although the decision to approve a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO), which allows the council to take ownership of the building, resulted in a public inquiry, the government found in favour of the council and ratified the CPO.

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The CPO was approved to make way for a new and improved bus station (Image: St Helens Star) With Phase One of St Helens' £90m regeneration plans inching closer, following the closure of the Hardshaw Centre, the Swan's landlady has confirmed that the pub's final day of trading will be Friday, September 27.

Inevitably, this will be a difficult day for landlady Angela Hindley and her family, who have lived above the Corporation Street pub for the past decade.

With a real community atmosphere at the Swan, where drinkers feel safe and welcome, the pub's regulars will also suffer from the pub's closure, with some suggesting that they wont drink anywhere else. 

Some regulars say that they wont drink anywhere else once the Swan is gone (Image: St Helens Star) At the public inquiry, which took place at St Helens Town Hall in August 2023, planning lawyer Giles Cannock explained that there was "no alternative" other than to include the CPO in the council's regeneration plans.

Although it was explained that other locations were looked into for a new bus station, including some which retained the Swan pub, the council said that none of them met the requirements necessary to undo the "inefficiencies" of the current station.

Emphasising the point, Mr Cannock said that St Helens' transformational regeneration "cannot be achieved by any other means" if the Swan pub is not replaced by a new and improved bus station. 

Angela and her team will have to find new jobs (Image: St Helens Star) With CPOs intended as a "last resort" to acquire land for regeneration projects, St Helens Council also approved orders for town centre buildings such as the Hardshaw Centre, Town Fryer Chippy, Hope House, and other venues along Corporation Street, Hall Street, Library Street, and Bickerstaffe Street.

St Helens Council has been asked for comment regarding a timeline for the Swan's demolition.