St Helens Council confirms when the Swan pub will be demolished

As previously reported by the Star, the Swan pub will serve its final pints on Friday, September 27, after St Helens Council successfully approved a Compulsory Purchase Order on the Corporation Street building.

Despite serving St Helens folk for the best part of 160 years, the Swan will then be transferred into council ownership ahead of its planned demolition.

The council believes that it is necessary to bulldoze the building to make space for a new and improved bus station in the incoming £90m regeneration plans for St Helens town centre.

Inevitably, the decision proved immensely controversial with regulars who petitioned to Save the Swan, but after objections were withdrawn ahead of a public inquiry, the government approved the CPO for regeneration purposes.

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Landlady Angela Hindley (right) had asked to extend the Swan until after Christmastime (Image: St Helens Star) Although the Swan's landlady, Angela Hindley, asked to remain at the pub until after Christmas, the council said it needs to acquire the property by the end of October after executing a 'General Vesting Declaration', which gives an authority the legal right to take ownership of a property.

Once the pub is in legal authority of the council, it will be demolished, along with the neighbouring bus station, when the temporary bus station on Chalon Way West is completed.

With works planned to start on the construction of the temporary station this autumn, it is expected to be completed in "early 2025".

Some Swan regulars have suggested that they wont drink anywhere else (Image: St Helens Star) A spokesperson for St Helens Council said: “The Council was granted a Compulsory Purchase Order in August 2023 and since that time we have engaged with the property owners and the current licensee to agree appropriate financial compensation for the current Licensee.

“In accordance with the CPO, the Council has executed the appropriate General Vesting Declaration (GVD), to acquire the property before the end of October 2024.

“The resident is moving out at the end of September and the Council will then take ownership of the property. 

"The property forms part of the footprint of the new bus station and will be demolished together with the existing bus station once the temporary bus station is complete and the services have been relocated.

"The Council will at its Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 24 consider the acceptance of a £35m grant to facilitate the new bus station.”

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