Last orders for The Swan pub in St Helens as it closes doors today

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'.

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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.

As Phase One of St Helens' £90m regeneration plans inch closer, the Swan's landlady confirmed that the pub's final day of trading will be Friday, September 27.

Landlady Angela has lived above the Swan for a decade (Image: St Helens Star)

Landlady Angela Hindley and her family have lived above the Corporation Street pub for the past decade.

The boozer is described as one with a real community atmosphere, where drinkers feel safe and welcome, the pub's regulars will also suffer from the Swan's closure, with some suggesting that they won't drink anywhere else. 

The Swan has a tight-knit community of regulars (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.

The current St Helens bus station will be demolished (Image: St Helens Star)

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.

St Helens Council has said that with works planned to start on the construction of a temporary station at Chalon Way this autumn, this is expected to be completed in "early 2025".