St Helens Borough Council is one of just 41 councils across the country to receive support of the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2 (BLRF2) from the One Public Estate programme, and the St Helens allocation of £812,142 is the second highest in the north west.

The funding will help to kick start the development of phase one of the St Helens town centre masterplan, which gained outline planning permission in October. The funding will support the development of 61 new homes including family focused townhouses as part of the wider regeneration project, which will bring in more than 400 mixed style properties from apartments to family homes.

The wider St Helens town centre phase one project will also see the creation of a new market hall, high quality offices, a new hotel, sweeping thoroughfares opening up the town centre from the bus station to the Parish Church, new retail units and a new bus station among the plans.

Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, said: “We’re delighted to have received more than £800,000 in what has been a highly competitive bidding process for the Brownfield Land Release Fund 2. The fact we brought in one of the highest amounts in the region shows that our bid was strong thanks to the support of our partners including the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, the English Cities Fund and Amion Consulting. 

“This fund is designed to support the transformation of complex and challenging brownfield sites into quality homes and this funding will go towards the work to create a town centre that is fit for the future as an attractive place to visit, live and work. Our regeneration will see a greater focus on sustainable developments with improved public and active travel opportunities that support our commitments to making the borough greener and will also create opportunities for businesses and residents to make St Helens town centre their home.”