Government funding could see a town's historical buildings brought back to life.
St Helens Borough Council has submitted two Levelling Up Fund bids, which will include a focus on projects in Earlestown and St Helens town centres. The funding would go towards improvements to currently closed historic buildings including Earlestown Town Hall and The Gamble Building so they can be reopened for the community.
The bids, supported by MPs Conor McGinn and Marie Rimmer, are seeking funding of up to £40m and will aim to "bring vitality and activity into the heart of the town centre". Mr McGuinn said they want St Helens to be the "best place in which to live, work and visit."
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Earlestown
For St Helens North Parliamentary Constituency, the £20m bid will focus on three key projects in Earlestown town centre. This will include the revitalisation of Market Square with a new market canopy and will "bring vitality to the historic market town".
Funding would also support the restoration of the town hall which is a Grade II listed building and has famously hosted The Beatles, bringing it into public use again as well as protecting its heritage. The bid will further enhance access to Earlestown Rail Station, which is said to have the oldest railway station building in the world that is still in passenger service.
The funds would bring the original building back into use, improving connectivity to the town. St Helens Council confirmed this forms part of a bigger suite of funding bids, such as the 'Access for All' national programme to install lift access at the station.
St Helens
St Helens town centre falls within the St Helens South & Whiston Parliamentary Constituency. Where a constituency area crosses local authority boundaries, each local authority can choose to submit a joint or individual bid for the area.
St Helens and Prescot town centres have many historic, cultural, and industrial connections and will aim to preserve and celebrate those. The St Helens component of the bid will focus on supporting the restoration of The Gamble Building, bringing it back into use as a library.
Levelling up
Welcoming the submission Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning, said: "The Levelling Up Fund is the latest in a line of bids to Government, such as Towns Fund, as a way to bring in additional money to speed up the delivery of our key projects across the borough. Having our Town Centre Masterplan Development Frameworks in place, alongside the work of our Town Deal Board, means we are well placed to bid for pots of funding like this as we have a clear plan to regenerate our borough. We're very happy to have the backing of our two MPs for the bids that will bring benefits to the borough.
"This funding would include support our aim to bring the historic Earlestown Town Hall and The Gamble Building back into enhanced community use as soon as possible. They are real gems in our town centres and we know residents want to see them open again. I saw first-hand the fantastic job on the external works to The Gamble Building and similar activity is progressing well at Earlestown Town Hall, both funded by the Council. This additional funding will support the internal works so that in the coming years they can once again open their doors to the public."
The ECHO previously reported that Knowsley Council has also submitted bids for regeneration plans in Huyton, strengthening Prescot's heritage and expanding Halewood's retail and leisure offer.
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