A Merseyside town centre is set to see a major overhaul in the coming months.
St Helens town centre has struggled in recent years with dropping footfall and massive retailers such as Marks and Spencer pulling out. In a bid to breathe new life into the town centre, the council and private investors have launched plans to boost the leisure and night time economy of the area.
The Imperial Quarter, a food and drink hub, is set to open in coming weeks- with heavy investment from Ian Pitts, the entrepreneur owner of Cork & Dough restaurant, Imperial Bar, the Secret Garden and The Church- all in Ormskirk Street. The opening of the Quarter is not the only food and drink venue set for St Helens in the coming months.
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The site of the former St Mary's car park in Chalon Way is set to become a shipping container food and drink park, along with an outside cinema and boutique retailers- benefitting from more than £1m investment pumped in by St Helens Council. These projects mark a turn in the culture of the town centre, as it moves towards a leisure economy, while large retailers now largely reside on retail parks outside the town centre.
The new venues, along with existing spots such as Imperial, aim to attract visitors and make them more inclined to socialise in St Helens, rather than travelling to nearby cities Liverpool and Manchester.
The ECHO spoke to some shoppers for their views. One said: "Imperial Quarter will either work or not. I think it'll be a great destination for people who are off into town, or going on a night out in a local city, or even as a pre-show meal for shows at the Theatre Royal or The Citadel. It's got great potential. We can't judge before it opens."
Another added: "I really hope it does well. We definitely need more things like this in St Helens. My only worry would be the lack of shops in St Helens. It’s nice to have a good shop then stop off for a drink/something to eat somewhere nice after, however, with nothing else to entice people into St Helens first (i.e. decent shops), I’m not sure how well it will do."
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Some, however, were less hopeful on the revamp of the town centre. One person said: "I can’t seem them lasting too long - or in the end it becomes financially hard for them to stay open. Of course, I wish them best of luck. Any investment in our town is welcome.
"But, there seems to be a pattern emerging in new investment leading to flopping eventually. It happened to the Punch Tarmey’s, the numerous Chinese buffets we’ve had and that steakhouse just to name a few. If it’s not affordable, people won’t want it."
Alongside the new leisure investments, the people of St Helens are eagerly awaiting the council's promised "Masterplan" of regeneration. The project will see much of the centre revolutionised over the next two decades.
Councillor Kate Groucutt, St Helens Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Economy, Business and Skills, said: "It's a really exciting time for St Helens Borough with our plans for major regeneration moving forward through our Masterplan Framework, partnership with English Cities Fund and bids to the Towns Fund and Levelling up Fund. But alongside this leadership and investment from the council, we need the vision and creativity of the private sector.
"I'm pleased that we've seen that in recent months and businesses are reporting renewed confidence and willingness to invest, start new enterprises and create jobs. We've seen many new businesses opening in St Helens in recent months in a range of sectors, including hospitality and retail, and the container park at Chalon way will only add to this offer."
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