£150 million plans to transform Cains brewery into a business village include proposals to reopen St James’s train station, according to officials involved with the project.
Cains is in discussion with developers over the multi-million pound scheme, including the creations of a craft brewery, apartments, market, cinema and a boutique hotel at the site of the former Cains brewery on Stanhope Street, which could create as many as 800 jobs.
As well as providing a catalyst for regeneration in the area, there has been a call for greater investment with the aim of reopening St James’s station to provide a “major boost” for the city and improve transport, making the Baltic Triangle area more accessible.
St James’s Station, situated between Central Station and Brunswick on Merseyrail’s Northern Line, saw its last services depart in December 1916, but redevelopment plans for Cains brewery could see the station brought back to life, serving the resurgent Baltic Triangle area a century after its last commercial use.
Redevelopment proposals were green-lit in November 2013 by Liverpool council planning chiefs, though work has not yet started. Despite this, the bid is still said to be on track and negotiations underway with developers over the current plans.
The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2016, but redevelopment heads are calling for more investment in the surrounding area before work gets underway as other schemes, such as X1’s accommodation complex, make their own rejuvenation contribution to Upper Parliament Street.
Better transport links for the Baltic Triangle are claimed to be vital to the success of the scheme, with the refurbishment and re-opening of St James’s Street station seen as the perfect opportunity to improves access to the area. There have already been increasing calls to reopen the station in recent years, with the Council highlighting its importance in their 2012 blueprint for regeneration.
Andy Delaney, cirector of Development Consulting and Agency at Colliers International, the consultancy firm working with Cains on the project, has spoken with developers and reports:
“The Mayor and the city council have been very supportive of the development plans thus far and we hope that this support will continue as the Baltic Triangle area continues to evolve in such an exciting way.
“We believe that the wider area would benefit from investment in an improved public realm and transport links. For instance, the city council’s Strategic Investment Framework highlighted the reopening of St James’s station. If this could be achieved it would be a major boost; not only for our site, but the southern end of the waterfront, the Baltic Triangle and the surrounding neighbourhood.”
Words: Peter Cribley