St Helens Council and English Cities Fund unveil main contractor for the £90m first phase of the transformation of the town centre and reveal when work will start. Tony McDonough reports
Construction firm VINCI Building has been chosen as the main contractor for the first £90m phase of the transformation of St Helens town centre.
Last week LBN revealed St Helens Council had approved a £90m funding package for phase one A of the project. It will see a mixed use development across 24 acres of the town delivered in partnership with English Cities Fund (ECF).
The authority’s cabinet approved the funding for the first part of the scheme. The £90m includes £21.49m in grants from the Government and equity investment by ECF.
Phase one A will include a new market hall flanked by a mixed-use area. This will include a 120-bedroom globally-branded hotel, 64 new homes and 11,000 sq ft of retail space.
These different elements will all be linked together by improvements to public areas, alongside a new and extended bus station.
Around 485 new jobs are expected to be created across the development once it is fully occupied, generating an estimated £23.2m in GVA each year.
This scheme has already secured hybrid approval and will progress to a start on site in the first quarter of 2024. This is subject to a more detailed reserved matters planning application that is being submitted in the autumn.
VINCI Building will be working to “bespoke sustainability strategies” for each building. They are anchored on five key themes: net zero carbon, enhancing biodiversity, social value, circular economy, and health and wellbeing.
And VINCI will ensure the use of companies within the borough and buying locally as part of the supply chain. This is along with creating skills, training, and employment opportunities for local people.
Cllr David Baines, leader of St Helens Council, said: “We are delighted to have reached this important milestone and to have taken yet another step closer to work starting on site.
“VINCI Building has been given the responsibility of delivering a high-quality and highly sustainable first phase development that, during the build programme, will benefit the people of St Helens through a wide range of social value measures.
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VINCI Building was selected through a procurement process governed by the North West Construction Hub.
Its development director Max Bentham added: “VINCI Building has the experience and capability to deliver against our goal of a highly sustainable, large-scale transformation of the town.
“This a hugely ambitious and multi-faceted regeneration project that will leave a lasting positive legacy.”