The Council has an ambitious 10-year development plan for Huyton Village Centre, set out in a masterplan and delivery plan, which includes:-
- The delivery of a new mixed-used commercial district with opportunities for a hotel, office space, co-working centre, and residential accommodation.
- The creation of an attractive new Village Green which will connect improved public spaces, an improved station gateway area and high quality event spaces on Derby Road.
- These investment opportunities will be supported by excellent transport access by road, bus, and rail, and will be a catalyst for further development in the Village Centre.
- The proposed development could bring up to 1,700 new jobs and a £50m per year spending boost to the local economy.
In order to progress these plans, Development Management Partner Genr8 Kajima Regeneration Ltd has undertaken a programme of site investigations and has now submitted a planning application for further demolitions and infrastructure works that will enable development to commence subject to the funding for the development being secured.
The planning application includes the demolition of buildings across the Council’s existing 7-acre site including the Huyton Municipal building and Annexe, the Computer Centre and any necessary utility diversions. These buildings are inefficient in terms of energy use and size and require multi-million pounds of investment to bring them up to modern day standards. Huyton Library and Nutgrove Villa are not part of the plans and will not be affected.
The plans for replacing these inefficient buildings will release the land for new development that will regenerate Huyton Village, create new jobs and drive footfall into the heart of the town centre. The proposals include new energy efficient commercial offices, for both the Council and new businesses to occupy, a hotel, new homes and high-quality public spaces.
Securing planning permission will ensure that the Council is ‘construction ready’ so that works can begin to progress with these ambitious plans as soon as funding has been secured.
Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said “We are doing all that we can to ensure that our plans can commence quickly once we have secured funding for Huyton’s development.
“Despite the knock-backs we have faced to date with our funding bids for Huyton, we remain committed to delivering our ambitious scheme in Huyton for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors. They too deserve modern facilities like other areas. The Government has already identified Knowsley as a priority 1 area for the funding, yet Huyton has persistently been overlooked. We will continue to lobby the Government, highlighting why Huyton needs to be levelled up.
“We have already made good progress with our Shop Front Improvement Scheme and now have a growing night-time offer with an array of food and drink outlets, with more to open over the coming months.
“The next phase of works will ensure that we can be construction ready and bring forward these exciting plans for Huyton once funding has been secured.”
The planning application has been published on the Council’s website.