Three projects that shape St Helens over the years to come

Mar 19 2008 by Alex Turner, Liverpool Daily Post

St Helens Stadium

THE rugby league giants play in a decaying Knowsley Road stadium which has long been a handicap commercially but, with the introduction of Super League licences – which raises the possibility of a club being demoted because of its stadium regardless of its playing quality – it has become critical that new facilities are built.

The £21m development, alongside a new Tesco Extra superstore, has been ten years in the planning but is expected to go before St Helens Council’s planning committee in May.

Parkside Strategic Rail Freight Interchange

DESCRIBED as “the biggest development scheme in St Helens’ history”, the plans for the former Parkside Colliery site alongside the M6 motorway could create 10,000 jobs and attract £400m of investment in the local area.

If approved, the 740,000 sq m rail freight interchange will have warehousing and distribution on site and a multi-modal terminal.

It will go before St Helens Council this summer but a public inquiry is almost certain to follow.

St Helens College Town Centre Campus

A £63m redevelopment of the town’s college will overhaul part of the town centre as well as making St Helens a more attractive option to students in the post-16 market.

The project, which is underway, is expected to be completed by 2011. It will transform the campus while retaining Beecham’s clock tower building.