SEFTON COUNCIL TO CREATE NEW JOBS IN THE AREA

Sefton Council is looking to regenerate Bootle, transforming it into an area that will encourage business investment, more jobs and great housing.

We take a quick look at plans to encourage investment and development. Sefton Council has just launched a consultation to inform the development plans for Bootle. The consultations ask people to comment on the vision for Bootle for the next 20 years. This will influence planning decisions for the area on how to attract business to the area and create quality jobs. It will feed into an area action plan that will also be part of the local plan for Bootle and a wider development plan for Sefton. The area action plan is designed to direct and encourage the right kinds of development and investment into the area. 

The leader of Sefton Council, Councillor Ian Maher, is focussed on re-energising Bootle to create a vibrant town.

“Our vision for Bootle aims to create a thriving town centre that works for all people, brings investment and interest to an area filled with opportunities and builds a happier, healthier, more resilient population,” he explained. 

The area action plan has five key areas.

The first is design and focuses on creating buildings, places and spaces that businesses and people will value. They are keen to: reflect local character; work well for everyone; promote healthy active lifestyles; look good; last well and meet the future needs of businesses and residents. The council are looking to achieve this with the creation of site-specific design codes that will encourage architects and developers to build specific features into their proposed designs. For example, they may encourage use of public spaces. In the towns canal corridor development will be designed to provide leisure facilities, be easily accessed and reflect the industrial heritage of the area and the canal once being the major transport network of industrial Britain. 

Sefton Council want to protect Bootle’s most sustainable employment areas and the jobs they provide.

The area action plan includes a number of sites designated to enhance industrial, office, and general employment, creating valuable jobs in the area. They include Canal Street, Maritime Enterprise Park, Hawthorn Road, Orrell Mount, and Regent Road. Businesses working from offices will be encouraged to continue to use Bootle Office Quarter. St John’s House and Magdalen House will protected from conversion or redevelopment preserving 455,000 square feet of office space. 

The plan also includes transformation of Bootle town centre into a vibrant thriving area that businesses and residents can be proud of.

The Strand shopping centre is just one of the vacant pieces of land and buildings that would be scheduled for redevelopment creating hundreds of jobs. The £20 million strategy to redevelop the shopping centre in May would provide a new focus for shops, residents and leisure facilities. 

“Our vision of offering a diverse range of services within the Strand and the transformation of the surrounding areas would not be possible without council ownership of the shopping centre and the loyalty of the people who go there. Reimagining what the town centre is for and expanding its offering will help us benefit Bootle for generations to come. The work we are all doing, both at the council and through our fantastic community champions, is a catalyst for further regeneration and good growth that strengthens the local economy, attracts more investment into the town, and improves the health, wellbeing and life chances of local residents,” concludes Councillor Maher.