Application to redevelop Earlestown town hall on public consultation

As the Guardian recently reported, the application has been submitted to council planners for the redevelopment.

The proposals have now been validated and listed on the council's planning portal, with the standard 21-day public consultation launched on May 7.

This will last until Tuesday, May 28, with a determination deadline set for June 19.

A separate application seeking 'listed building consent' for the works has also been listed.

Following the proposals submitted for the transformation of Earlestown's market square last month, the latest application has been submitted for the refurbishment of Earlestown town hall.

Submitted by St Helens Council and its regeneration partner ECF (formerly The English Cities Fund), the applications form major parts of the £28m plans to regenerate Earlestown town centre.

With Earlestown's Grade II listed town hall closed since 2008, the plans chiefly aim to revive and repurpose the building so that it can be used by the public.

Community meeting rooms, workspaces, a courtyard garden and café are part of the town hall plans (Image: St Helens Council)

The proposals will see the building reopened with community meeting rooms, flexible workspaces and a new courtyard garden and café area, together with public toilets and a changing places facility.

Its main hall – once host to a concert by The Beatles – will be brought back to life as a performance and events space, complementing and developing the evening economy in the historic market town of Earlestown.

Constructed in the late 19th century, the town hall has already benefited from an extensive external restoration in recent years, with repairs to the building's clock tower, windows, and general disrepair.

The second planning submission follows public consultations that were held in Newton-le-Willows and Earlestown at the end of last year.

These sessions are reported to have shown 84 per cent in favour of plans to refurbish the historic Town Hall.

Separate proposals for accessibility and environmental improvements to Earlestown Rail Station are being developed by St Helens Borough Council with partners from the rail industry as part of the Levelling Up Fund Round 2 programme.  

Plans are being funded by a £20m grant from Round 2 of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) with £8m in matched funding provided by St Helens Borough Council, and are being brought forward by ECF, the regeneration joint venture of developer Muse, Homes England, and Legal & General.