SENIOR councillors have approved the creation of a £500,000 economic regeneration fund – in a move that St Helens Council says underlines its "commitment to business growth across the borough".

The money, approved by the council's cabinet, will be used for specialist technical advice and will help the council, and partners, to respond to new opportunities, according to the local authority.

One of the fund’s priorities will be supporting a "master-planning exercise" – involving key stakeholders – on the role and function of the town centre.

Council leader Barrie Grunewald said: "This fund will give us the flexibility to respond to economic opportunities as they emerge.

"Over the last year, through work at the Liverpool Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, various funding steams have been secured – and it’s essential we ensure we have the technical expertise to get our share.”

Chief executive Mike Palin added that with grant funding available to help businesses across the region it is important the expertise is available to help local organisations tap into it.

He said: “We want to ensure that St Helens benefits from this funding – and at the same time there is no duplication on our part. This is essential given the budget pressures we face in the years ahead.

"The cabinet approval is important in providing the specialist technical capability to access these other funds when we do not have that capability in-house."

Mr Palin, meanwhile, said some of the money could be used for further strategical planning in the town centre.

“We’ve recently received the Town Centre Commission report, which provides a useful piece of evidence about how the town centre currently performs.

“Many of the recommendations are operational but we need to look ahead to what the role of the town centre is in the long-term – and ensure that we design a way forward that delivers sustainability.

“Retail markets are quite obviously changing but I fully believe St Helens has a positive future as long as we recognise the changes and respond appropriately. That is why we might need a piece of master-planning work so we can see what the future holds.”