THE developer who acquired the former Tyrers building in Bridge Street says a "bold vision" for St Helens town centre will help lead its regeneration.

Paul Nicholson, managing director of Luxor Group, says he can see great potential for regeneration, adding the 'right recipe' must be found.

He believes this recipe will combine retail, leisure, housing and community space.

He said: "St Helens has great potential to move forward and become a vibrant town centre which caters for the local community. The right long-term strategy could kick-start a surge of investment, job opportunities and housing for the local area.

"A housing-led scenario in certain parts of the town centre will underpin demand for retail, generating footfall and offer greater potential to introduce resident spending power in the town centre."

He added: "Understandably change isn't going to happen overnight but a new bold vision for the borough, focusing on the heart of the town centre could lead to commercial growth. Encouraging conversion of vacant boarded-up properties into residential hubs will assist in creating a vibrant town centre.

"Retail is an important element of a thriving town centre, but it's not sufficient. Instead, we should be focused on finding the right 'local recipe' for St Helens, and this means acknowledging that a different mix of housing, retail, leisure and community space may work."

Plans to give the town centre a makeover are underway, with consultants due to release a series of recommendations for the town centre strategy, believed to include putting the focus on the canal area, more leisure and family activities and a change to the centre's boundaries.

Councillors meet privately on February 22 to discuss the next steps of the town centre strategy as well as investment proposals.

Some council chiefs have said their hands are tied with regard to the extent of development they can make in the centre due to a high proportion of the property being privately-owned.

The Luxor Group announced their purchase of the iconic Tyrers building in December 2016, after the property had laid empty for around a year following the closure of Tyrers department store after 128 years of trading.

The firm intends to spend £1million to transform the building into luxury apartments with two floors of retail.

Paul said: "With a well-structured plan for the town centre, we are confident major retailers and leisure operators will be attracted to St Helens high street and hopefully in occupation at our development.

"With a focused vision and inward investment St Helens could be once again a prominent town centre, especially given its location between Manchester and Liverpool."