KNOWSLEY Council cabinet members have agreed to invest in projects, including the development of Halsnead Garden Village.

The cabinet has endorsed a number of investment proposals, which will be considered by the full council on Wednesday, March 6.

In total, £5m of investment is being proposed by Knowsley councillors to tackle a number of issues raised by local residents.

This includes £2.5m to be used on projects support existing businesses to expand in the borough and create local jobs.

Uses of this money include support to the Halsnead Garden Village, with £750,000 going towards an expansion of Knowsley Cemetery, in Whiston, to help provide greater capacity for burials.

Halsnead Garden Village, located near Whiston in Knowsley, is one of only 14 sites in England which have been awarded Garden Village status by the Government.

Garden villages are based on garden towns and cities – developments of at least 10,000 homes – but smaller in scale.

It is believed Halsnead Garden Village could create around 1,000 jobs.

Halsnead is the largest combined housing and employment site in the city region, with the potential to deliver approximately 1,600 homes and 22.5 hectares of employment land.

Meanwhile, the funding will also be used to buy empty or obsolete properties to help to accelerate development in the borough and support existing businesses to expand in the borough and create local jobs

Elsewhere, £1.2m is proposed to tackle anti-social behaviour with plans to establish a dedicated, multi-agency local response team in Knowsley, with £600,000 proposed to support educational outcomes for children and young people by improving the identification and assessment of special educational needs.

Also £363,000 is proposed to ensure that the current level of leisure services across the borough continue without the need to reduce opening hours.

Cllr Jayne Aston, cabinet member for resources, said: “Despite financially challenging times, it is important that we prioritise our budget to address the key issues impacting on our local communities.

"Addressing anti-social behaviour, improving educational outcomes for our children and young people as well as accelerating investment and growth in our borough are all key priorities for the Council and our local residents and businesses, so I’m delighted that we have put together an investment package which would address these issues which will now be considered at council on March 6, 2019.”