ST HELENS has been successful in a bid for funding through the One Public Estate programme to support the "regeneration of and reshaping" of Earlestown town centre.

The government funding scheme has been set up to support councils on projects that can transform local communities and public services across the country.

The council revealed it has been granted £90,000 to fund detailed feasibility studies that would pave the way for the regeneration of Earlestown town centre.

According to the council, works, which follow on from previous masterplanning for Earlestown, would build on "its strengths as a bustling district centre, rich in heritage and potential".

In a statement St Helens Council said: "Proposals for the district centre could mean remodelling, moving or repurposing current public buildings and land, and acquiring underutilised sites."

Councillor Sue Murphy, the deputy leader of St Helens Council, said the move "could open sites to development opportunities to deliver more balanced residential growth in the area and ultimately improve public spaces".

Councillor Kate Groucutt, cabinet member with responsibility for town centres, said: “We recognise the need within our regeneration strategies to look wider than St Helens town centre, where work is ongoing, to the district centres that are important to our communities and crucial to prosperity across the borough.

"This funding is a great boon to our transformation planning for Earlestown, as we look to improve the area and ensure public sector land usage is efficient and effective.”

News of the funding being secured through One Public Estate comes on the day that the council announced it was bidding for a share of a £675 million from the Future High Street Fund from Government.

The council is submitting two Future High Street Fund bids that could help with the transformative plans for St Helens and Earlestown town centres.