ST HELENS Council are set to approve almost a million pound investment to repair Earlestown Town Hall next week.

Following consultations with the public, the council agreed a five-step plan to upgrade the the Grade II listed building in 2019 and bring it back into public use.

A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, February 2, will rubber-stamp plans to continue construction work on the external fabric of the building.

Securing the £940k in funding will allow "essential exterior repairs" to go ahead from March and ensure that the building, masonry and roofing is safe and modernised.

Following this, improvements will be made to the interior of the building along with work to identify potential functions of the property in the future.

With the Town Hall described as a "focal point and symbol of Earlestown's heritage and identity", the planned works are hoped to bring the building back into public use and secure a sustainable future for it.

Deputy Leader of the Council and Councillor for Newton-le-Willows, Seve Gomez-Aspron said:

“We promised that we would invest in and protect our important Civic Buildings and this is the first stage of delivering that.

"Work should start in the coming months and run on until summer [which] will make the outside of the building like new. Works to the interior can then start after this phase.

"Key buildings like this should never have been closed [and] I’m proud that our Labour council has committed to protect our proud heritage.

"I can’t wait until the project is complete and we can use our Town Hall once again!”