A HOST of local authority figures gathered at Glass Futures last week as the project to build the £54 million development gathers pace.
Local councillors and contractors, St Helens MPs Marie Rimmer and Conor McGinn, and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram were welcomed at the site, as well as members of the government's UKRI and BEIS on Friday, February 4.
After Network Space Developments (NSD) appointed Bower & Kirkland as building contractor last year, the event was to celebrate the start of construction on the 165,000 sq ft transformational global glass research and innovation facility.
Located at the former United Glass site in Peasley Cross, the state-of-the-art site will be a forward-looking enterprise looking to cut carbon emissions - with links to the historic glass industry for which the town is famed.
The facility has been pre-let to St Helens Borough Council on a 15-year lease and then sub-let to Glass Futures - who will occupy and manage the building to deliver industry and government-backed research and trials.
The investment is planned to bring a host of social and economic benefits to St Helens and the wider Liverpool City Region, including commitments to local employment opportunities and apprenticeship hours.
Construction work is planned to be completed in January 2023.
Speaking at the event, St Helens Borough Council Leader, David Baines, said:
"It's great to be here today to see construction begin on Glass Futures, the state-of-the-art, globally significant project. Over the next year, the glass research and innovation facility will be built on the brownfield site of the former United Glassworks, with a focus on decarbonising glass production.
"It will once again put St Helens at the forefront of glass innovation and help us play a significant role in the Green Industrial Revolution, leading the way for other industries to cut their carbon emissions.
"The fact that work has begun only two years since the scheme was conceived is testament to some exceptional partnership working, and I’d like to thank Glass Futures and everyone involved for their efforts in getting us to this stage."
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, added: “Just a few months ago, the UK hosted world leaders at the COP26 summit in Glasgow. It was agreed there that urgent action is needed to tackle the emergency we face from climate change. Glass Futures is a prime example of how we can do that – whilst also building back from the economic fallout from Covid-19.
“St Helens has always been a global leader in the glass industry and Glass Futures will be a key part of making sure it retains that role in the future of the industry as it decarbonises, whilst being a key driver for jobs and skills.”
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