Redundancies expected as the Hardshaw Centre set to close 'in summer'

With St Helens Council planning to bring new homes, offices, retail space, a market hall and hotel into the town centre, part of the regeneration process includes the closure and demolition of the Hardshaw Centre.

The regeneration plans aim to breathe new life into the town centre, which has suffered from declining footfall over the years, but many residents will be sad to see the shopping centre go after forty years in the town.

With the regeneration plans finally coming to fruition this year, the council has confirmed that contractors will begin stripping out the Hardshaw building "in summer", followed by its demolition in the autumn.

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The Womble Inn was one of the last remaining business in the Hardshaw Centre at Christmastime (Image: St Helens Star)
Once the council's regeneration plans were announced, Hardshaw Centre businesses have slowly been vacating the centre over the past 18 months.

Many of these traders have moved across to Church Square shopping centre, such as ShoeZone, Bonmarche, and TJ Hughes, while others like the Country Kitchen and Simply Fashion left the town for good.

Following these vacancies, there has inevitably been a further decline in footfall although some Hardshaw business owners told the Star they would have preferred to stay in the centre due to its location and structure.

It is understood that talks have continued regarding relocation for the final remaining stores, while a source told the Star that cleaning and security staff will be made redundant when the Hardshaw Centre closes for good.

While this means that some Hardshaw Centre posts will be made redundant ahead of its looming demolition, the council said that talks are also ongoing regarding potential transfers to Church Square shopping centre.

The Hardshaw Centre has slowly emptied as its demolition date approaches (Image: St Helens Star)
Although the date of demolition has been pushed back by the council and its regeneration partner, the English Cities Fund, those involved in the project have confirmed that the centre will be closed this summer.

No closing date has been confirmed from those in charge, but the remaining workers are believed to have been told that the centre will be closed by Friday, May 31.

A spokesperson for the St Helens regeneration project said: "Demolition is a two-stage process.

"It begins in summer with a strip out process of the existing site and is followed in the Autumn with a demolition of the actual structure.

"St Helens Borough Council and its appointed management agents remain committed to protecting valued staff members of the Hardshaw Centre and are exploring opportunities to transfer staff members to the neighbouring Church Square Shopping Centre, where possible."