Merseyside town to be transformed after demolition plans confirmed

A Merseyside town will soon look completely different after a date was set for the demolition a large, empty office block as part of a wider £123m project to transform Huyton Village Centre.

The 11,473 sq ft building at Huyton Hey Road was vacated in early 2023 and is located opposite the McDonald’s on a key route in and out of the town centre. The building has been deemed by Knowsley Council to be ‘past its useful life’.

The council also confirmed the £2.3m purchase of the empty shopping units on Cavendish Walk. The demolition of one building and the acquisition of the retail properties is part of a the scheme which will see the town be transformed and modernised with plans for a mixed used commercial district.

The council has a 10-year development plan for Huyton which is set out in a master plan. The investment area will see the development of new residential homes, commercial and office spaces as well as a new village green. The plans will also make provision for improved public transport connections to the village centre. he project aims to deliver 1,700 new jobs and a £50m spending boost to the local economy.

The latest update comes after the local authority confirmed their management partnership with Genr8 Kajima Regeneration Ltd who have undertaken a series of site inspections with the hope of facilitating further development.

There are numerous planning application as part of the regeneration project which include the demolition of buildings across the Council’s existing seven-acre site including the Huyton Municipal building and Annexe, the Computer Centre and any necessary utility diversions.

The local authority have deemed these buildings to be inefficient in terms of energy use and size and would require multi-million pounds of investment to bring them up to modern day standards. Huyton Library and Nutgrove Villa are not part of the plans and will not be affected.

Replacing the buildings will release the land for new development and proposals include new commercial offices, for both the council and new businesses to occupy, a hotel, new homes and high-quality public spaces.

The confirmation of the demolition of the building on Huyton Hey Road represents a significant step forward in the regeneration scheme and is scheduled to be pulled down on Tuesday May 7.

Speaking on the general plans and progress, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Cllr Tony Brennan, said: “Despite the knock-backs we have faced to date with our funding bids for Huyton, we remain committed to delivering our ambitious scheme in Huyton for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors.

“They too deserve modern facilities like other areas. The Government has already identified Knowsley as a priority 1 area for the funding, yet Huyton has persistently been overlooked. We will continue to lobby the Government, highlighting why Huyton needs to be levelled up.”