A link road that is expected to unlock massive redevelopment at a former colliery site and have an "absolutely tremendous" impact on the area has been opened. The Parkside Link Road has been officially launched and is predicted to have an
The Parkside project is set to transform the former Parkside Colliery site in Newton-le-Willows into a new employment park.
The newly unveiled Parkside Link Road is expected to "unlock" the site for development, bringing much-needed investment, jobs, infrastructure, and training opportunities to residents and communities in Newton-le-Willows and surrounding areas.
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The road, a £60m infrastructure project, was funded with £39 million from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, with additional funding from St Helens Council and Parkside Regeneration.
The aim of the new road is to divert traffic generated by the site away from residential areas and the A49, improving connectivity for commuters and helping to alleviate environmental concerns.
Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "This is not just a road or a piece of infrastructure, this creates the opportunity now for businesses to come here, to relocate to St Helens, to create those really good opportunities.
"Of course, what we want to do, is to see this place flourish in the near future."
Mr Rotheram responded to questions about opposition to the scheme, saying: "Everybody wants things done, but nobody wants things done near them.
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"This was an area for 40 odd years has been abandoned, and you can see Mother Nature has taken over largely.
"But this will have new life breathed into it because the types of companies who are already interested in coming here will create the good jobs, they'll create the opportunity for skills development."
Cllr Anthony Burns, the leader of St Helens Council, believes the impact will be "absolutely tremendous".
"All our growth and regeneration agenda, this is what we're trying to get across to residents, it's not about shiny buildings, it's about people," he said.
"So the fact that we can create all those opportunities, higher-paid jobs, and not just the jobs but the skills linked to them, to get our young people to those jobs, that's the thing that makes me most excited about this place.
"The Freeport is brilliant, the City Region is brilliant, all that kind of stuff is brilliant, but it's about the real people getting the real jobs and opportunities."
Cllr Kate Groucutt, St Helens Council's cabinet member for business and inclusive growth, said the link road will have a "transformative" impact.
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She said: "It's about what the road unlocks, which is easier travel, easier movement for residents in their daily lives, for school, for leisure, but also crucially for business.
"It's true there has been opposition, but I feel we've listened throughout that process, and the plans really reflect that engagement with the local community – so, for example, the local community will have access to the site, to walking routes, to green space, in a way which we didn't have before, it was closed and it was not accessible."