Making the right connections

Located in the booming Northwest, John Quirk explains that St.Helens can offer businesses all the services that they might, require matched with a location that they can afford

Midway between Liverpool and Manchester, with excellent motorway links and within 45 minutes of the region’s airports, St.Helens can rightly proclaim itself the Heart of The Northwest and that places it in the centre of a multi-billion pound economy.

Firm evidence of this is the fact that a number of developers and businesses have chosen St.Helens as their regional headquarters in order to profit from the borough’s advantages in terms of connectivity, catchment and cost.
St.Helens has been independently highlighted as one of the most attractive potential office locations in the country. This status is thanks to its prime regional connectivity, a catchment of seven million people, clients and customers, within an hour’s drive, plus a highly cost-effective, business-friendly environment.

Sustained private and public sector investments have led to a major boost in the Borough’s appeal as an outstanding business base. Prestigious developments, including Mere Grange and Empress Park, are underway across the Borough, providing managed, contemporary workspace for a range of high growth sector businesses. Such projects and developments at Micklehead Business Village and Old Boston will provide the opportunity to create over 3,000 jobs in the area and maintain the region’s attractiveness as a location for logistics and associated industries.

In particular, Haydock and Lea Green, to the east and south of the Borough, have been attracting a great deal of interest. Both Haydock, home of one of the UK’s most-visited racecourses and Lea Green, close to the iconic 20 metre high Dream sculpture, offer companies space to expand with the advantage of excellent motorway links and expertise of skilled local labour in the distribution and logistics sector.

Morley Estates is developing Boston Park in Haydock, close to Junction 23 of the M6 motorway and, situated directly next to the East Lancs Road (A580). The company is also developing Empress Park, a six and a half acre site with planning consent for collegiate-style offices, a crèche, gym and three retail facilities. Morley’s combined investment in Boston Park and Empress Park is about £30m, including grant assistance. In terms of employment opportunities, the Empress site alone will create opportunities for 1,500 people - a significant addition to the local economy.

At Lea Green, Langtree plc has made a significant investment in the 31-acre Mere Grange business park. Mere Grange, home to Keller Geotechnique, Lloyds Business Communications and Miller Construction UK Ltd, is set to become one of the Northwest's premier business parks. Phase one is complete and offers 10 high quality office units, set in a landscaped environment, close to the amenities of the Town Centre and Ravenhead Retail Park.

 Bob Hepworth, director of Urban Regeneration and Housing at St.Helens Council says: “The current financial climate means St.Helens’ competitive advantages in terms of connectivity, catchment and cost are even more relevant to businesses keen to trim operating costs and maximise efficiency.

There is no doubt that we continue to face major economic challenges but we can be rightly proud of our recent achievements, which provide an ongoing impetus to doing what we do best - harnessing our locational advantage at the heart of the Northwest to deliver real economic benefits."

Moreover St.Helens also offers premium, bespoke support to businesses by a proactive Investment and Aftercare Team and one of the best Chambers of Commerce in the country. St.Helens has also won two coveted “Beacon Council” status awards, including for “Raising Economic Prosperity Through Partnership”, thanks to its work with St.Helens Chamber on enterprise creation. In 2008, a national survey named St.Helens as the “happiest” place to live on Merseyside, second happiest in the Northwest and fourteenth in Britain.

Reinforcing the Borough’s growing profile as a prime business location is the fact that St.Helens was the only district in the Northwest to successfully bid for Round One Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) funding. Since its launch in April 2006, the £22m, five year LEGI programme has already helped start more than 1,370 new businesses, created over 2,800 new jobs and generated business in excess of £42m.