New pictures show Kirkby’s new shopping development is almost ready to be handed over to Morrison’s ahead of its planned opening this summer.
The development has progressed rapidly since Knowsley Council bought Kirkby town centre towards the end of 2019, kick-starting the town’s regeneration after decades of decline.
Despite the impact of the pandemic, work on the site continued throughout last year and Morrison’s is expected to begin fitting out the new supermarket in the coming weeks, just 18 months after construction started.
Earlier this week, the supermarket chain reconfirmed its commitment to Kirkby as part of plans to open two new stores in an effort to increase sales following a £27m loss over the course of the pandemic.
As well as the new Morrison’s, the development includes space for several other shops including a Home Bargains, plus a petrol station, drive-through KFC and a Taco Bell restaurant.
Knowsley Council, which bought the town centre from private developer St Modwen for £43.7m in 2019, expects the new development to provide hundreds of new jobs and boost the local economy by £15m a year.
The purchase of the town centre followed decades of frustration as several attempts to redevelop Kirkby fell through, including plans that would have seen Everton build a new stadium in the town and a rival proposal involving Tesco.
The current development was originally proposed by St Modwen and received planning permission in 2017.
But the development stalled as St Modwen waited for the economy to improve, prompting the council to eventually step in and take over the town centre.
At the time, council leader Graham Morgan said: “We have worked tirelessly to encourage and support the private sector to deliver on their plans for Kirkby.
“However, despite our best efforts, the redevelopment of the town centre still hasn’t happened and it’s quite clear that we need to find a different model. The people of Kirkby deserve more than this.”
Now the new shops are almost ready to open and plans for a new cinema on the site of the former library have already been approved.
The council is understood to be planning more developments for the town, with a large area to the south of Cherryfield Drive currently up for sale, most likely to a housing developer.
