Knowsley Council's Cabinet has agreed to move forward with the next stage of investment in Kirkby town centre, approving plans for a leisure-led scheme at the heart of the town.

The Council has already committed more than £43.8 million to Kirkby since purchasing the town centre from the private sector in November 2019. Its latest decision is intended to help secure up to £5 million of overall investment to deliver a purpose-built leisure facility, anchored by a modern indoor padel tennis offer to promote leisure, health and wellbeing.

The proposed 32,000 sq ft complex is designed to host up to six padel tennis courts and will include changing rooms, a café and social areas with spaces specifically created for community use. The building will be adaptable so its layout and activities can be reconfigured in future if needed.

With this commitment in place, the Council will now proceed to detailed design work, prepare a planning application, complete the legal steps to agree and grant a lease to an operator, and procure contractors to build the scheme.

The Council's investment is underpinned by £2.5 million of Government-backed Pride in Place funding, secured through the Kirkby Neighbourhood Board, to support ongoing regeneration in the town centre.

-- Advertisement --

Regenerating Kirkby remains a central priority for the Council, with significant improvements already delivered since 2019. These include 94,000 sq ft of new retail space, now fully occupied by tenants such as Morrisons and its petrol filling station, Home Bargains, Pure Gym, The Coffee House, BodyFuel Supplement, Willowbrook Home and Fashion, Hot Curl Pilates and MyDentist. The site also hosts KFC and Taco Bell drive-throughs and offers free parking for shoppers for up to three hours for over 260 cars.

Further additions to the local offer include MADE to be MUM, Bloom Childcare and Lindsay’s Art Shed. Adult skills provision has been introduced via a FACE adult learning centre on St Chad’s Parade, bringing training opportunities into the town centre.

Family-focused facilities are expanding, with Monkey Town completing its internal fit-out to create a large indoor play venue with food, refreshments and social space ahead of an October 2026 opening. The award-winning Casa Roni’s Mediterranean restaurant is also set to open soon on Newtown Gardens.

A new phase providing 30,000 sq ft of retail space on Telegraph Way has been approved, bringing further jobs and choice. Lidl has confirmed it will occupy the first unit there, opening a new supermarket that will create more than 40 jobs and add to the grocery options residents have requested.

Transport and access have also been enhanced, with £2.2 million from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority helping transform the multi-storey car park into a sustainable travel hub. It provides 372 long- and short-stay spaces over eight floors, along with electric vehicle charging points, dedicated disabled bays, sensor-controlled lighting and CCTV. Free parking continues to be available across the town centre.

Education and housing have progressed too. The ground floor of the Kirkby Centre has been converted into a post-16 education facility for Alt Bridge School, while construction is under way on more than 800 new homes on land south of Cherryfield Drive. In addition, £19.5 million of Pride in Place funding and Government approval for a Regeneration and Investment Plan will help deliver key community priorities.