Skelmersdale Town Centre Redevelopment
Skelmersdale’s brand new Tawd Valley Centre officially opened on Friday 10th June, marking the completion of the first phase of the town centre redevelopment scheme. B&M Bargains and Lidl opened their brand new stores on Monday 6th June and Monday 6th July respectively, and talks with a third retailer are in the final stages. Along with a further retail unit.
The Tawd Valley Centre is just one aspect of the wider Skelmersdale regeneration project, which will also include a new high street to link West Lancashire College with the rest of the town centre and improvements will also be made to the public areas outside Skelmersdale Library to make them more attractive spaces.
The town centre redevelopment scheme has been a partnership between West Lancashire Borough Council and developer St. Modwen, supported by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership. Construction partners for the project have been Caddick Construction.
Latest Skelmersdale Town Centre News
Caddick Construction completes new Tawd Valley Centre
Caddick Construction have now completed Skelmersdale's brand new £8.2m Tawd Valley Centre, marking the completion of the first phase of the town centre redevelopment scheme.
Tawd Valley Centre nears completion
Skelmersdale's brand new Tawd Valley Centre will officially open next week, marking the completion of the first phase of the town centre redevelopment scheme.
Skelmersdale Tawd Valley Centre Edging Closer
The first phase of the Skelmersdale town centre regeneration project is on track to open by spring 2022, after work on the development significantly progressing.
Skelmersdale Rail Station
On Thursday 7th July, Lancashire County Council and West Lancashire Borough Council received notification from the Department of Transport that the Skelmersdale Rail Link Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), which was formally submitted to Central Government in September 2021, had been rejected and would not be considered for the next stage of development.
Lancashire County Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, Charlie Edwards has said that work will continue to bring other transport improvements to the town, despite the setback to the plans
Other options being looked at include a bus link between Skelmersdale and the planned new railway station at Headbolt Lane in Kirkby, which has featured within the county council’s recently submitted Bus Service Improvement Plan. The Department of Transport have said it will now engage with the county council and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to look into these options in more detail.
The preferred location for the new rail station had already been confirmed as the former Glenburn Sports College and Former West Lancashire College sites on Yewdale in the centre of Skelmersdale, which have already been secured by Lancashire County Council.
The project was expected to cost between £210m and £700m and would have put Skelmersdale on the rail map and offer travellers direct connections to Manchester City Centre, Liverpool City Centre, Wigan and Kirkby, as well enabling connections to the national rail network and even HS2 services in the future.
The SOBC was developed by Lancashire County Council, working in partnership with organisations including Merseytravel, Network Rail and West Lancashire Borough Council.