Visitors to Bootle’s Strand shopping centre will notice some changes this month as preparations ahead of its £20 million development get underway.  

Hoardings will start to go up inside the shopping centre mid-September to create safe spaces for surveys and other preparatory works to take place. While this will mean some restricted access in parts of the shopping centre, all businesses will remain open as usual.  

Councillor Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Economy and Skills, said: “It’s exciting to see progress taking place with these hoardings being put in place so that preparations for the major work that’s starting in the coming months can be safely carried out.  

“While the hoardings are up, all the businesses will remain open as usual and that will remain the case throughout the whole development.” 

Cllr Lappin added that rumours the shopping centre will be closing down when the demolition starts are untrue.

The work will be taking place as a consultation on the planning application gets underway, seeking people’s views on the Bootle town centre transformation project.  

Sefton Council was awarded £20 million of funding from central Government to move forward with its plans for Bootle after purchasing the Strand shopping centre in 2017. Current plans include redeveloping the centre to offer a mixture of shopping, leisure, hospitality, health care and education services.  

Councillor Lappin added: “Following the success of the Music Weekender we’re really starting to see things moving forward in Bootle town centre and there is a real positivity about the impact that the changes will have.  

“What I’d ask is that people continue to support the Strand shopping centre during the work and if you have any views you’d like to share please take part in the latest consultation that started last week.”  

Work on the wider area is due to begin early next year, with the first phase set for completion by March 2026.  

People can share their views by visiting the drop-in sessions, which will be held:

• Friday 6^th September, 11am to 4pm at the Strand Information Centre, opposite Greggs.
• Wednesday 11^th September, 2pm to 7pm in 329 Stanley Road (the soon to be Kingsley & Co unit).

A webinar will also be held on-line, with details to be announced. 

Information will also be available online at www.sefton.gov.uk/BootleStrand, and comments or questions can be submitted to strandfuture@sefton.gov.uk .

Alternatively, any comments can be passed on using strandfuture@sefton.gov.uk