THERE’S talk of a cinema complex and more shops, but will the big new facelift of the New Mersey Shopping Park in South Liverpool sort out the traffic chaos?
On busy days traffic along Speke Boulevard, heading to the shopping mecca, one of the biggest in the UK, is bumper to bumper.
Owner British Land say says there will be “significant improvements” to the layout of the car park. But it’s the “in and out” onto the road network that needs most attention, as regular visitors will realise.
It’s a problem affecting any shopping park in the area, Cheshire Oaks and the Trafford Centre included.
On Friday a mobile exhibition will be opened outside Smyths Toy Shop to give shoppers and staff a chance to view and comment on the big facelift and refurb. It will be open between noon and 7pm on Friday and between 10-30am and noon on Saturday.
There’s promise of around 1,000 new jobs being created, which includes 400 construction roles.
British Land has owned the shopping park since 2001, but going back in time it was originally conceived with government funding to create jobs in a range of ready-built factory units.
The problem was there were few takers for the manufacturing units which, for a long period, stood empty. The Speke Garston Development Company, a quango set up to regenerate the area, realised the potential of transforming them for retail use and the park took off.
It has become a thriving jobs provider in the area, with a host of high street names including M&S, Next, Arcadia, JD Sports, Boots, New Look, WH Smith, Clarks and Argos.
There are currently 31 retail units on the park, two restaurants and three ATM machines.
The new plan will mean more stores on the roster. British Land say they hope to make a number of enhancements, improving the look and feel of the zone, creating a cinema, restaurants and new leisure facilities.
A British Land spokesman said: “Prior to submitting a planning application we are committed to consulting with local stakeholders, our retailers and shoppers.”
Garston once boasted a number of cinemas, but none survive and the age of the silver screen bypassed Speke altogether.
