Council decides on £2m-plus plan to give Penwortham a shopping makeover

South Ribble Council's cabinet will debate the town's ambitious Masterplan to upgrade the retail centres in Liverpool Road, Middleforth and Kingsfold at its meeting on Wednesday.

Officers have recommended the long-awaited project should get the go-ahead despite a likely shortfall in funding at present. They say the authority can explore other ways to raise the extra cash - probably through the Government's Levelling Up Fund and other grant schemes - once agreement is reached.

And they have addressed concerns from members of the council's own scrutiny committee claiming the plan is neither realistic nor achievable in the current financial climate.

A report to cabinet says: "The scrutiny committee provided no evidence to substantiate that the Masterplan is not realistic or achievable apart from the financial challenges. There is a budget set of £2m at present, the budget setting process for 2023/24 can look to address funding shortfalls. Furthermore there is an outstanding Levelling Up Fund bid currently with Government."

The largest part of the plan is the reconfiguration of the main Liverpool Road through the town centre from Crookings Lane to Cop Lane, providing narrower traffic lanes and wider public space.

More than nine million vehicles were diverted out of the town centre in the first two years of the Penwortham Bypass and the council wants to build on that by providing larger paved areas with seats and shelters to encourage more community interaction. Businesses will be able to use the newly-created space to expand outwards and continue the growth of the town's cafe culture which has seen the arrival of new bars and eateries since the bypass first arrived.

The report says: "The key theme for this corridor is to take advantage of significant reduction in traffic following the implementation of the Penwortham Bypass and to provide a much wider public realm experience by narrowing the carriageway for vehicles and providing better opportunity for pedestrians, cycles and ‘spill out’ space for multi functional activity.

"The newly found space can be used by businesses to personalise and expand. Similar to the spill-out spaces, but at a larger scale and with no direct association with any specific retail unit, the flexible space will provide an opportunity to add life to the street, contribute to visitor’s experience and facilitate community interaction.

"This area will be relatively open with landscape features, including electrical power points, to define the space and create an enclosure. This will be the site for pop-up events such as street markets, live music, Christmas trees and community events."

In Kingsfold the local centre around the junction of Pope Lane and Cop Lane will get new surfacing and street furniture. There will also be a focus on reducing traffic speeds and sorting out parking to limit pedestrian and vehicle conflict. The scheme will also look at improving the public open space.

And in Middleforth, in Lower Penwortham, a 600-metre stretch of Leyland Road, from Marshall's Brown to Riverside Road, will get environmental improvements to increase safety and make the best use of any open space.

The council has been working on a new Masterplan for Penwortham since late 2020.