St Annes prepares £13m Levelling Up bid

St Annes is to bid for £13m from the government's Levelling Up Fund to transform its town centre.

The centrepiece of the St Annes bid is a plan to revamp the public space between the train station and the promenade. 

If successful, the money would be spent on creating an active travel link for cyclists and pedestrians from the station to the seafront. THe bid also includes a new flexible events space at the heart of the town centre, and improved public realm including upgraded gardens, lighting and signage.

The project would form part of Fylde Council’s wider St Annes Masterplan, which has been created by experts in seaside town regeneration and which includes the £27m M55 link road and the construction of the new £12m St Annes Seawall.

The bid has been prepared in consultation with key partners including Lancashire County Council, St Annes Enterprise Partnership, Mark Menzies MP and the wider residents and business community of St Annes.  

Councillor Karen Buckley, leader of Fylde Council, said: "The St Annes Masterplan is a bold and exciting long term plan which seeks to secure the brightest possible future for the town centre and seafront. 

"Our bid for £13.14 million will help kickstart our ambitions with specific projects that can be delivered in the coming three years. I’d like to express my thanks to all those partners who have contributed and supported our LUF application, as well as all those residents, businesses and other stakeholders who have engaged with us so far."

A decision on the Round 2 LUF application is expected to be communicated to applicants in Autumn of 2022. . If funding is approved by the government, project planning will start immediately, with the project to be completed by March 2025.