A long-delayed revamp of Penwortham town centre is still not at the stage of becoming a reality – with the latest hold-up appearing to be the result of a wrangle between councils over its design.
The overhaul of the main Liverpool Road shopping area was first mooted more than six years ago – and was intended to follow the opening of the Penwortham bypass in December 2019.
The idea was to take advantage of the drop in traffic using the town centre as a through-route by creating a greener, more relaxed and pedestrian-friendly environment – with wider pavements and ‘spill-out’ areas for seating in front of the shops.
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However, the route in 2026 remains almost identical to how it looked prior to the completion of the bypass, also known as John Horrocks Way.
It has now emerged that South Ribble Borough Council, which is leading the project, is still in discussions with Lancashire County Council about the exact nature of the transformation scheme. The county authority is responsible for the highways and would have to approve any changes.
South Ribble began to engage with County Hall for what is known as ‘pre-application’ advice about the specifics of the Liverpool Road proposal in March last year.
The ongoing negotiations were revealed as progress was announced regarding two other elements of an overall package of regeneration measures for the town collectively known as the ‘Penwortham Masterplan’. The borough authority has now appointed a contractor to deliver proposed improvements to the neighbourhood centres on Cop Lane in Kingsfold and Leyland Road in Middleforth.
Those two projects now appear set to accelerate ahead of the main town centre upgrade, with a council report stating that the work for the latter would be “tendered separately in due course…in light of the delays with Lancashire County Council in reaching an agreed scheme for Liverpool Road”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about the latest developments, South Ribble Borough Council leader Matthew Tomlinson said: “The Penwortham Masterplan is an exciting regeneration project for Liverpool Road, Kingsfold and Middleforth. The programme will see re-designing of the public realm, additional public spaces and landscaping.
“As part of the Kingsfold and Middleforth element of the project, I’m pleased to say that we have recently appointed a construction contractor and will be having an inception meeting very soon. While a final programme is yet to be agreed, we will be looking to commence construction this year.
“The Liverpool Road element of the scheme has been the subject of some negotiation with Lancashire County Council and is still in the design stage. A tender process for a contractor will be the next step.
“We will keep residents updated as the project progresses however in the meantime information about the project and the plans can be viewed at www.southribble.gov.uk/penworthammasterplan.”
The original momentum for the masterplan vision following completion for the bypass was lost as a result of the onset of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.
However, the delay looked set to be fleeting when South Ribble Borough Council announced in August the following year that the designer Wayne Hemingway had been brought on board to deliver what was at that point billed as a £2m facelift for the town.
Meanwhile, the county council also completed the Penwortham-to-Preston ‘cycle superhighway’ scheme, creating a segregated cycle route from close to the new Tesco store in the town through to the edge of the city centre.
Public consultation events into the broader masterplan followed in both 2021 and the summer of 2022 – and the scheme subsequently formed a key part of South Ribble’s bid for cash from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, with £5m then being sought for the work.
However, that pitch proved unsuccessful and, according to South Ribble’s own timeline charting the history of the project, the next major step did not then come until late 2024 when the authority engaged with ward councillors and Penwortham Town Council to ensure that it was “still delivering a scheme in line with the original masterplan”.
The LDRS understands that at some point, Wayne Hemingway’s involvement came to an end.
The designs for the Middleforth and Kingsfold projects were finalised last September ahead of the search beginning for a contractor to deliver them.
According to South Ribble Borough Council’s latest capital programme update, almost £3.5m has been set aside for ‘masterplanning and regeneration’ in Penwortham from 2026/27 onwards.
The LDRS approached Lancashire County Council for comment on the blueprint for redesigning Liverpool Road.
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