The welcome news that planning consent has been granted for a new Baltic Station in Liverpool is a timely reminder of the value of effective transport infrastructure within any successful regeneration development. 

Urban regeneration is about making places better for everyone who lives there, reducing inequalities and creating new opportunities for social and economic growth. 

Public transport, delivered well as part of an integrated planning strategy, can positively affect places and people, improving quality of life, reducing crime and traffic accidents, and increasing economic opportunities and income. It can leave a lasting legacy on deprived communities and create more socially inclusive, prosperous, secure, safer and healthier places in which to live. It can be even more impactful when local communities are engaged before and during development to improve their understanding of the project and hopefully garner their support.

Local authorities work hard to ensure the delivery of new infrastructure meets the needs of its neighbourhoods, focusing on both the ‘people’ and ‘place’ aspects of regeneration. We see examples of that integrated approach in Sefton and Wirral, where we are supporting delivery of two very different projects which both have stronger communities at their heart.

In Wirral, we are working with Wirral Council to deliver a new neighbourhood at Hind Street in Birkenhead town centre, featuring up to 1,600 homes, a new linear park, enhanced active travel route for pedestrians and cyclists, and a range of commercial and community amenities.Public transport enhancements are central to the development, which is within walking distance of three railway stations and a range of bus routes, connecting it to Liverpool, Chester, Manchester and beyond. 

Meanwhile, we are supporting Mersey Care NHS Trust in their plans for Maghull Mental Health Innovation Park, a world-class centre of excellence in mental health research and part of the Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone. Sefton Council and Merseytravel have delivered significant infrastructure changes to Maghull in recent years, transforming an important junction off the M58 motorway by adding two ‘missing’ slip lanes to provides east-west access to the network, while also building a brand new railway station, Maghull North. 

Our team was also pleased to be the delivery partner for the £25m Wolverhampton Interchange, which has transformed the city’s bus and rail infrastructure and provided an important catalyst for further regeneration of Wolverhampton.

In all of those locations, there is a clear and collective understanding of the crucial role that transport infrastructure plays in creating sustainable, positive change for people who live, work and invest there. 

In Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, where rapid change has been evident for some years, the dawn of a new railway station offers an opportunity to crystallise that momentum and create a strong community location which is connected to its surroundings and built to last.