At today’s meeting of the Combined Authority, £12m funding was approved to pave the way for the Halsnead Garden Village near Whiston.

The development is one of only 14 sites in England to have been awarded Garden Village status by the government and is the largest combined housing and employment site in the city region.

This highly-ambitious project has the potential to deliver 1600 high-quality homes for Knowsley, and the rest of the city region. The project is also expected to attract multi-million pound investment in the logistics and advanced manufacturing sectors, creating up to 1000 highly-skilled and well-paid jobs.

This funding will enable the delivery of major transport infrastructure improvements necessary to develop the sites and will include Tarbock Island at junction six of the M62 and a further six junction improvements.

Following the meeting, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“We were very keen to support this application for what is one of our city region’s most significant development sites. By providing this funding we will remove the transport constraints that have stopped the site being developed, enabling the creation of much needed homes and a significant number of jobs, which are expected to boost the local economy to the tune of more than £40m per year.”

Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, added:

“We are delighted that the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has confirmed this funding towards the Halsnead Garden Village development. This is a highly-ambitious project for Knowsley and a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new unique settlement, hundreds of new jobs and make a major contribution towards the region’s economy.

“The council has been working closely with private developers who are really keen to progress their plans and the delivery of these off-site transport and infrastructure improvements will ensure the development of the site is able to progress.”