Living and working in Knowsley
Fifteen minutes outside of Liverpool and just thirty five minutes from Manchester, the Borough of Knowsley is home to 159,243 residents. Knowsley faces significant social-economic challenges but is also a place of opportunity and growth.
Transport
Knowsley is located directly on the motorway network meaning car users have easy access to everything the borough and the region has to offer.
For many people we know that public transport is an important way of getting around in an affordable and sustainable, using buses and trains to get to work, education, visit family or to get about in their leisure time.
Knowsley Council works in collaboration with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Merseytravel and a range of other partners to coordinate the delivery of transport services and deliver improvements and investments to the public transport network.
Housing
In recent years Knowsley has established itself as a hugely popular place to call home.
Over recent years, the population has increased by over 9,000 people to 159,243 residents.
There is a wide selection of properties available to rent or buy and with more than 5,700 new homes created here in the last 10 years, there is a quality offer available. This includes affordable homes of which more than 1500 have been built during the same period.
The popularity of the area is clear to see with house prices in Knowsley increasing by 22% since 2020 – compared to the national average of 11%. Despite this increase, house prices remain highly competitive in comparison to other areas in the region.
Those choosing Knowsley to make their home benefit from welcoming communities, attractive local neighbourhoods and an excellent range of local facilities and amenities on the doorstep. Thanks to a major investment programme, Knowsley’s town centres continue to develop and with more than £21 million recently injected into the borough thanks to private sector developer contributions Knowsley has a great deal to offer its residents.
Those who do choose to locate here also have access to the alluring lifestyle offer of Liverpool to the west and Manchester to the east.
Alongside existing properties there are currently 17 new housing development sites under construction including Halsnead Garden Village that will contribute a further 1600 new quality homes.
‘Discover Knowsley – https://www.discoverknowsley.co.uk/’
Town centres
Each of Knowsley’s town centres offer residents a unique range of local amenities, shops and leisure attractions to enjoy. Creating an environment where vibrant local centres can thrive is a key priority for the council. The council has invested over £120 million over the last five years to bring improvements to our town centres, successfully attracting new businesses and an improved and enhanced retail and hospitality offer creating a night time economy. This investment continues with further developments in the pipeline.
Our consultation findings, carried out over the summer of 2022, asked a number of questions relating to our town centres. The findings highlighted that 91% of people could access shops in their town centre, 81% agreed there were restaurants and pubs in their local area and 86% agreed they could access a local library or leisure centre.
The council is currently providing free car parking in all council-owned car parks across all town centres. There is a range of short-stay (up to 3 hours) and long-stay parking bays. Short-stay restrictions are still being enforced.
Prescot
Prescot is a town with a unique and rich heritage which is at the heart of the town’s cultural rejuvenation. This is largely inspired by the new £38m Shakespeare North Playhouse, an iconic theatre and education facility which opened its doors in July 2022. The iconic new theatre which builds on Prescot’s historic links to William Shakespeare and Elizabethan theatre is home to education spaces, outdoor performance garden and exhibition space and is attracting hundreds of thousands of new visitors into Prescot Town Centre.
Significant public and private sector investment into the restoration, repair and extensive improvement of many of the town’s historic buildings, railway station and public realm has led to the opening of many new bars and restaurants, independent retailers and vibrant indoor and outdoor community spaces. Prescot is well connected with a railway station connecting the town to Liverpool and Manchester and is within easy reach of the strategic road network.
Just outside of the town centre, 1,500 new homes have been built by national house builders, while nearby Knowsley Safari welcomes 600,000 people per year making it the most popular paid for visitor attraction in the Liverpool City Region.
Prescot Shopping Centre has recently been acquired by Knowsley Council with the aim of driving further investment and regeneration into the heart of the Town Centre. It is located on the main pedestrianised high street in Prescot and includes adjoining car parking and vacant buildings. Beyond this site, Prescot has a wide range of further residential, leisure and commercial opportunities available within the town centre and surrounding area including gateway sites and major mixed-use development opportunities.
Halewood
Kirkby
With more than 41,000 residents living in the immediate area, Kirkby has a bustling town centre that has benefitted from well more than £100 million public sector investment into new facilities including a new health centre, bus station, library, gallery, new market and public realm improvements. Knowsley Council acquired the town centre in 2019 to deliver a new modern retail development and drive wider regeneration of the area. Despite the Covid pandemic, the first phase of this new retail development completed in 2021 and has delivered a new 94,000 sq ft town centre extension anchored by a 45,000 sq ft Morrisons Supermarket alongside lettings to KFC, Taco Bell, Home Bargains and Pure Gym.
Alongside considerable retail growth, plans for a new cinema and leisure scheme in the town are progressing with opportunities for bars/restaurants from 4,550 sq ft to 5,700 sq ft. The Council is seeking end users to occupy the remaining 800 sq ft to 14,000 sq ft retail units available.
It is estimated that the construction will bring a £16m boost to the local economy and once completed, the retail scheme will provide approximately 360 new jobs.
A number of prime town centre sites, including in the 3.5 acre Kirkby Gateway site, are now available for mixed used developments. These range from 0.3 acres to 3 acres to accommodate further retail, leisure, commercial, hotel and residential development. There is an existing fully serviced site with planning consent for 35,000 sq ft of retail.
Huyton
Huyton is a popular residential area boasting well established local amenities, a prime location on the M62 corridor and regular direct train services to Liverpool, Manchester, Wigan and Preston.
At its heart is Huyton Village, home to the council’s administrative headquarters and location for a mix of national and local retailers. Serving a local population of more than 55,000 people and with a daily influx of c.1,000 town centre employees, the town centre is a busy retail and leisure hub for the local area.
A large programme of house building in the immediate area is driving demand for additional retail and leisure provision in the town centre, alongside a requirement for more new homes close to local transport and retail facilities.
There’s an ambitious 10 year development plan for Huyton which includes the delivery of a new mixed-use commercial district including new leisure, residential and commercial office opportunities centred by an attractive Village Green connecting historic Derby Road. Genr8 Kajima Regeneration have been appointed as the Council’s Development Management Partner for the scheme which will deliver 1700 jobs for the local area and provide a £50m boost for the local economy.
Work is well underway to deliver our vision for Huyton. A shop fronts improvement programme has provided a contemporary makeover including new doors, windows, signage, and lighting to 14 shop fronts with a further two phases to be delivered by the end of 2023. Investment in a public arts strategy is reinvigorating the streetscape improving vibrancy and creating intrigue and interest in the town. A flourishing food and beverage sector is emerging, complementing our aim to diversify the high street offer providing a variety of uses led by a strong independent business sector.
A number of development sites, totalling approximately 7 acres, have now been identified within the mixed-use commercial district and a range of investment opportunities are currently available.
‘Invest in Knowsley – https://www.investknowsley.co.uk/‘
Schools and nurseries
Good quality education and qualifications transforms lives. It is the Council’s strong ambition and clear intent for there to be every opportunity for children and young people to meet their full potential, secure positive outcomes and access the best opportunities.
Knowsley consists of 41 childminder providers and 65 nursery providers 29 early years settings ( private , voluntary or independent) and 35 maintained nursery classes. 89% of all the Borough’s early years provision is rated good or outstanding.
Across the Borough there are 50 mainstream primary schools; 6 mainstream secondary schools, 4 special education schools and 1 pupil referral unit (PRU). 89% of all schools are rated good or better by Ofsted ( 94% of primary schools; 67% of secondary schools and 100% of special schools – including the PRU).
Parks and green spaces
Knowsley is a green borough, hosting 161 public parks and green spaces, covering approximately 600 hectares which include formal parks and gardens, woodlands and meadowlands, local amenity green spaces, sports sites and play areas alongside cemeteries and churchyards.
Knowsley’s publicly accessible parks and green spaces have been rejuvenated over recent years. They offer a significant, varied and unique contribution to meeting many of the Council’s and its partners’ strategic outcomes. Protecting and enhancing parks and green spaces has formed a central part of the Council’s place making approach to help make Knowsley an attractive place to work, live and visit.
Since 2010, Knowsley has successfully delivered against two Green Space Strategies to improve the borough’s green space offer, bringing in millions of pounds of funding and securing 20 Green Flag Awards.
Culture and events
Knowsley has a rich cultural heritage and a lively programme of events and activities every year, including an Elizabethan Fayre in Prescot and the North West’s largest free Flower Show every August to name just two.
In 2022 Knowsley had a particularly exciting year as it celebrated its role as the Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture. During the course of 12 months, it hosted 60 events, attracting more than 537,000 people and featuring across local, regional and national media. Feedback from the events highlighted that people felt “happier and proud of Knowsley” to put on such a spectacular and engaging programme.
And of course, there is Shakespeare North Playhouse – a remarkable cultural venue celebrating Knowsley’s fascinating links to William Shakespeare. Far more than just a venue for Shakespeare, this award-winning building is home to the only purpose built timber framed theatre outside of London, outdoor Performance Garden, café, shop and exhibition gallery. And with a contemporary and broad events programme on offer there is something for everyone at Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Alongside these major attractions sit historic town centres with a growing selection of cafes, restaurants and bars, regular events programme, public art trails and interesting smaller family attractions like Acorn Farm and Space World. Huyton is also home to England’s oldest municipal golf course, Bowring Park Golf Club, where you can Pay as you Play and enjoy the rolling fairways and fantastic views.
Knowsley is also home to Kirkby Gallery – one of the best contemporary art galleries in Merseyside and the North West of England. The gallery presents a broad and ambitious programme of exhibitions, which draws upon collections from the Arts Council Collection, Hayward Touring, National Trust and multiple regional partner and galleries. Knowsley’s Annual Open Exhibitions, schools, and community arts projects are additionally core to much of what the gallery offers also, along with a varied offer of art courses.
‘Discover Knowsley – https://www.discoverknowsley.co.uk/’