Kirkby town centre back in 2019. (Image: Liverpool Echo)
A town once dubbed the “worst shopping destination” in Britain is finally starting to turn things around. Kirkby in Merseyside is just six miles from Liverpool and was voted the worst place to shop in 2019. For more than 40 years, it didn’t have a proper supermarket after Asda closed its doors in 1979. It was a town long associated with decline, vandalism, and broken regeneration promises.
But that wasn’t always the case. In the 1950s, Kirkby experienced a rapid population boom as Liverpool City Council relocated families from overcrowded inner-city housing. The population jumped from just 3,000 in 1951 to over 52,000 a decade later, with nearly half under the age of 15, according to The Telegraph. But despite early hopes, Kirkby soon began to struggle. Factory closures in the 1970s and 1980s saw unemployment soar to 22.6% by 1981, and crime rates were among the highest in the country. Several housing blocks were also demolished within just years of being built.
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Kirkby town centre back in 1994. (Image: Getty)
By the time it was voted the UK’s worst shopping destination, Kirkby had become somewhat of a symbol of stalled regeneration.
Now, though, things are starting to change.
In 2019, Knowsley Council bought the town centre for £43.6 million after years of failed private investment.
Two years later, a new 94,000 sq ft retail development was completed, despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic.
It brought in a Morrisons supermarket with its own bakery, butcher and fishmonger, creating over 490 jobs and injecting £15.3 million a year into the local economy.
According to Knowsley News, since then the town centre has seen footfall increase by 160%.
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The new Morrisons supermarket in Kirkby. (Image: Knowsley Council)
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In 2019, Knowsley Council bought the town centre for £43.6 million. (Image: Liverpool Echo)
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The Financial Times also listed Kirkby as one of the top three areas in the UK to recover best from the pandemic.
What’s more, a new train station has opened at Headbolt Lane, and the town's multi-storey car park has been transformed into a “travel hub” thanks to £2.2 million in funding.
The next phase of development will deliver another 29,000 sq ft of modern retail space.
Back in January, Councillor Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “I’m delighted to be able to announce a further new phase of retail development in Kirkby Town Centre.
“I know that local people have been asking for a wider offer in terms of retail in the town and I’m hopeful that we will be able to secure tenants very soon and then progress these plans.
“Kirkby really is a fantastic location - for businesses, residents, visitors and investors - and I am looking forward to seeing the expansion of our retail offer.”
