Plans for a new bus station in Kirkby have been approved as part of a £200m regeneration of the area.
The bus station will feature five stands with its surrounding area being decorated in reference to Edward Lear, a Knowsley poet and artist.
Temporary facilities on Irlam Drive and St Chad’s Drive will be provided by Merseytravel during the construction of the bus station and public toilets will be available in the Kirkby Centre and Kirkby Market.
Tony Barton, a 1st 4 Kirkby candidate for Cherryfield Ward told JMU Journalism: “Any regeneration is important to Kirkby and we welcome this new bus station idea.
“Problems we have are that the scheme won’t be coming with any staff to inform or advise people. The problem we have with Kirkby is that they are feeling neglected by Knowsley Council.”
Work has recently been completed on the site of the new Kirkby Market following a £2.5 million investment by Knowsley Council with the new market open six days-a-week with up to 132 stalls.
Kirkby residents have previously expressed their dissatisfaction with the project as the regeneration plans have been in place since December 2006. The plan was initially to move Everton’s football stadium to the town and add a Tesco Superstore but they were later rejected by the council in November 2009.
Mr Barton added: “Tesco have never put a penny into Kirkby and keep telling us they are going to be beneficial for the community but they haven’t done anything up to now. It seems illogical that they want to be part of the community but always refuse when we ask them to be a part of community projects like the Kirkby festival.
“Kirkby seems to be getting less and less as time goes on and Huyton seems to be getting the lion’s share of the investment from Knowsley Council.”
JMU Journalism contacted Tesco for a comment on Mr Barton’s claims but we did not receive a response.
Additional reporting by Jonny Coupe