AROUND 5,000 new jobs could be created in St Helens following the announcement of the new Merseyside Objective One programme which provides £844 million of Euro funding over the next seven years.

The focus of activity will be around the Southern Corridor along the link road and the town centre, but activities can take place anywhere within St Helens.

The funds are part of a package aimed at creating new jobs and providing training to fill them, as well as improving quality of life. To this end there are four priority areas: developing business, developing people, developing infrastructure, and developing pathways communities.

St Helens Council deputy leader and Executive Member for Economic Development, John Fletcher, said: "We now have to rise to the challenge to help create the jobs and investment opportunities which Objective One gives us. St Helens has already achieved so much under past Objective One initiatives. These include projects such as the World of Glass, Sherdley Business Park, Lea Green station and the redevelopment of the Citadel Arts centre plus improvements to Victoria Square and the Pathways schemes.

"Our task is to find partners to come up with matched funding which could be gleaned from other sources such as the Single Regeneration Budget, Health Action Zone, Lottery Fund or Coalfield Regeneration Trust plus, of course, the private sector." Projects already earmarked will tie in closely to the local £25 million 'Count Me In' programme, and include the new Saints stadium and conference centre, as well as the Millennium one-stop welfare centre on the site of the former Rivoli.

Others include:

New business units at the Technology Campus and a major strategy to attract investment on brownfield sites.

Improved public transport via expended SMART bus links, an extension to the St Helens central rail station, and park and ride facilities at Lea Green, Newton and Carr Mill.

Environmental improvements to the canal and greenways such as Sankey Valley.

Development of a 'cultural quarter' around George Street.

A tourist information centre and other measures to promote the borough.

Upgraded borough-wide IT infrastructure.

A training and education assessment centre, and extension to St Helens College telecoms training facility.

Improvements to Bold Miners Welfare Centre.

Extension of existing Pathways projects as well as new ones.

All of these will be supported by large-scale local labour and other community economic development initiatives. However, European funds will provide only up to 50 per cent of costs, so it is essential to match projects with other policy and funding initiatives.