Halton Lea town centre in Runcorn is to be put forward for a £1m investment package.

The scheme from Halton council includes improved walking and cycling links, a new roof-top community garden, grants for community groups, a new children’s centre and youth zone.

The cash will be made available from the Liverpool city region combined authority’s town centre fund, devised by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.

A meeting will be held this Friday when the combined authority will be asked to approve up to £6m – £1m for each of its six local authorities – to support plans to revitalise town centres.

The combined authority agreed to commission the fund in October last year and since then councils have been working on investment programmes identifying which town centres they wish to nominate, along with proposals for what they intend to do.

Mr Rotheram said: “Our high streets were once the beating heart of our communities. But with the rise of new technologies and changing customer habits – they face a stark choice: modernisation or further decline.

“That is why we have introduced this £6m fund – to re-imagine and reshape what our town centres look like in the 21st century.

"By working with our local authorities we can take action to ensure they thrive over the next 20 years.

“We must ensure that every part of our region prospers – and that is why we’ve ensured each borough receives exactly the same amount from this fund.”

Leader of Halton council Cllr Rob Polhill said: “The award of funding provides a good opportunity to build on the Halton Lea masterplan which was approved last year.

"We believe our programme brings a new and exciting approach to how we can imaginatively encourage people to use our town centre.

"All partners are working closely to make this happen quickly.”

The project put forward by Halton includes:

Wayfinding strategy

Enhanced pedestrian linkages

Cycling without age – social inclusivity

Local centre app

Roof top community garden

Community grants for voluntary sector

Children’s centre and youth zone

Community shop