Skelmersdale was meant to house Liverpool's overspill population

Skelmersdale was one of the UK's "new towns" and was built in 1961 to house the overspill population of Liverpool.

Local residents, who have complained that the town centre is nothing more than a concrete shopping concourse, are now being asked for their opinion.

A group of specialist consultants, including Morecambe-born Hemingway, has been brought in to redesign the town.

'No heart'

"When you look at the original plans it was supposed to have 8,000 people living right in the centre with hotels, with discos, with bars," he said.

"You look at the original pictures and they're brilliant.

"That's what a town needs and it doesn't have it, so it needs a heart. What we do know is that it can be better than this."

Hemingway, who founded the fashion label Red or Dead, has also been drafted in to help regenerate the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven.

West Lancashire District Council brought the team together to discuss Skelmersdale's regeneration on Tuesday.