Faces of St Helens - Karen Hall
In this series, we take a look at some of the people and personalities helping deliver the transformational regeneration of St Helens town centre. We caught up with Karen Hall from VINCI Building who tells us about her life in St Helens and her role at the Hardshaw Centre.
I first moved to St Helens 25 years ago. It was where my late sister lived with her children, and so it was nice to be so close to family, and nice to be a part of their lives. In 2006, I started work as a cleaner at the Hardshaw Centre having moved from on from working in a church.
Through my work there, I got a great sense of St Helens' personality. The families, visitors, shoppers alike. The town is blessed with community, and a knack for local-first.
When the regeneration first started, the builders were always very friendly, and I would wish them a good morning. I started off just helping the team out with the Hardshaw Centre admin and keys; I used to joke with James, who is now my employer, saying "If there's any work going, you know where to find me." Well, he did! One afternoon he offered me the opportunity to come on board as a cleaner for VINCI.
I am back at the site of the former Hardshaw Centre now, cleaning the containers, canteen, and site operations areas. I love it, all the workers are very polite and respectful. I have got so much pride in my work in saying that I'm contributing to this wonderful regeneration project - I'm glad to be a part of it all.
My hope for St Helens is that it becomes a place for people to enjoy. I think it will look amazing once it's done and will go a long way to lift the local mood. Change is a good thing, and I hope it drives local business and community. I'm so pleased that despite the changes, that St Helens still retains a lot of its original character, and I'm excited for what the future holds.