Liverpool City Council is set to receive a £55m investment boost from Homes England to accelerate the regeneration of Liverpool’s historic northern docklands.
A report to the Council’s Cabinet today is recommending the council enters into an agreement with Homes England to accept Brownfield Infrastructure Land (BIL) grant funding.
The public funding relates to Central Docks, the largest neighbourhood within Liverpool Waters, and the city’s largest brownfield site. The site, owned by waterside regeneration specialists Peel Waters, is projected to unlock more than £500m in private investment.
The Central Docks scheme includes the establishment of a public park and vital infrastructure to accommodate approximately 2,350 new homes.
The funding for this site, which is subject to final approval from HM Treasury, comes just a week after Rachel Reeves MP, referenced the scheme in her first speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer in which she set out the new Government’s commitment to unlock stalled housing schemes.
The Central Docks scheme was also identified by the Liverpool Strategic Futures Panel, chaired by Mayor Steve Rotheram, and forms part of Liverpool’s ambitious 20-year plan for the whole of its iconic waterfront.
Liverpool City Council has also made a similar brownfield site commitment in its draft housing strategy, currently subject to a public consultation, which supports the delivery of 2,000 new homes every year to 2030 and to double the number of affordable homes across the city.
Peel Waters has stated that the key infrastructure within the 10.5 hectare scheme, which would comprise of utilities, thoroughfares, green spaces, and public amenities, would lay the groundwork for future investments and the development of housing and commercial ventures would also support new community, retail and leisure facilities.
With full planning approval for the site preparation work, the comprehensive plans for Central Docks include the creation of an interconnected network of public spaces. The proposed new landscape will be enriched with the planting of hundreds of trees, with the centrepiece being ‘Central Park,’ a sprawling 2.1-hectare oasis, set to become one of the city’s largest urban green spaces.
Central Park’s design will celebrate the site’s industrial heritage and coastal location, blending coastal and woodland plantations, wetlands, community gardens, and open parkland. Embracing inclusivity and sustainability, the park will feature amenities such as shelters, recreational facilities, and wildlife habitats, to be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.
The development will also significantly enhance connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists, with the aim of creating seamless open access between the city centre, Princes Dock, Central Docks and Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock.
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