Liverpool City Council is looking to attract a developer for a 22-acre waterfront site, known as Festival Gardens.
A report to the council’s cabinet next Friday recommends a procurement process be undertaken to appoint a development partner. If approved, the search will be launched in early 2023.
According to the plans, the site has a potential for the construction of 1,500 homes, which will begin in 2025, subject to relevant planning approvals.
The search for a partner follows almost year-long review of the site, which aimed to ensure it aligns with the council’s recently adopted local plan, council plan and the mayoral triple lock policy.
The council was previously in exclusive talks with Ion, which had produced a draft residential masterplan for the site. However, this agreement expired in March last year. Ion will be invited to submit a new bid.
The site was formerly a part of the International Garden Festival celebrations launched by Queen Elizabeth II in 1984. In early 2021, Vinci Building won a £45m contract to prepare the site for potential development. The excavation is now 80% complete, but the cabinet report outlines that the alterations to the excavation programme are required, the costs of which are yet to be determined.
Sarah Doyle, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for development and economy, said: “It’s not a surprise given the sheer scale of the site that the excavation has surpassed what was originally estimated and costed. But whatever the additional costs will be, they will be dwarfed by the long-term economic impact for the city and the millions in revenue that will be generated by the council tax income, which we can invest in our front-line services.”
The announcement comes shortly after a report on Liverpool City Council’s progress revealed shortcomings around financial management and senior leadership. The report also criticised the slow progress made in driving improvement measures.
Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of the City of Manchester, has been drafted in by central government to help fix the council’s “continued problems”.
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