Liverpool City Council will begin a procurement exercise to attract a developer for one of the North of England’s major development sites.

A report on Friday, 23 September is recommending procurement procedures begin to appoint a development partner for a 22-acre prime waterfront plot near to the city’s Festival Gardens.

If approved the council anticipates it will launch the search in early 2023.

Following the new appointment of a developer, a scheme for potentially 1,500 homes is predicted to begin in 2025 subject to relevant planning approvals.

The excavation process will include an additional £8.5m programme of ground infrastructure works to lay drainage and power supply. The package of works will be jointly funded by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Homes England.

A key part of these infrastructure works is the installation of a sub-station, the preparation for which is to begin imminently.

Cllr Sarah Doyle, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet member for Development and Economy, said: “The site next to Festival Gardens is on prime waterfront land and presents one of the most exciting development opportunities in the UK.

“Now that that review is complete a clear programme has been set out to shape its future direction. If approved, this procurement process will mean adding a year to the original timescales but given the site lay dormant for a quarter of a century our focus is on getting this right, as this scheme will be a home for a whole community for the rest of this century.


The Liverpool Festival Gardens site, 3 miles to the south of the city centre, is split into three zones:
• Development Zone – 28 acres including the former ‘Pleasure Island’ dome, plaza and waterfront bund.
• The Gardens – 25 acres of Oriental Gardens set around a landscaped mound with large surface car park remaining from Festival Gardens.
• Southern Grasslands – 37 acres of former Festival Gardens land.