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Liverpool Waters
plans submitted to Government
THE £5.5 BILLION scheme to
regenerate 60 hectares of dock land in Liverpool has reached an
important milestone. The City Council has officially submitted
the ambitious Liverpool Waters plans to the Government.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles MP will now consider the plans
and decide if a Public Inquiry will be held. The City Council and
Peel are hopeful of a positive early response from Mr Pickles.
Liverpool's planning committee initially granted planning permission
for the scheme in March, with a number of conditions; including
those relating to timescales, the heights of buildings and phasing
of works.
The City Council and Peel Holdings have worked together to address
these conditions and officers presented an updated report to the
planning committee last month, which was approved – paving the way
for submission to the Government.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, said:- "It's taken several
months of negotiation and discussion with Peel to secure the
conditions agreed at the planning committee earlier this year. This
is the biggest planning application that the City Council has
ever considered, running to thousands of pages. It has been
extremely important to get the detail of the conditions right before
submitting the application to Government. I'm delighted
we are now delivering these plans which I am confident will fully
convey to the Secretary of State our ability to deliver this vitally
important regeneration scheme, while protecting our architectural
heritage. Liverpool Waters has the potential to transform a
part of the City that has been in desperate need of investment for
decades. The scheme will create thousands of jobs and opportunities
for the local population, as well as providing new housing and
attracting new businesses and visitors."
Liverpool Waters involves a comprehensive redevelopment of up to 60
hectares of dock land over a 30 year period. It will create more
than 20,000 jobs, 9,000 homes and 3 million square feet of
commercial development, and will include hundreds of offices, a
cruise liner terminal, hotels, shops, restaurants and leisure
facilities.
In March 2011, the Government established four areas in the country
as "Enterprise Zones", including "Mersey Waters" which
consists of Peel's Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters schemes. The
additional support and benefits these zones will receive include a
business rates discount for 5 years, a simplified and improved
planning regime and superfast broadband.
Lindsey Ashworth, Development Director at Peel Holdings, said:-
"This has been an extremely complicated project to get to this
stage. There have been no precedents that we can draw from for
guidance as it is a totally unique scheme, quite befitting for a
unique City. We have diligently worked through every word and every
sentence with the officers of Liverpool City Council to get
the conditions to a stage where all the control mechanisms are in
place, but not so over-restrictive that it frightens off potentially
interested investors or tenants. We are delighted with the
final set of documentation which shows that true partnership between
the public and private sector exists to the benefit of the people of
Liverpool. We are confident that our Government will share the
same view so we can all move on to create a new addition to this
fantastic waterfront and perhaps more importantly create thousands
of jobs for local people over many decades."
Ian Pollitt, Project Manager at Peel Holdings, said:- "The
issuing of the papers to the Secretary of State is a key milestone
for Peel in what has so far been a six year journey to make
Liverpool Waters a reality. We believe in the project and most
importantly we believe in Liverpool and its people. We have received
overwhelming endorsement from the community and local stakeholders
as well as unanimous approval from the Council's planning
committee to date. We firmly believe that Liverpool Waters will
drive economic growth in the City region, help strengthen
communities and provide job opportunities for generations to come.
We are confident that the Secretary of State will see the
overwhelming community support for this project."
More information about Liverpool Waters is available online at:-
liverpoolwaters.co.uk.
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Liverpool
Marathon Sunday 14 October
ON Sunday 14 October the
'Run Liverpool' Marathon will take place, causing diversions to some
public transport services across Liverpool and Wirral.
In Liverpool bus diversions will be in place all day until 17.30hrs.
Passengers using Service 82 will have to walk across Upper
Parliament St & use a shuttle bus to and from the City Centre,
Service 82A will terminate at Brunswick Station, where passengers
can join the Merseyrail service to and from Moorfields Station (bus
tickets accepted) and Service 60 will not serve the Aigburth Road
area.
Local bus services in the Dingle area will be affected including the
202 service for Alder Hey, hospital visitors are advised to check
their route before travelling.
Merseyrail are providing 6 car trains on the Northern Line,
Southport to Hunts Cross service throughout the day and in the
morning on the Wirral Line, New Brighton to Liverpool service.
On Wirral bus diversions will be in place all day until 14.30hrs.
Buses will not travel to New Brighton and Seacombe terminals, some
services will not call at Woodside and Cross River services through
Kingsway Tunnel are expected to meet with delays.
For further travel information please call Traveline:- 0871 200 22 33
open daily 8am to 8pm or visit:-
merseytravel.gov.uk.
Cruise terminal
grant repaid
LIVERPOOL City
Council has paid back the £8.8 million requested by the Government
so that cruises can start and end at the Pier Head. The City
Council agreed in May to abide by an independent ruling over how
much of the £9.2 million Government grant received for the
construction of the cruise liner facility should be returned. This
is because the grant was given on the basis that the terminal was
used for 'day call'
rather than 'turnaround'.
In September, Whitehall officials gave details of the repayment
mechanism, and the bill was settled in full.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "We agreed to abide by
the ruling of the independent arbiter and pay the money back, and
that is exactly what we have done. As soon as the Government gave us
details of how they would like the payment to be made, we arranged
for it to be settled promptly. The cruise liner terminal is proving
to be a huge success and we have had extremely positive feedback
from operators and passengers. It provides a big boost to our
tourism industry; creating and sustaining many jobs. Liverpool has
an unrivalled maritime history and we are now on the way to
restoring our reputation as a leading cruise destination. For
far too long, holiday makers in the north have had to travel to and
from other places to start their journeys, and this is helping to
return Liverpool to its rightful place as a major cruise port."
A temporary customs and baggage building, parking and drop off
facilities is operating opposite the facility on Princes Parade. It
is being leased during the cruise season from 2012 to 2015. Plans for a
permanent facility including a hotel will be drawn up in the longer
term.
The City Council forecasts the turnaround facility will have around
a 5% share of an expanding UK cruise market - comparable with the
percentage of the market enjoyed by the Peel owned Langton Dock
facility at its peak. Southampton currently has a market share of
over 65%.
The Cruise Liner terminal is hosting around 30 vessels this year, a
mixture of turnaround, day call and other ships, attracting tens of
thousands of passengers and generating millions of pounds for the
local economy. |
