Movement on a major Liverpool housing development is anticipated next month, with the expectation that its overall size could be reduced.
The Festival Gardens development, which initially proposed in the region of 1,500 new homes on derelict land between Dingle and Otterspool, was shelved last year with Liverpool City Council confirming that it was going back to the drawing board. The project was one of the largest of its kind in the north and would have incorporated sustainable initiatives within the new homes.
The authority had previously entered into an exclusivity agreement with development firm Ion, which had produced a draft residential masterplan for the site. However, this agreement expired in March 2021 with the council announcing that it was to carry out an almost year-long review of the site.
READ MORE: How Liverpool's 'Festival Gardens' ward faces a fight to bloom again
Since remediation work on the former tip, cultural attraction and theme park took place its costs have spiralled to over £60m without a single house being built. In September last year, following the review, Liverpool City Council revealed that it was looking to move forward with a development partner to help complete the major project.
The council said the change in approach was to ensure the project aligns with the council’s Local Plan, Council Plan and the Mayoral triple lock policy, which stipulated a new approach to development focusing on sustainability, inclusivity and social value. Now the council appears to be close to making a decision on the project’s next steps.
A Liverpool Council spokesperson told the ECHO that by June it would be advertising the procurement of a multidisciplinary team to support the preparation of the development brief. The authority added that it is looking at Autumn for the main developer opportunity to be advertised.
While the initial master plan proposed the construction of 1,500 homes, the ECHO understands that the new amount of houses within a future design will be predicated on the plans put forward by the developer chosen in the Autumn. It is expected that the new amount of homes will not be as high as the 1,500 first touted.
While the number is expected to be lower, no official figure can be given until a new developer is chosen for the site later this year. Work is not expected to begin on construction until 2025 once a partner and developer has been chosen, subject to relevant planning approvals.
The Festival Gardens site partly covers the former site of the International Garden Festival attraction which brought millions of visitors to the area in the mid-1980s. It later became an amusement park and leisure facility in the 1990s before being left derelict.
Parts of the site have been saved and reopened as the Festival Gardens park. Development is also taking place to expand the green space in areas overlooking the River Mersey.
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