Festival Gardens progresses but land deal still not signed 

The remediation of the 23-acre Liverpool site is 80% complete but the combined authority is withholding almost £12m of grant funding for the project as it waits for the city council to finalise a land deal with Ion Developments. 

A report to Liverpool City Council’s cabinet provided an update on the remediation of the Festival Gardens site, which contractor Vinci Construction is due to complete in June 2023. 

The city council is also seeking permission from the cabinet to appoint Vinci to deliver a series of infrastructure works to facilitate the site’s 1,500-home redevelopment. 

Liverpool has paid £23.6m towards the remediation of the site so far, £9m more than budgeted. 

The increased outlay is due to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s decision to withhold £11.8m of grant funding earmarked to support the remediation of the site. 

In total, the combined authority has committed £27m towards the 1,500-home project, £18.4m for the remediation and £8.5m for infrastructure. 

The LCRCA funding is conditional on the city council signing a developer agreement for the Festival Gardens project.

Ion Developments has an agreement in principle to deliver the project for Liverpool City Council, but a legal agreement has not been signed in the four years since the company was selected as the development partner. 

Ion, in a joint venture with Midia, was appointed as Liverpool City Council’s development partner for the Festival Gardens site in 2018. 

However, last June Ion bought Midia out of the joint venture with the intention of delivering the project alone. 

An update on how Liverpool intends to proceed with the Festival Gardens project will be given next month, according to a cabinet report.