Liverpool aims for year end for £700m Festival Park funding
The council said it will “soft market test” the proposals for the 90-acre site over the summer, with the aim of identifying its preferred investor by the end of the year.
A meeting of Liverpool City Council’s cabinet on Friday is set to approve a masterplan for the former Festival Gardens site, that aims to create “a spectacular £700m riverside suburb”.
The masterplan, designed by K2 Architects, could deliver up to 2,500 new homes, 500,000 sq ft of commercial and leisure floor-space, a new ferry terminal and a major waterpark attraction.
Designs show how Festival Park could be built out onto the river
One of the development options proposed is to build out onto the water, the deliver the terminal and riverside homes.
The council said it has been approached by two major operators that specialise in developing and managing water-based leisure destinations, and the council will be asking both parties to prepare a more detailed proposal to consider with the option of entering into an exclusivity agreement.
Other aims of the masterplan include creating a 5km long green corridor to the city centre, a remodelled coastal path as well as a new cultural landmark venue, to sit alongside the year-round waterpark attraction.
City Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Festival Park Liverpool has the potential to be one of the UK’s great new city suburbs of the 21st century.
“This masterplan sets out the ambition to position the site as a world leader as a place to live and visit and we’re highly encouraged by the interest already being shown by developers.
“There is much work to be done and I look forward to seeing the results of the soft market testing and talking to potential partners about making this vision a reality over the coming decade.”
A set of land surveys and environmental assessments are also being undertaken with the first phase of site mediation expected to begin this autumn.
There is a current outline planning consent for a 1,380-unit residential development on part of the site, valid until December 2022.
