Liverpool City Region Development Update C PNW

Event Summary

Liverpool City Region Development Update 2025 | Summary + gallery

18 November 2025 10:00 Comments ()

Political leaders and developers discussed how they are navigating the challenges standing between them and their goals at Place North West’s annual event spotlighting the city region.

Speeding up residential development in Liverpool city centre, Southport’s uphill battle to repair its reputation and deliver a potentially transformational project, and getting back to basics as far as regeneration in Wirral is concerned were among the main topics of discussion at the event.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a gallery of images

As ever, the importance of collaboration and public and private sectors pulling in the same direction were spoken about as being key to overcoming the challenge of viability, caused by macro- and micro-economic headwinds.

This event was sponsored by Freeths, Muse, and Curtins.

Regeneration Brainery is Place’s charity partner.

Expert speakers

Paul Buntin, head of development, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority

Cllr Paula Basnett, Leader, Wirral Council

Cllr Anthony Burns, Leader, St Helens Council

Phil Porter, chief executive, Sefton Council

Steven Knowles, director of development management, Muse

James Litherland, senior development manager, Cityheart

Jonathan Falkingham, founder & creative director, Urban Splash

Gavin Currie, chief operating officer, Legacie

Hugh Frost, founder, Beetham

Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader, Liverpool City Council

Rachel Harrison, principal town planner, Pegasus Group

The event took place at Hilton Liverpool City Centre. Credit: PNW

The city region

Liverpool City Region’s integrated settlement, which will be handed down next year, could mark a step change in the combined authority’s role as a facilitator regeneration, according to head of development Paul Buntin.
The focus for Wirral Council is to deliver on its ambitions to transform Birkenhead town centre and learn from the mistakes highlighted in the recent regeneration review. “There are findings within that report that are going to be challenging to us, but we’re going to own it,” said Leader Cllr Paula Basnett. “We’re going to produce an action plan and we’re going to deliver.”
Southport has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons over the last 12 months, but the council is steadfast in its vision for the town, which includes a £73m conference and events complex. Sefton Council chief executive Phil Porter said: “We recognize the challenges for Southport have been significant…but I think we are at that tipping point now where you start to see something different.”
The rise of Reform is a worry for areas like St Helens, who have all out elections next year. The council’s Leader Cllr Anthony Burns is concerned that victory for Reform in St Helens and other boroughs could derail long-term regeneration plans. “I think it is a worry, but it’s one that we should all be geared up to fight,” he said. “The head of Reform in St Helens said ‘why are they redeveloping [the town centre] it was only done 30 years ago. It’s a waste of money.’”
Budget asks: Muse’s Steven Knowles urged the government to take measures to ensure that the £39bn promised through the affordable housing programme flows to the right places, while Cityheart’s Litherland expressed a desire to see more pension fund investment in the UK.

Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, Halton, and Wirral were all discussed. Credit: PNW

One-to-one with Liverpool City Council Leader Cllr Liam Robinson

Robinson gave his authority a seven-out-of-10 when it comes to how effectively it deals with the private sector, adding that significant progress has been made in recent years. “We’ve got good quality developers that weren’t looking at Liverpool for a very long time that now are actually stepping back into the space,” he said.
The Leader added that progress on projects such as Pall Mall and Festival Gardens show that the council is having a positive impact on the city and pushing development in the right direction.
When asked what the city centre is missing, Robinson said that meeting the pent-up demand for grade A workspace could be key to unlocking growth.

Cllr Liam Robinson said the city council has improved a lot over recent years. Credit: PNW

Festival Gardens focus

Jonathan Falkingham gave a presentation on the vision Urban Splash and Igloo Regeneration have developed for the long-stalled waterfront site.
The vision includes a smorgasbord of housing types and tenures to be delivered by a panel of developers.
This approach, Falkingham said, would ensure quicker delivery, allow for greater flexibility, and offer opportunities for SME developers who might otherwise struggle to break into large schemes.
“I think we’ve lost this model,” he said. “A lot of our housing land just goes to very large housing delivery partners, and they’re good at what they do, but they don’t do everything that’s needed.”

Urban Splash’s Jonathan Falkingham went into detail on the vision for Festival Gardens. Credit: PNW

Unlocking development in the city centre

Some 80% of applications approved under the current local plan are not yet on site and Liverpool’s emerging local plan update could worsen existing viability challenges in the city, according to Pegasus’ Rachel Harrison.
As well as delivering the city’s tallest building, Beetham’s Hugh Frost is keen to bring something unique to his King Edward Triangle tall building cluster, having been to see the ABBA Voyage attraction in London. “If you had something like that in Liverpool around the Beatles, that would be a game changer,” he said.
Legacie has been the city’s most active developer for several years. Gavin Currie, the firm’s COO, wants to see evidence the city council sees what he sees. “I think the city needs to have the confidence to realize the opportunity that it does have, and I think a lot of that is mindset.”