Liverpool looks to crack on with Great George Street ‘at pace’
The city council is tendering for a multi-disciplinary team to draw up an outline business case and fresh masterplan for the long-stalled New Chinatown site.
Liverpool City Council acquired the 4.5-acre Great George Street site late last year thanks to grants totalling £10m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the government.
Procuring through the Crown Commercial Services framework, the city council hopes to have project team in place by May to drive the scheme forward.
The brief states that the city council “is looking to progress at pace the delivery of the site”.
The plot was previously subject of proposals from North Point Global for a £200m mixed-use development branded as New Chinatown. Planning permission for around 600 homes, more than 80,000 sq ft of office accommodation, a 140-bedroom hotel, 40,000 sq ft of commercial floorspace was granted but has since expired.
Liverpool City Council is now on the hunt for a team to draft up what the site’s redevelopment could look like a decade on from those proposals.
The outline business case should be completed by August ready for cabinet approval in the autumn.
Did someone just use the phrases ‘at pace’ and ‘Liverpool City Council’ in the same sentence?
By Penny Lane
10 years now am no mathematician, but the orginal urban splash scheme, was nearly 20 years ago. We were loced from our house for that scheme to go ahead and never came to fruition. Given the amount of building work that has gone on in the baltic area, who is it so hard to get something completed on one of the main routes I to the city centre.
By Michael Cushion
Yawn, more delay and frustration, you can bet that there’ll be no shovel in the ground for another 4 years at least, and we’ll have to look at the dereliction for some years yet. So much potential here and a big, high density development would link in with the Baltic Triangle.
So many projects in this city that can’t seem to get off the ground eg King’s Dock,Williamson Square, London Rd, etc
By Anonymous
Fabulous. Barely any new jobs created in the Liverpool City Region by a design team news will follow unless the council see the error of their past decisions or start to tell their design teams they need a real presence in the area beyond a postcode and a few desks in a shiny office building.
By Sidney Bliss
Good news. Whisper it but there’s signs of progress now under Nuala Gallagher, Sophie Bevan and the regeneration team now in place at LCC.
By Anonymous
Sort of signs of progress at the council – they certainly talk a good game and not wanting to be too cynical, I think know what needs doing to ensure development. The pace seems glacial though and officers lack the same vision, so development is getting bogged down. Ten years for this Chinatown site to be sorted seems a bit ridiculous, especially after some dubious decisions in the past.
By Mike
Signs of progress? Can you point to anything that’s actually come out of the ground?
By Anonymous
‘Crack on at pace’ which means in Liverpool ‘ok we need to discuss it at committee…again..then in a few years think about it , then refuse it, then discuss it some more’ . Things move mighty sloooow in these parts.
By Methuselah
@ Anon 10.26am, I can’t think of any new buildings of note started since the new regeneration team took over, however there has been substantial movement on a number of stalled sites since, which is good.
Nevertheless all the old hopefuls like Littlewoods Studios, Garden Festival site, Cruise Terminal,King’s Dock, are still sitting on the back burner, they were even touting these at MIPIM a few weeks ago.
By Anonymous