Liverpool looks to kick on at Great George Street
The city council has appointed CBRE as it looks to take the recently acquired, long-problematic site to market for a mixed-use regeneration scheme.
Following a competitive tender process launched at the end of March, the global advisory firm has been chosen by LCC to “provide professional support in developing a business case to define the optimum vision and route to market”.
CBRE has teamed up with Liverpool-based architect Brock Carmichael to work on the design element of the business case, and will undertake early market and community engagement to inform the proposals.
Great George Street is a 4.55-acre brownfield plot which lies within Liverpool’s historic Chinatown and close to the Baltic Triangle district, adjacent to Liverpool Cathedral, making it a critical gateway plot.
Development has been stalled since 2017, subject to a series of complex legal challenges.
In a step forward to unlock development, the council succeeded in the High Court last November to secure the site under its own unified ownership, as the freeholder of the site, clearing the way for development.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) supported the Council’s approach, with an allocation of £10m funding to complete the purchase and bring forward development options.
LCC said that the legal ratification demonstrates its commitment to address a legacy of stalled development sites across the city, following its successful exit from statutory government intervention.
Cllr Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for growth and economy, said: “The acquisition of the stalled Great George Street development is a hugely significant step in resetting the story of this major gateway site.
“Its proximity to the Baltic Triangle, which is undergoing huge change with plans afoot to radically upgrade the transport infrastructure there, means the future development of the Great George Street site is of critical importance to the city.
“I’d like to thank LCRCA and the government for their support in this process. I am looking forward to delivering new opportunities, homes and businesses, to create a vibrant and positive future for our historic Chinatown district.”
CBRE senior director, Andrew Playfer, added: “CBRE is delighted to have been instructed by Liverpool City Council to provide consultancy advice on this high-profile opportunity and to play our part in shaping a vibrant and sustainable future for this key area of Liverpool.”
Glad the ownership of the land is sorted and that things are moving ahead, but I sense a drawn out process here and repetitions of Festival Gardens, Kings Dock, etc.
This site needs multi-storey buildings and enable a big boost in populating this area in order to revitalise Chinatown. Of course whatever the designs the whole thing has to get by Liverpool’s notorious planning processes which are very slow and ponderous,and you only have to consider the queue of projects waiting to get on site to understand that.
We live in hope.
By Anonymous
As mentioned you look at the councils record at delivering just about any of its projects and it’s quite frankly abysmal.
By Anonymous
How about a purpose built school for Lipa Primary and High School ,much needed
By Anonymous
I live close to this site, it’s been vacant and abandoned for over ten years now so please stop talking and let’s get building
By Kevin Rowan
Need more social housing and not multi storey buildings
By Kevin Rowan
Why do we never get top class architects from further afield who are going to deliver world class design?
By Anonymous
Social housing for who though ? wont be for local people anymore under Labour.
By Anonymous
Is right 9.03pm. New New Chinatown, Same Old Architects as before and as ever.
By Anon
What we need is a LLC consultation to be instructed 🙂
By Paul M - Woolton
Three year process incoming, which results in Homes England being appointed, who will then take another three years to appoint a developer, who could have been appointed in the first place and half way through building something.
Excuse the cynicism but can Liverpool just get on with building stuff. Kings Dock, Canning Place etc… it’s rinse and repeat.
By Mike
‘…the optimum vision and route to market.’ Don’t be suggesting anything too , optimum or visionary, or tall for that matter, or you’ll upset the planning committee dinosaurs. I plan to retire in 8-10 years time – will Festival Gardens, Great George Street or the old police HQ have made any progress by then? Those weeds are getting tall on Festival Gardens already.
By Anonymous
It’s been 84 years
By Anonymous
Will this be part of a Danny Boyle sequel? 28 years later.
By Anonymous
Build the UK’s tallest skyscraper here go LCC I dare you to show some ambition for once
By Anonymous
If you look up Brock Carmichael, it shows the proposed and approved if I’ve read it right.
By Anonymous
Genuine question – who would occupy all the units in the UK’s tallest skyscraper, in Liverpool?
By Anonymous
Who would occupy them ? Well people with jobs obviously like any other city ? The demand to live in Liverpool is high because it’s a beautiful city .
By Anonymous
Yes, everyone saying the same thing on here, why does it take so long, just get on with it does Manchester have the same problem thought planning permission was being made easier
By Larry
Just what goes on in Liverpool Planning Dept, I can think of a number of schemes that you’d think might have been on site by now but they seem to be bogged down in endless bureacracy eg Carpenter site at Kings Dock, Davos site 118 Duke St, Mellior job on Islington. One of the worst I’ve seen is ex Royal Bank of Scotland building on Dale St, you’ve never seen so much paperwork on a planning application with amendments and conditions galore on what is essentially an office conversion, I sometimes get the feeling that this is being done deliberately, otherwise the department is not being managed properly.
By Anonymous
About time …manchester just get on with it but liverpool always seem to have problems
By Anonymous
Perfect spot for a few bungalows
By Anonymous
Good news. Last design was interesting. Of course we must also ask what happened to the victims i mean investors cash and was there a full enquiry
By Bill Jones
According to Councillor Nick Small there is a lot of interest from Chinese developers in this project , if so LCC need to get a move on with their plans before that interest evaporates.
By Anonymous