Liverpool takes cruise terminal plans to cabinet

The cabinet of Liverpool City Council will be asked on Friday 21 April to endorse the selection of a technical team to deliver the city’s proposed cruise liner terminal at the former Princes Jetty.

The permanent facility would replace the existing terminal 300 metres away. Completed in 2007, this facility now generates £7m a year for the Liverpool economy.

In 2016, Liverpool welcomed 60 vessels carrying 120,000 passengers and crew, but is looking to build a terminal capable of handling a new generation of turnaround cruises each carrying up to 3,600 passengers.

In addition to the standard features of a terminal, the site could also include a 200-bedroom hotel and 1,100-space multi-storey car park that could also support projects around the Ten Streets and North Docks areas.

The council recently approved a new £20m waterfront link road by extending Leeds Street and this is expected to begin construction by 2019.

The council is in negotiations with the Duchy of Lancaster and Peel to obtain new leases and purchase land. The Princes Jetty falls within Peel’s Liverpool Waters holding.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool’s cruise industry has transformed our tourism appeal and given the Mersey a new lease of life.

‘’It has been one of the city’s great success stories of the past decade but we need to relocate if we are to welcome the next generation of superliners and give passengers a full five-star experience. Appointing a technical team is a vital step in exploring how we achieve that move and if we can, we do it to the highest standards.”

Should approval be given for the appointment of a technical team, the council will then submit an outline business case for a £20m contribution from the Liverpool Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund by 29 May. If that stage is successfully passed, the project will then progress to a full business case.

The technical team will then work on the details of the projects with a view to an outline planning application being submitted later this year.