ACC extension plans on show
Plans for the new £40m Exhibition Centre Liverpool will be unveiled at a pre-planning consultation next week.
The drop-in consultation sessions will be held at Arena & Convention Centre Liverpool on Friday and Saturday, when people will have the opportunity to see an outline of the plans and submit questions.
The planning application is due to be submitted in February for the 87,000 sq ft, three-hall exhibition centre and 200-room hotel.
The development at Kings Dock will form part of ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, will include three halls which will each be 29,000 sq ft and will be separated by movable walls. It will also feature an atrium, meeting rooms and a business centre.
The facility will be capable of hosting trade and consumer exhibitions, concerts and sports events on a national and international scale. It will also include an integrated, upscale hotel which will be developed by the city council. The council is currently seeking an operator to manage the hotel.
The drop-in sessions will be staffed by officers from the city council, ACC Liverpool, construction company ISG, architects Denton Corker Marshall and planning advisors IBI Taylor Young.
In its first year of operation, Exhibition Centre Liverpool is expected to host about 50 events and attract more than 250,000 visitors.
Construction of the new facilities is set to start in autumn 2013 and it is due to open for business in 2015.
Liverpool City Council has reached agreement with the Homes & Communities Agency, owners of Kings Dock, to release the seven acres of land adjacent to the existing arena and convention centre, granting a long lease to facilitate the development.
Funding for the facility is being raised through borrowing supported directly from the revenue generated by the centre, so that the project will be at no cost to tax-payers. It will be wholly owned by Liverpool City Council and managed by the existing ACC Liverpool team.
The public consultation events for Exhibition Centre Liverpool take place on Friday 8 February from 3pm-7pm and Saturday 9 February from 10am-2pm in hall 3A at ACC Liverpool.
The buildings look like they spell OMFG – well almost
By Peter
Bit Frustrating that they didn’t provide Place with up to date images for the article. Not long to wait though. Very excited about this project. There is nowhere near enough capital development going on in Liverpool, despite the surge in student accommodation development. Hopefully the Royal going on site will help in this regard.
By MrD