Plans in for homes on former Everton FC academy

Developer Carroll Group has put forward proposals for a mix of 149 homes and apartments on the former Everton FC Youth Academy in Bootle.

The site, which wraps around the existing Goals North Liverpool five-a-side football pitches, covers nine acres and is allocated as open space under Sefton’s existing Local Plan.

The land was formerly used as a training academy for Everton FC’s youth players but has been largely vacant since 2007, and according to Carroll Group’s planner Zerum, has experienced problems with fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

Carroll Group is proposing to build a total of 149 homes on the site, split between 91 houses and 58 apartments; the apartments are to be one and two-beds, while the homes range from two beds to four beds.

The apartments will be in a three-storey L-shaped building and have been designed for the over 55s. This also includes 62 car parking spaces.

All of the homes proposed by Carroll Group are to be delivered for affordable tenures.

Zerum argued the site’s designation as open space in Sefton’s Local Plan “is associated with the historic use of the site and does not reflect its current use or nature”, and added it is now “overgrown” and “unslightly”.

The planner added: “[The site’s] current value to the community is entirely negligible and in its current state would present dangers should anyone enter it. There has been no public access to the site for general amenity or recreational purposes for at least 40 years.”

As well as planner Zerum, the professional team also includes CLA Architects; Hann Tucker; Wardell Armstrong; DEP; and transport planner Mosodi.