Progress for next phase of £1bn Liverpool masterplan
Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected to get Paddington South ready for redevelopment, paving the way for the next phase of the city’s Knowledge Quarter innovation district.
Paddington Village South, the second phase of the £1bn Liverpool masterplan, is earmarked for R&D facilities and homes. It will be delivered by a partnership between the University of Liverpool, the city council, and developer Sciontec.
The site is owned by the city council, which acquired it thanks to a £13m government grant handed down earlier this year.
Morgan Sindall will now carry out a package of enabling works to prepare the plot for development. This will include the demolition of Smithdown Police Station and the creation of a public green space.
“Large cities are often bereft of high-quality green spaces so the importance of providing biodiverse, net zero facilities is ever-increasing,” said Steven Gregory, area director for Morgan Sindall in the North West.
“This phase of work will add not only green space to the community, but also encourage carbon-efficient commuting and biodiversity for wildlife to thrive in, which is central to Morgan Sindall’s ethos.”
In the longer term, the plot, which is bound by Smithdown Lane, Grove Street and Oxford Street, will be redeveloped to “supercharge the city’s research, development and innovation sector, whilst creating a vibrant new neighbourhood for the area”, according to the city council.
Cllr Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for growth and economy, said the start of preparatory work for Paddington South is “a landmark moment”.
“An expanded Paddington Village is vital to the city’s future economic growth and to creating a conveyor belt of high skilled jobs,” he said.
“Once delivered, this former brownfield site will become the engine room for the delivery of our wider Investment Zone plans for the coming decade and beyond.”
Last year, Liverpool City Region was designated as a life sciences investment zone and will receive £160m over the next 10 years to fund development in this sector.
The Knowledge Quarter is at the centre of that vision.
Emily Robson, assistant chief executive of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, said: “Paddington Village is intrinsic to the future success of the KQ Liverpool innovation district, with the capability to help create upwards of 10,000 new, highly-skilled jobs in the city region, building on our existing strengths in life sciences, robotics engineering and materials chemistry.
“The provision of green space and other amenities is crucial in creating a genuine sense of place and attracting people to live and work here.”
The first phase of Paddington Village has already seen a car park and hotel delivered, as well as the Spine, a 100,000 sq ft office building.
Other buildings planned in the first phase include Hemisphere, a £60m lab building.
The original masterplan for Paddington Village states that a train station could be delivered at Paddington South that would “link to the city’s existing underground network, connecting the Knowledge Quarter to the rest of the city centre”.
This is obviously great news as the project hasn’t seen much action over the last few years. There does seem to be a lot of emphasis on greenspace even though there is already tons of it around Oxford St where previous housing was demolished. Councillor Small says this will be a catalyst to more jobs and more development, so will this mean we will finally see movement on the Pall Mall office project which the same person had a hand in causing it to stall.
By Anonymous
So it is going to be a proper park or just cleared and grass sown for it to be built on at a later date? why not just clear and develop the site now with the inclusion of permanent green space, and where’s the station? if this was London it would be included without a second thought.
By GetItBuilt!
Instead of using that money to help the university it should be used citywide to help develop multiple areas and many people in need. Instead of focusing on students they need to focus on citizens who are struggling to afford basic housing.
By Michael
Oh Michael, people will always struggle if we don’t have jobs, we also need to boost our population and need to attract people from outside the area to freshen things up, as the most vibrant cities welcome outsiders. In terms of housing Liverpool has some of the cheapest housing around and surveys often quote that it’s one reason that makes the location attractive.
By Anonymous
Shouldn’t they ensure they can fill the Spine first and do something about Sensor City?
By Anonymous
Would be good to see a more regional contractor building the new Hemisphere office
By Phil Ingham
“Research, development & innovation” – particularly innovation – covers just about everything, including what is essentially bog standard office uses in the existing development. Manchester has shown it can attract Tech firms by offering the space they want right in the city centre, where a highly mobile workforce prefers to be.
Whatever LCCs good intentions may be, or lack of any coherent strategy, much of what the Knowledge Quarter does is to draw what demand there is in Liverpool away from the dying Central Business District.
With the possible exception of the actual research labs, this is the kind of stuff that could have made Pall Mall viable.
By Anonymous
@ 9.21am, yes the Mayor had a £700m transport award from the previous government, part of which could’ve reopened the Waterloo Tunnel and at least 2 stations been provided, one for the Knowledge Quarter and one for Vauxhall, this may cost a bit but the transport round those areas at the moment is poor.
By Anonymous
Nick Small thinks Small
By Anonymous
What about homes with gardens and water features
By Anonymous
Michael the funding that is being used on this are supposed to be only be used on this type of project. This creates more jobs in the industry. It also helps improve the university which attracts students. Better green spaces, a better developed residential areas and creating specialised jobs that are suitable for a students degree help retain a significant amount of the student population.
By Anonymous
Liverpool needs more transport links internally and a new Mayor and coincil that are forward thinking instead of relying on tourism and the ferry across the Mersey
By Anonymous