Spades in at Liverpool’s £71m Central Docks
Chief contractor Graham has broken ground to begin delivering the Peel Waters development’s foundations, laying the groundwork for 2,350 homes.
Place North West attended the groundbreaking ceremony where Graham’s initial work will be securing the 26-acre site’s essential infrastructure, including underground utilities, roads, and Central Park, the scheme’s 4.7-acre public space.
Remediation will prepare 11 shovel-ready plots at Central Docks, which has outline planning permission.
Peel Waters is working with four developers to bring forward a range of housing and mixed-use schemes.
The £71m project is supported by £26m from Peel Waters and £55m brownfield funding from Homes England and is a component of the wider £5bn Liverpool Waters masterplan.
Liverpool Waters is a 30-year regeneration project covering 150 acres between Princes Dock and Northern Docks along the River Mersey in Liverpool.
Central Docks is to be built in phases, with development moving from the south of the site north to the Hill Dickinson stadium, which will bookend the project.
The five-acre Central Park will be the first element to be completed at the site, in an effort to open up the public realm before work begins on blocks.
Central Park will provide sports, recreational, and play facilities for all types of visitors.
The 2,350 properties proposed by Peel Waters for Central Docks would be available across a range of tenures, including affordable, build-to-rent, build-to-sell, and elderly living.
The scheme was enabled by a £55m grant from Homes England. Credit: PNW
James Whittaker, managing director of Peel Waters, told Place: “To do up to 2,500 homes, we’ve obviously got to get quite high on these plots.
“We’ve also got affordable homes and elderly living coming through, so we’re engaging with about four developers to deliver the first few phases.
“It will be phased over 10 years. Developers will be appointed, hopefully, over the next six months.
“When they see the work that’s started today, the infrastructure that’s going to be delivered over the next 2.5 years, they can start to believe in the vision and come on board.”
Whittaker added he expects planning to take up to six months to be approved by Liverpool City Council.
Central Dock’s development has taken much longer than Peel Waters’ work at Princes Dock, just south of the project.
Whittaker said Central Park slowed things down, with developments requiring that to be installed before work on buildings can begin. Princes Dock is on the waterfront and has less land requiring development.
In September, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the £450m Therme site in Trafford Park, another Peel project that has taken extra time to get off the ground.
But work beginning at both sites has left Whittaker proud of his teams.
“It’s been a good year. I would like to have done more – I always like to do more, because there’s always room to do more.
“With the economy as it is, delivering homes is at times going to be very difficult. But starting here at Central Docks is a really important milestone for the whole of Liverpool.”
Everton FC’s new home, the Hill Dickinson stadium, bookends the site. Credit: PNW
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, added: “This is the location on the banks of the Mersey that put our city on the global map, where so much trade from our city, from the whole of the country, came through.
“That’s important to mention when you think about our city’s renaissance going forward.”
He continued: “I honestly believe that Liverpool Waters and everything we’re seeking to do in the North Docks isn’t just one of the most exciting regeneration projects in the country – it’s one of the most exciting regeneration projects anywhere in Europe or beyond.
“We are not just shaping a community, we’re not just shaping careers, we’re shaping the future skyline of the city for the next century.”
Central Dock’s project team includes Placemarque, Walker Sime, Actua, Planit, Layer.Studio, Curtins, Crookes Walker and Hannan, Amion, Thomas Lister, Cushman & Wakefield, Brabners, Civic, DACI, Pegasus, Headland Archaeology, and architect Bate and Taylor.
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