Way cleared for Liverpool Waters park

Reserved matters approval has been granted for a five-acre park with cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in the Central Docks area.

The granting of consent represents a major marker in the maturing of the waterfront business district, according to Pete Swift, director of Planit-IE, adviser to developer Peel L&P.

Swift told Place North West: “This is a massive step forward and will have a catalytic impact not just on the wider development, but on the whole neighbourhood.”

A ‘wet woodland’ is proposed for the riverside park. Credit: Planit-IE

Swift added: “It’s not just about the park, it’s the whole infrastructure, and it will set the pattern for development of the entire project. This scheme can have the transformative power of the park at the Mayfield development in Manchester, and allow us to move beyond that tired narrative of ‘Shanghai on the Mersey’ by creating a really humane environment that will give the project its identity.”

Chris Capes, director of development for Peel at Liverpool Waters, last week told Place of the volume of work going on behind the scenes to move the project on. Work on 600 homes across two developments has begun in recent weeks.

The professional team on the public spaces and infrastructure project also includes Arup, Pell Frischmann, Curtins, Hannan Associates and Walker Sime.

Plans include a park with large feature trees, community garden planting and a playground, a pedestrian and cycle bridge, and canalside walkway. The new road system will see six streets added to the area, while features of the spaces include a central meeting hub and a dock heritage plaza.

The park will soften the impact of proposed large buildings. Credit: Planit-IE