Open, accessible and better connected

the future of brownfield regeneration revealed as £55m investment announced

The regeneration of 60 hectares of industrial brownfield site, spanning 2.3km along Liverpool’s historic northern docks, has today (15 July) received two major boosts.

An exciting new vision for Peel Waters’ ambitious 30-year Liverpool Waters regeneration project has been formally submitted to Liverpool City Council. The new masterplan will shape the future of Liverpool’s iconic waterfront, creating new neighbourhoods to live, work and visit.

Liverpool City Council is also set to receive a £55m investment boost from Homes England to accelerate the regeneration of Central Docks, the largest neighbourhood within Liverpool Waters and the city’s largest brownfield site.

The £55m public funding announcement, which is subject to final approval from HM Treasury, comes just a week after Rachel Reeves MP referenced the Central Docks scheme in her first speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The site, owned by waterside regeneration specialistsPeel Waters, will include the establishment of a public park and vital infrastructure to accommodate approximately 2,350 new homes.

The post-Covid world, with greater demand for climate resilience and quality living, more green and open space, a more diverse and affordable housing offer, and sustainable travel infrastructure, have all shaped the new, updated masterplan for Liverpool Waters.

Everton Football Club’s brand new 52,000 seat riverside stadium, currently being built at Liverpool Waters, is due for completion later this year. This emerging destination, not considered when the original masterplan was developed, also forms a key part of the updated plan.

Community engagement

Community engagement exercises, carried out by Peel Waters last year, revealed that the people of Liverpool are overwhelmingly positive and excited about the regeneration that is underway at Liverpool Waters. The feedback received from the public has been a vital part of the process of creating and shaping the new vision.

Peel Waters have now formally submitted the revised plan to Liverpool City Council. The Council approved the original masterplan for Liverpool Waters eleven years ago, in 2013.

Brand new CGI images reveal Peel’s new vision, which promises to create a more open, sustainable and community-centred place to live, work and visit, without compromising on scale and ambition.

The plan now includes more public green spaces and dockside open space to celebrate the site’s unique maritime heritage and preserve unique elements of the docks.

Diverse and affordable housing

The new plan also includes a more diverse and affordable housing offer, and will put sustainability, community, and accessibility at its heart, bringing people together, reducing the impact of climate change, and minimising the need for car travel.

Through enhanced infrastructure to support cycling, and better integration with public transport, the updated Liverpool Waters Masterplan will support Peel Waters’ wider strategy on environmental and economic sustainability.

Liverpool Waters stretches north from Princes Dock, through Central Docks and Clarence Docks, and up to the city’s Northern Docks. The updated plan reflects societal change over the last decade and incorporates ideas put forward by the local community.

sustainable places where people can enjoy a higher quality of life

Chris Capes, Development Director for Liverpool Waters, said: “Our new vision for Liverpool Waters is both exciting and inspiring, and has been driven by the people of Liverpool and the demand for more green and sustainable places where people can enjoy a higher quality of life.

“Central Docks alone will deliver thousands of new homes, alongside commercial, retail, leisure and community infrastructure and public spaces over the next ten years.

“As these new images show, we haven’t compromised on the scale and ambition of this project, but we have reflected on what is most important for the future of this historic site, both as an international tourist destination and for the communities who want to live and work here every day.

“The views and feedback given by local people as part of this process has been incredibly valuable and we are very pleased that we have been able to act on this feedback. The new Liverpool Waters Masterplan has now been submitted to Liverpool City Council and we look forward to hearing the outcome in due course.”

Continuing the process of urban renaissance

Professor Michael Parkinson CBE, Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool, said: “Liverpool has had a fantastic – if not yet complete – renaissance in the past 20 years. That renaissance will continue in the next 20 years because the city now has stable, high quality political and administrative leadership, good working relationships between the city council and city region, an engaged private sector and a new national government committed to investing in housing to continue the process of urban renaissance.

“In the past north Liverpool has not shared enough in the city’s progress and has been left behind. Liverpool Waters is a crucial part of the city which desperately needs continuing investment and regeneration delivered in a sustainable, high-quality way. When delivered the Masterplan will not only create a high-quality place on the waterfront but should bring benefits to the surrounding community. Capitalising on the building of Everton’s new stadium, the changes in peoples’ working lives after COVID, and the involvement of the local community in the new plan, means the Masterplan is now more attuned to what the city and north Liverpool will really need in future. Liverpool Waters should be a crucial part of the continuing Liverpool success story.”