Our planning applications for the Central Dock park and infrastructure were submitted and approved by Liverpool City Council. We are now working with our main contractor to agree a final design which will unlock the Central Docks neighbourhood; welcoming further development and improvements to public spaces. We are delighted that the new Isle of Man Ferry Terminal is due to open shortly, a long-term ambition of the project.
The comments you gave us have been invaluable in evolving and improving the Liverpool Waters masterplan. You may recall that an update to the existing outline planning permission was required to help bring these plans to life. We are planning to submit this amendment to the Council later this year. The big changes being proposed in the final plans are:
You gave us a clear message that preservation of the Docks and celebration of its heritage was hugely important. It’s important to us too.
This has long been an aspiration of the project, and we have been working hard to refine the ideas around the dockside area of the plan.
This area is central to the whole Liverpool Waters masterplan and will provide a vast area of new public open space which will help celebrate the site’s heritage and unique maritime character. The existing buildings on this part of the site will be preserved and reused, where possible, alongside new development plots to the east of the site and along the dock wall.
This area will be made up of retail, leisure and commercial space, to create a welcoming area for people to meet, exercise, socialise and relax. The immediate area beside the docks will provide space for sports and activities, such as watersports. The western docks will provide space for walking, relaxing and enjoying the view.
The vision here is for a heritage space primarily used for events and leisure. Whilst the exact details will emerge more organically than the rest of the masterplan, what we know for certain is that the dockside will provide a one-of-a-kind space in Liverpool to re-engage with its historic docks and waterspace.
We have been working hard with these groups to make sure the setting of the stadium is appropriate, and routes and views of the stadium are right from all approaches, both sides of the water.
This work has altered proposed building heights to the north of the masterplan, creating a more consistent height, which allows the stadium to remain visible from the Wirral waterfront, whilst creating a welcoming space in the adjacent Nelson Docks to the east.
The original Liverpool Waters planning permission didn’t have a stadium proposed for the north of the site, therefore the team have updated the masterplan to marry up with the development. Liverpool City Council and Liverpool's Design Review Panel were keen to ensure Liverpool Waters and the new Everton Stadium meet in a complementary way.
We have increased the amount of public open space further; which will be formally included into the upcoming planning application amendment, which will safeguard these spaces.
We have also expanded the influence of Central Park and have sought to soften other areas of the plan which were previously largely hard spaces. This softening allows us to protect and preserve wildlife on site. We have also explored further opportunities to create new habitats within the plan, utilising the historic Graving Docks.
We received a clear message that people are excited by the public spaces and access routes being created across the plan, particularly Central Park. You were positive about the recent approval of the Central Park scheme and want to see that open, safe space remains a consideration in the plans and be maximised as much as possible.
On the back of this, we have explored some further refinements for how this can be delivered successfully to help support a broad range of uses, specifically residential, and ensure Liverpool Waters is a place which delivers the needs of the community that lives within it and around it. The timing and delivery of these uses are expected to be refined as we prepare and submit the updated planning application.
You told us that you liked the proposed changes to bring community uses into the heart of the masterplan, within Central Docks.
Since we last spoke, we have been working hard to tie the site into the surrounding transport network. Our specialist transport consultants have been liaising with the Council and transport providers to make sure the right enhancements are in place to connect the site into the surrounding area as well as creating new areas of public space to benefit the wider community.
Comments around connectivity focussed on the isolated nature of the site at the moment; the need to improve public transport and ensuring that the site is as accessible as possible for all people. We took from the comments that many people are really excited to finally have access to the Mersey and dockspaces here, and that the proposed public realm improvements, including Central Park, will be invaluable new additions to this area of Liverpool.
We have been working closely with Liverpool City Council and social housing providers to ensure the affordable housing provision is deliverable and we are currently looking at opportunities to kick start this development sooner rather than later within Central Docks.
A mix of housing types is proposed: mews housing, townhouses, maisonettes, smaller and larger apartments; spread across the neighbourhoods. Homes will be available to rent and buy offering real choice to prospective residents.
You told us that it was important to ensure that housing provision is both affordable and diverse.
Sustainability is at the heart of Liverpool Waters to ensure that the development of 60 hectares of public realm, commercial and residential space thoroughly addresses the economic and social needs of the local and wider community, whilst supporting the national agenda for climate change.
The Mersey Heat network will provide low carbon heat and hot water to thousands of homes and commercial space within Liverpool Waters as well as sustainably futureproofing planned developments for the growing new communities.
By creating spaces to live, work, socialise and relax; the development minimises the need to own and run a car.
You told us how important it was to ensure the development fully integrates with the existing public transport system and we have created cycleways and secure cycle storage to promote cycling in and around Liverpool Waters.
Three key vision statements for Liverpool Waters have been produced that aim to bring together all elements of sustainability; economic, environment and community, underpinned by detailed sustainability targets and aspirations to ensure that all five neighbourhoods and every building supports the overall sustainability strategy.
A planning application to update the existing planning permission will be submitted to Liverpool City Council in the summer.
We will keep you updated via this website. You will be able to review the application and provide comments on the application via the Council’s public access website. It’s important to note that the planning application will be an update to the existing outline application. Due to the ambitious plans and the scale of Liverpool Waters, an outline application was submitted which is a type of permission that agrees the principles of the development, through a series of 'parameter plans'. These are high level plans which allow development of certain forms only.
We will reach out and ask for further feedback as future planning applications for detailed plots and public realm come forward. In the meantime, you can find us on social media or click here to email us.
The Structure of the Liverpool Waters Planning Application Process
1. Liverpool Waters Outline Planning Consent – Amend & update outline consent
2. Liverpool Waters Strategies – Documents that add further detail on how each of the 5 neighbourhoods will be delivered e.g. traffic & transport, sustainability & ecology
3. Neighbourhood Masterplans – Each neighbourhood has its own plan which sets out where each type of development should go & how public spaces should be designed
4. Plot by Plot Applications – When a building's ready to be designed it needs a detailed planning application. Things like the material, layout & height will be finalised through this stage
Further consultation will take place between stages 2 and 4
