Everton want to leave Goodison Park and move in to the new arena planned for Bramley Moore Dock on the waterfront with the consultation due to start next month. Tony McDonough reports
Members of the public will be asked for their views on Everton FC’s proposed new £500m stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront in a major consultation starting in November.
Everton want to leave Goodison Park and relocate to the new arena planned for Bramley Moore Dock, part of property giant Peel’s £5bn Liverpool Waters project. However, the arena may not be ready until the 2023/24 season – a year later than originally hoped.
The public consultation, which launches on Thursday, November 15, and will last three weeks, will ask members of the public for their views on Bramley-Moore Dock as the proposed site for the new stadium.
People’s Project
Known as The People’s Project the process will also seek views on the club’s intention to leave a legacy at Goodison Park. Everton is planning to build a number of community facilities in the Walton district of Liverpool.
It marks the start of a formal process which will lead to the submission of planning applications for both sites in the second half of next year.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has pledged the city council will lend Everton £220m towards the cost of the arena, generating a profit for the city. However, in recent weeks there have been suggestions that the club will be able to raise all of the funding itself.
Economic benefits
It is claimed the stadium will offer a £1bn boost to the Liverpool economy, including 15,000 jobs (12,000 during the construction phase), an extra 1.5m visitors a year, an extra £255m for the local business supply chain and acceleration of other commercial and residential developments at Liverpool Waters.
This estimated an extra 1.53m in Council Tax receipts and £1.4m in Business Rates will be generated every year.
A new campaign website contains information on the consultation activities and will be the place for information relating to the construction of the stadium as well as the development of community-led amenities which could include homes, health, business and education facilities at Goodison Park.
Significant moment
Everton FC chief executive, Denise Barrett-Baxendale, who was this week in New York attending meetings with stadium architect Dan Meis, said: “This consultation marks a very significant moment as we progress with this project.
“We would like as many people as possible – and not just football fans – to take part and let us know their views.
“Our ambition is not just to create a new home for a very proud and historic football club but also a new landmark stadium, in an iconic setting, which will deliver huge regeneration benefits for the whole of the Liverpool city region.
“We have deep roots in L4 and are committed to building on the extensive investment we have already made in the area. We are preparing plans to redevelop the existing stadium site to create facilities which will benefit the whole community, creating jobs and improving lives.
“Everton is committed to delivering an authentic football stadium which responds to Liverpool’s World Heritage Site designation. The plans we are developing will respect the historic features of the site and complement its surroundings.
“The rich history and connections between the old docker community and the city’s football family are inseparable. A move to the city’s North Docks will be very poignant for many of our supporters who will have had family members work there and will give them a chance to enjoy a part of cultural Liverpool that has not been open to the city for decades.”
Different locations
The public consultation will see an exhibition about the proposals visit a range of locations in the Liverpool city region, including Liverpool One, retail parks in Speke and Edge Lane as well as Birkenhead and New Brighton on the Wirral. There will also be a fixed exhibition at The Blue Base on Salop Street near Goodison Park for residents living in L4.
People will be able to complete a short survey at the exhibition or on the project website from Thursday, November 15. The results of the survey will be used as part of the club’s planning applications.
A second public consultation will be held next summer, at which point the club will present the proposed design of the stadium and further details on its Goodison Park legacy plans.
New phase
Stadium development director Colin Chong, added: “Our proposals are about to enter a new and very important stage as we begin this formal public consultation period. We and our advisers are stepping up our dialogue with a range of stakeholders as we progress our designs.”
Iain Jenkinson, senior director of international property advisory firm CBRE, said: “The new stadium development would have a huge positive impact on the city’s North Docks and areas including the Ten Streets.
“The People’s Project will deliver employment, training and cultural opportunities for families living in some of Liverpool’s and the UK’s most deprived wards.”