Everton will submit the application for the 52,000-seat arena first and then follow it up with an outline application for its community scheme in Walton. Tony McDonough reports
Everton FC has confirmed it will submit a planning for its proposed £500m stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront before Christmas.
The club, which has endured on-the-pitch turmoil in over the past couple of weeks with the departure of head coach Marco Silva, says it will submit its request for planning consent to the city council on December 23.
Combined with Everton’s plans for a community-led legacy project at Goodison Park, the transformational proposals have the potential to deliver a £1bn boost to the city’s economy, create up to 15,000 new jobs and deliver £237m of additional societal value.
In a blog post today updating fans on progress with the People’s Project, stadium development director, Colin Chong thanks the public for their contribution to the consultation process and confirms the date on which its detailed application will be formally lodged with Liverpool City Council.
The stadium plans will be followed by a separate outline planning application for Goodison Park, with the intention for both applications to be determined by the council at the same time.
In November, Everton announced it had secured almost universal public approval for its plans in what is believed to be the largest commercial public consultation in Liverpool’s history. More than 43,000 people submitted their view on the arena at Bramley Moore Dock in Liverpool Waters and community-led scheme in Walton – and 96% were in favour.
Mr Chong said: “Working alongside our design consultants, we have analysed the feedback to enhance the concepts we’ve already shared for the look, feel and layout of a stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, including our plans to not only preserve but to also celebrate the site’s heritage.
“It is a case of evolution rather than any major changes to the design presented during the second stage consultation. The results of that consultation made it clear Dan Meis’ design was incredibly well received.
“The elements that the feedback told us people really loved about the design – the use of brick, the steepness of the stands, the respect to the area’s heritage and nod to Archibald Leitch’s architecture in the brickwork as well as the blending of new and old – will all be present within our final proposals.”
The blog also provides more details of the technical assessments which have gone into the final proposals. These have included using fluid dynamics software to map how fans, staff and visitors will move around the stadium, Fan Plaza and public areas, and detailed studies of the acoustics at Goodison Park, which have been used to help create a “sense of intimacy in a larger space” and to “maximise the atmosphere” within new stadium.
The Club has confirmed it will be releasing new images of the final designs, as well as updating its app and flythrough video from the afternoon of Monday, December 23.