Up to 1,500 family homes will be built at the Festival Gardens in Liverpool due to a £9.9m funding boost from Homes England
The government’s housing accelerator, which brings experts and funding to areas to tackle the housing crisis – will give a grant of £9.9m to Liverpool City Council.
This funding comes from Government’s £450m Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) programme will allow essential remediation work to take place on the site, paving the way for residential development to begin.
The news comes as Homes England officially opened new offices in the same building as Liverpool City Region Combined Authority at Mann Island, Pier Head, a move designed to help the two organisations collaborate more effectively to get homes built.
Sir Edward Lister, Chairman of Homes England, said: “We are determined to use all the resources available to us to make homes happen across England – so I’m thrilled our funding means work can move forward rapidly at this historic site, providing homes for hundreds of families.”
Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said: “Delivering the homes Liverpool needs is a crucial element of our plan to build a successful and vibrant Northern Powerhouse.”
The council has long held ambitious plans for the site but, to date, a lack of funding has meant crucial remediation works have been unable to take place. Now, activity is expected to begin on-site in the spring, with the first homes being available by 2022.
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “We welcome this essential financial injection from Homes England. Festival Gardens is a much-loved waterfront location and people have very fond memories of spending time there. We are fully aware of the potential the Festival Gardens has and its transformation will be a game-changer for this city’s economy in terms of new homes, construction jobs and growth.”
