Plans have been approved for essential infrastructure to enable the delivery of 2350 new homes in Liverpool, as well as £130m funding to build 800 homes in Warrington, St Helens and Liverpool
Peel L&P’s plans for a new public park and essential infrastructure to deliver 2350 homes, with a focus on biodiversity, sustainability, and heritage, have been approved by Liverpool City Council.
The development of this 11ha site will enable the delivery of 2,350 homes over the next ten years, in line with the Liverpool Waters Central Docks Neighbourhood Masterplan.
Central Docks will become the largest of the five planned neighbourhoods in Liverpool Waters. They will directly enable the delivery of thousands of new homes alongside commercial, retail, leisure and community developments over the next ten years.
Central Park, located within the Central Docks neighbourhood at Liverpool Waters, just south of Collingwood Dock by the historic Tobacco Warehouse, will become one of the city’s largest green spaces, spanning 1.9 hectares (or 4.7 acres) and will form an important part of the next stage of the Liverpool Waters development.
Coastal and woodland planting, wetland planting, community gardens, and open parkland will help create a unique, world-class environment at Central Park, celebrating the site’s post-industrial heritage and coastal locality. The park will also include shelters and canopies, areas for sport, recreation and fitness, and spaces designed to support local wildlife.
The plans also include a network of public spaces in the Central Docks neighbourhood, with green streets and rain gardens; the delivery of a high-quality public realm; and new street infrastructure, such as high-quality footpaths and various street types to support vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. Hundreds of trees will also be planted across the Central Docks neighbourhood.
Connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists between the city centre, Princes Dock, Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, and the city’s northern docks will also be significantly improved as part of this development.
Chris Capes, Peel L&P’s development director for Liverpool Waters, said: “The Council’s approval of our plans for Central Park, and its surrounding infrastructure and public realm, paves the way for ten years of development across the whole Central Docks neighbourhood and will set a quality benchmark for later phases of Liverpool Waters.
“Central Park and the public realm have been designed to provide a unique environment that will enrich the lives of everyone in Liverpool and the millions of people who visit the city every year. We’re looking forward to moving this project forward in 2023. Central Docks will enable the delivery of new residential, commercial and leisure development and catalyses the delivery of 10 Streets and North Liverpool.”
Torus secures £130m to build 800 affordable homes in North West
Torus has secured £130m to fund the development of 800 new affordable homes across Warrington, St Helens and Liverpool over the next four years.
Torus is one of three housing associations to receive funding from the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS), which ARA Venn manages for the UK Government, to support the development of over 1,500 new affordable homes in total.
Oriane Auzanneau, deputy portfolio manager for AHGS and Managing Director at ARA Venn, commented: “We are delighted to be able to support our borrowers with these 30-year loans, which will support the development of over 1,500 much-needed new affordable homes in the communities they serve across England.
“The attractive funding allows our borrowers to effectively support their investment and delivery ambitions within the constraints of their long-term business plans, showing the benefit of utilising the AHGS programme.”
Peter Fieldsend, chief financial officer, Torus, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in the AHGS and to achieve a good outcome which fits within our business plan parameters. This now gives us the funding to develop much-needed new affordable homes across our communities. ARA Venn has done an excellent job throughout the process delivering what we set out to achieve.”
