Liverpool has announced plans to launch the next stage of its public consultation on the proposed expansion of its Anfield Road Stand, with the first stage having resulted in one change being made to the initial plan.
The Premier League club revealed initial design plans for the new 16,000-seat stand in November, with the redevelopment set to increase Anfield’s overall capacity from around 54,000 to over 61,000.
The first stage of the consultation ran in December and Liverpool has now announced a slight revision to the initial proposal following discussions with local residents, businesses and supporters.
The revised plans will be made available to the public early next month and include a new proposal for Anfield Road to remain open with the road realigned around the footprint of the proposed expanded stand. The revision comes after a small number of local residents raised concerns over the proposed closure of a section of Anfield Road.
More than 800 responses were received during the first stage of consultation with the “vast majority” being positive.
The first stage of the public consultation included six drop-in events at Anfield, while fans were also able to provide feedback online through Liverpool’s official website. The second phase of consultation will begin on February 6.
Liverpool’s chief operating officer Andy Hughes said: “We’d like to thank all of the local residents and representatives, businesses, community groups and fans who took the time to come to our consultation events to give us their feedback.
“We have been clear that the proposed expansion of Anfield Road is based on three things; finding the right financial and economic model to deliver long-term sustainability, navigate the complex planning process and to have the agreement of our local residents, businesses and community groups.
“We have listened carefully to all the feedback we received during the first stage of our consultation. The aim of that exercise was to inform the design process of the proposals which is exactly what we have done by relooking at how we retain access for local residents through Anfield Road. These updated proposals will be shared again in full with local residents, businesses and supporters during our second-stage consultation, which will take place next month.”
Anfield’s new Main Stand opened in 2016, adding 9,000 seats to the stadium’s overall capacity.
Image: Liverpool FC
