English Premier League football club Everton has today (Wednesday) submitted an outline planning application for the future redevelopment of Goodison Park, stating the plans demonstrate its commitment to its current local area amid the planned move to a new stadium.
The outline plans entered to Liverpool City Council would see Everton’s current home redeveloped to provide a range of community assets in the Liverpool 4 area after the club has moved to a new 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
The Goodison Park Legacy Project, which is designed to allow the club to build on the work of its official charity Everton in the Community, could include high quality and affordable housing, a multi-purpose health centre, community-led retail spaces, a youth enterprise zone, office and business facilities and green space. The latter of which includes the potential use of the current centre circle as a lasting reminder of Goodison Park’s footballing legacy and Everton is envisioning the entire project as a lasting tribute to its achievements at its home since 1892.
Both schemes, the legacy development at Goodison Park and new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, make up ‘The People’s Project’, which the club today said will deliver a series of benefits that will be vital to Liverpool’s socio-economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Combined, Everton said both developments would help kick-start the regeneration of the northern docklands, contribute a £1bn (€1.14bn/$1.24bn) boost to the city region’s economy, create up to 15,000 jobs, attract 1.4 million visitors to the city each year and deliver an additional £237m of societal value.
Today’s news comes after the club submitted a detailed planning application for the new stadium back in December, with both applications due to be determined this summer.
Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief executive of Everton, said: “Everton is a football club deeply rooted in its community and the Goodison Park Legacy Project is a symbol of our ambition, desire and commitment to Liverpool 4.
“We’ve been delighted by the support of the local community to our plans and the acknowledgement that we are creating facilities to empower and equip local people for generations to come.
“This project at Goodison Park is as ambitious as our new stadium development at Bramley-Moore Dock and will build on the £10m investment in buildings already made by the club and Everton in the Community in Liverpool 4 over the last five years.”
Everton has been advised by CBRE’s UK planning and development team for both the Legacy Project and new stadium plans. Condy Lofthouse are the architects for the Legacy Project.
Colin Chong, stadium development director at Everton, added: “The club, working alongside the local community, will refine the exact offer as we get closer to the build stage, ensuring that it will be completely fit for purpose, and is supported by and meets the needs of the people it will serve.
“Once the designs and plans for all the different parts of the site are finalised, further planning applications, known as ‘Reserved Matters’ submissions, will be lodged with Liverpool City Council. Redevelopment of the Goodison Park site can only commence once Everton has moved to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.”
In February, Everton named construction company Laing O’Rourke as the preferred contractor for its new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. The new stadium has been designed by MEIS architects and has been inspired by the nearby historic maritime and warehouse buildings. The brick base of the stadium will incorporate a nod to Goodison Park’s famous Archibald Leitch lattice work, while the roof will be made from steel and glass.
One of the main features of the stadium will be a large, steep home end which will house 13,000 Everton fans. In January, Everton announced that Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov had agreed to pay £30m for an exclusive option on the naming rights to the stadium. USM Holdings, the holding company for Usmanov’s business interests, already holds naming rights to Everton’s Finch Farm training ground through a five-year deal signed in January 2017.
Images: Everton FC
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