Liverpool City Council has approved the latest plans for Everton’s Goodison Park legacy project as the Premier League club prepares to leave the ground and move to a new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock.
Everton’s planning application for the new 52,888-capacity stadium, along with plans for a community-led project at Goodison Park, were approved in February 2021. Goodison Park has served as Everton’s home since 1892 but the club is hoping to move into its new stadium by 2024.
The plans for Goodison Park legacy project include demolishing the stadium and replacing it with housing, a multi-purpose health centre, community-led retail spaces, a youth enterprise zone, office and business facilities, and green space.
Although the project had already been approved by the council, the proposal needed to be ratified in line with the council’s new local plan due to the time that has elapsed, The Business Desk reports.
Everton is also seeking an extension to its planning permission as it is unable to start work on the demolition of Goodison Park until the new stadium is completed, which will be 2024 at the earliest. The club is hopeful that work on the Goodison Park legacy project can be finished by 2028.
The Business Desk notes that seven letters were sent to the council in support of the demolition of Goodison Park, with four letters expressing opposition to the proposal.
Notes presented by council officers to the planning committee read: “The proposal offers a positive reuse of the Goodison Park site and contribution to the economic, social and environmental regeneration for the area and aligns with national and local planning policies, which support regenerative development. Conditions are in place to ensure that the development would not take place until the new stadium is operational.”
The application has been approved by the planning committee and Everton will now continue discussions with local residents and businesses on the project.
Everton first submitted an outline planning application for the future redevelopment of Goodison Park in April 2020. The club said at the time that the new stadium project and the Goodison Park redevelopment would help kick-start the regeneration of the northern docklands and contribute a £1bn (€1.17bn/$1.23bn) boost to the city region’s economy.
Last month, Everton appointed Laing O’Rourke as the construction partner to complete the development of its new stadium. Everton said the contract provides it with greater certainty of the cost of the remaining stages of the project.
Image: Biloblue/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size
