£1bn regeneration scheme set to progress

Proposals for a £1bn flagship regeneration scheme within Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter are set to take another step forward.Approval will be sought at Liverpool City Council’s cabinet on Friday, 15 September 2017 to green light a multimillion-pound programme of site works on seven sites paving the way for the first phase of construction at Paddington Village, including a new car park, hotel, office space and a district heating system.The infrastructure works, which will support the arrival of the Royal College of Physician’s (RCP’s) £35m northern base, a learning centre for the Liverpool International College, and the £35m Rutherford Cancer Centre North West, could begin as early as October 2017. Planning permission has already been granted for the college and cancer centre, both of which are scheduled to open in 2019, and an application from the RCP is expected in early 2018.The report also seeks authority to agree terms and conditions to enter into a design, build, maintenance and servicing contract to create a Combined Heat and Power plant to provide a sustainable heating and power source to service buildings and businesses on the site.In addition, Liverpool City Council is proposing to exercise a Compulsory Purchase Order to acquire a site to build a multi-storey car park. The build contractor for Paddington Village infrastructure works, Morgan Sindall, has produced an indicative design for the car park which could be submitted for planning in early October.It is also proposed that the landmark corner plot within Paddington Village, which has already been earmarked for a 15-storey building, would meet the market demand for a new hotel. Officers are currently considering various delivery options for the hotel but one option is that the city council procure a hotel franchise and operator to run the hotel.Meanwhile, the council revealed that there has been interest from a number of science- and health-based organisations about taking up office space at Paddington Village. The report proposes that a further 140,000 sq ft of office developments, in addition to the RCP North building, are created to meet that demand.