Approval primed for Goodison Park legacy project

The redevelopment of Everton FC’s 129-year-old Goodison Park home looks set to be approved for a second time next week.Proposals are for the demolition of the 39,572-capacity stadium and transformation of the site for a mixed-use development, including housing, commercial space, community/retail uses and open space.The application, made by Everton FC (Everton Stadium Development), is referred to as the Goodison Park Legacy Project.The proposal is made in parallel with now approved plans for development of a 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock to replace Goodison Park as the club’s home ground. This is together referred to as The People’s Project.The scheme – alongside creating a community-led legacy at Goodison Park, which has also been approved – has been designed to help kick-start the regeneration of the northern docklands, contribute a £1.3bn boost to the region’s economy, create up to 15,000 jobs, attract 1.4 million visitors to the city each year and yield an additional £237m of societal value.The new stadium – a brick, steel and glass structure taking its inspiration from the historic maritime and warehouse buildings nearby – is earmarked for a plot within the city’s World Heritage Site.It will also be able to host four major non-football events during the year, as well as conferences, exhibitions, tours and weddings.First submitted in 2019, plans have since been amended and had been approved in February 2021.However, Liverpool City Council’s planning committee will now consider the application again. A council document said a section 106 legal agreement has not been completed and due to the time period that has elapsed since the original report was written, the application needs to be reconsidered again.The report, which will be considered by planners, once again recommends the plans are approved subject to a legal agreement.Liverpool City Council’s planning committee will discuss the application at a meeting on Tuesday 3 May.