Major Liverpool regen plans set to be approved

Major regeneration plans for Liverpool city centre are set to be approved by councillors this week.

A report will be delivered to the council’s cabinet recommending that a draft Spatial Regeneration Framework (SRF) be endorsed for the Upper Central area.

Running from Central Station to Liverpool Science Park and Lime Street to Bold Street, Upper Central will be a destination in its own right and a key part of the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) Mayoral Development Zone, which currently employs 7% of the city’s workforce.

The vision for Upper Central is for the area to be an international gateway site to KQ Liverpool, the city’s thriving, £2bn Innovation District.

Following a public consultation, the council hopes Upper Central will attract investment and become a magnet for the digital, tech and creative sectors.

The draft SRF has looked at how best to redevelop the Lime Street area around the Adelphi Hotel, Central Station and Mount Pleasant whilst dovetailing Liverpool John Moores University’s Copperas Hill site, plans for the Fabric District and various private sector schemes such as Circus Liverpool in Lewis’s building.

A major aspiration identified in the draft SRF is how to create a super crossing at Ranelagh Place, a new pedestrian experience along Renshaw Street and to promote a new pedestrian route to Lime Street Station from Copperas Hill.

This will allow for improved access to the Fabric District and Paddington Village, the council’s £1bn health, life sciences, education and technology flagship development and ensure a connection from the heart of the city centre, Liverpool One and the main retail area.

Liverpool City Council also acquired Central Station shopping centre in 2018 and working with Merseytravel and Network Rail on proposals to expand and upgrade the station. It is also overseeing public realm improvements for nearby St George’s Plateau, as part of the £47m city centre connectivity scheme, and has also set out an ambition to redevelop the Mount Pleasant Car Park area.

Once approved by the council’s cabinet, it is intended the SRF will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document once Liverpool’s Local Plan is endorsed in early 2021. It will then be used to guide all future planning applications in the area and provide developers with detailed information of desired design and build issues including height, scale and massing of buildings.