The redevelopment of Liverpool’s Anfield stadium and surrounding area is envisioned to be completed by 2018.
In plans revealed for ‘The Anfield Project’ by The Liverpool Echo, the regeneration will see:
“Hundreds of new homes, new business premises, a revamped stadium for Liverpool FC, a village square, a hospitality academy hotel with 100 beds and a “pedestrian-friendly” avenue gateway cutting through Stanley Park right up to the football ground.”
A website, www.anfieldproject.co.uk shows how the homes directly behind the Main Stand will be demolished to create ‘The Avenue’. This will then allow Liverpool FC to rebuild their ageing Main Stand.
Mayor Joe Anderson tweeted on Monday night that the the Avenue that will link Priory Road through to Walton Breck Road and the stadium will be named “96th Avenue” in memory of the 96.
Although the plans do not reveal much about the actual redevelopment of the stadium, the report states Liverpool “will remain at Anfield and expand the stadium on its current footprint”, providing “an expansion of one of the most iconic football stadiums in world football.”
Managing director Ian Ayre told The Echo:
“The football club made clear last October that our preferred solution to an increased capacity was to remain at the spiritual home of the football club at Anfield.
“The viability of delivering that aspiration is inextricably linked with the prospect of creating an economically viable solution.
“The acquisition of the necessary land to expand at the right price has to be augmented by our extensive work on designs, demand, planning and construction. Together this creates a viable solution for the club and the wider Anfield community.”
The Telegraph report that “only eight remaining properties in the vicinity of the historic ground need to be acquired to proceed with the submitting of a planning application”.
However, The Guardian report that those eight are a “significant distance from having deals agreed”. Businessman Graham Jones owns two houses and “has said he will not sell without significant compensation for years of blight in the area.” Jones is quoted:
“We’ve said we’re not interested in their offer, and we want our day in court.”
The whole project is estimated at £260m, of which £150m will be the cost of redeveloping Anfield stadium.
The Echo earlier this month reported that Liverpool hope the remaining properties will be acquired over the next two months and thus a planning application submitted.
Once the required homes are acquired, Liverpool FC will be able to reveal more of their plans to redevelop the Main Stand and Anfield Road End, taking the stadium’s capacity to 60,000.
Fan Comments