The 1878s have done some wonderful things at Goodison Park this year.
The fan group responsible for the Everton flag displays have been a bright spot in another season of turmoil and nothing represents their work better than the ‘We Built This City’ banner displayed in the Gwladys Street in the Merseyside Derby.
There is perhaps only one minor gripe with the banner. There is no need for past tense.
Because as Bramley Moore Stadium gets set to open its doors Everton finds itself at the heart of one of the most remarkable regeneration projects that can be found anywhere in Europe – and don’t just take my word for it.
When a Liverpool delegation travelled to MIPIM, the international property and development conference held in Cannes, it was an unusual occurrence. The city had visited before, most notably when the £5.5bn Liverpool Waters project was first unveiled by Peel. But Liverpool taking centre stage at a conference where investors and delegates are responsible for over $4 trillion in assets.
To make a splash at MIPIM you have to have some serious projects. This year Liverpool and Peel rolled out the big guns in the shape of Colin Chong, who was there to talk about the jewel in the crown of the incredible project to transform two million sq ft of Liverpool’s derelict dockland.
Peel has talked about Liverpool Waters before. But now it had Bramley Moore Stadium. And that is enough to change the entire narrative about Liverpool as a city.
I wrote the Liverpool commercial market report for two years in the 2010s. The project included talking to all of the major developers, commercial agents and council workers involved in regeneration in Liverpool.
The story was always the same. Not enough ‘Grade A’ office space – the sort that attracts major multinational companies. Not enough new development. Outside of tourism, not enough bringing jobs and life into a city that has been forced to cast envious glances towards Manchester’s spectacular growth.
Since then Liverpool has become a wasteland of failed projects. Last year the council bought the site of a £200m scheme in Chinatown that has lain dormant for a decade after the firm behind the development fell into administration.
On Leeds Street at the top of Old Hall Street, the first steps from the city centre to Everton’s new stadium, the foundations of the doomed Elliot Lawless Infinity Waters set to be three towers with two tall enough to be classed as skyscrapers, it was revealed in 2016 and was due to be completed two years ago.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Mr Lawless was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, bribery and corruption in December 2019. He denies wrongdoing and has not been charged, but work on Infinity Waters paused.
Further into Vauxhall, a 400,000 sq ft scheme on Pall Mall named North Point has also been stalled for years as the city lurches from one development crisis to the next.
The redevelopment of the George Henry Lee building and the £160m Central Village redevelopment near Central Station, a £200m scheme to build 790 luxury apartments on a site off Great George Street and Anfield Square, a 2.5-acre plot of land next to Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium purchased by the council, have all either been dropped completely or are currently awaiting investment to get going.
To be frank, Liverpool’s reputation in the international market is rock bottom. If it was a football club we would be looking at relegation to a second tier. Its recent track record is hardly likely to get it a place at the table at MIPIM of all places.
There is of course one major development in Liverpool that has been delivered on time and in full. Everton’s Bramley Moore Stadium has transformed the northernmost end of the Northern Docks and can be classed as one of the most successful developments in the city for a generation.
Not since Liverpool One and the regeneration of the Albert Dock has a prime spot of waterfront real estate been transformed so successfully. Everton’s third stadium in the city is not just a wonderful new home for its oldest football club, but a shining beacon of competence where others have failed.
An article this week asked if the new stadium could help to attract investment and regenerate the area. The real answer is that it already has.
So significant is Bramley Moore that Peel resubmitted plans for Liverpool Waters with some notable changes. Nelson and Collingwood Docks have been drastically redesigned to compliment the new stadium, with careful thought into ensuring sitelines allow views of Bramley Moore throughout.
Peel also ensured building heights were tweaked to ensure Bramley Moore Stadium was the dominant structure in the area. The most ambitious waterside development in Europe was acknowledging the jewel in its crown.
It came as no surprise that Peel thrust Bramley Moore front and centre at MIPIM this year. Colin Chong was invited to speak and revealed Everton’s ambition did not stop at the borders of Bramley Moore; the club now wants to redevelop Nelson Dock too.
Chong said: “Our new ownership has tasked me with looking for a sports-led redevelopment that could be accommodated on Nelson Dock, and maybe even further if we can get the right partners to invest… we’ll hopefully have some information back in the next month or two”
Since Everton’s new stadium has grown from the dockland Peel has also secured new investment. It has already built some modest office and residential blocks at the city end of the development, with a modern Isle of Man cruise terminal also built.
A new series of ambitious skyscrapers are now being planned for the King Edward Triangle area near Costco, which will be en route for many Evertonians walking to the new stadium from the city centre.
Moving north a huge tract of derelict land will now become a giant park, with a large neighbourhood of homes alongside thanks to £55m investment from Homes England. It will provide a pleasant route for fans making their way to Bramley Moore.
Bookended by Peel’s city centre investment and Everton’s fantastic new stadium at Bramley Moore, the shiny, exciting Liverpool Waters development is beginning to gain traction decades after it was first revealed.
According to law firm Brabners: “Bramley-Moore Dock will serve as the preeminent heritage project for the city, attracting tourism and investment. Its strategic location also ensures that the growth of the city centre extends to this regenerated northern quarter, providing a stimulus for development opportunities in the northern end of Liverpool Waters.”
The industry is taking notice. The stadium has appeared in numerous trade magazines, from those specialising in stadium construction to ones focused on gigs and events.
Construction and Civil Engineering magazine says: “The project is expected to generate more than 15,000 jobs, attract 1.4 million visitors annually, and contribute an estimated £1.3 billion to the UK economy.
“From its foundation at Bramley-Moore Dock to its cutting-edge construction techniques, it represents the future of stadium design, setting a new benchmark for sports infrastructure in the UK.
On a more micro level Everton are already transforming the local area. The Titanic Hotel, one of the city’s top hotel and spas, was already the destination for Everton and Liverpool players with prospective signings regularly spotted there.
The Invisible Wind Factory, Murphy’s Distillery, Ten Streets Social have already rolled out the blue carpet for Everton fans and the Bramley Moore Pub has entered a planning application to expand before the new season.
New bars are opening all along Regent Road, which runs alongside the new season, with nearly all of them Everton-themed. Sandhills Station is being revamped, and a five-storey ‘Bramley Hotel’ is set to be built between the station and the ground.
Everton’s actual involvement so far has been to build a stadium. That stadium has been earning praise in industry magazines and conferences but the effects are already radiating out from the stadium, across Liverpool Waters and beyond.
Finally Liverpool has a regeneration project to be proud about. We built this city. And we are still building it today.
Thanks to DaveW on BlueSky for the picture of the banner.