The long running saga of the former Festival Gardens site appears to finally making good progress with Liverpool City Council having selected the joint venture to lead the development of around 1,000 homes on the important waterfront site.
The selected party is a JV between Urban Splash and Igloo Regeneration who were the victorious from a shortlist that originally included Muse, listed partnership housing developer Vistry, and CERT Property. The agreement with the JV will be officially confirmed in September at which point a more formal agreement and timetable for delivery will be agreed by the parties.
Situated approximately three miles south of Liverpool city centre, Festival Gardens has been the subject of a mammoth remediation effort dealing with some of the former issues relating the previous uses on the site. The funding came from the city council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and Homes England. Vinci was the contractor for the site enabling works, which concluded in 2023.
“Festival Gardens has the potential to be one of the most exciting and transformational brownfield developments in the country – and today’s announcement is a big step towards realising that vision,” said Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.
“This is about more than just bricks and mortar, it’s about building the kind of place that people are proud to call home,” Rotheram continued.
“We’re putting the foundations in place to create a thriving new neighbourhood that reflects the kind of future we want to build – inclusive, innovative, and with our residents in mind.”
The development promises to provide a huge boost to the residential market in Liverpool, especially given its close proximity to Liverpool City Centre. Many tenants and owner occupiers who live in the city centre often look to move to the suburbs as they need a larger property or house but are also reluctant to leave the benefits of the city centre behind. Having a broad range of housing available at Festival Gardens will allow buyers to enjoy the best of both worlds and will no doubt be a very popular choice for many.
Article and photograph courtesy of Place Northwest
