Liverpool City Council Approves Everton’s Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium and Goodison Legacy plans

Everton Football Club’s planning applications for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and a community-led legacy project at Goodison Park were today approved by Liverpool City Council.

The local authority’s Planning Committee hosted a special planning committee meeting, with Everton CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale and Stadium Development Director Colin Chong presenting the Club’s plans for Bramley-Moore Dock and Goodison Park and fielding questions from the councillors in attendance.

The more than three-hour meeting ended with the councillors confirming their unanimous approval for the plans.

A report from the planning case officer for the planning committee, published before today’s meeting, also recommended that the application be approved. 

The decision to grant approval for a new 52,888-capacity waterfront stadium and the outline application for a re-imagined Goodison Park brings both projects a significant step closer.

Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright said: “Whilst today is just one more step in our long journey, it is a very important one. Farhad [Moshiri] and I would like to thank Denise and Colin and their dedicated team for the extraordinary hard work and commitment that has got us to today.

“We are also enormously grateful to the many organisations and tens of thousands of individuals across the city region who have given us their feedback, ideas and support along the way. It’s been a good week for Everton and Evertonians.”

Everton has been advised by CBRE UK Planning & Development team and has worked closely with the Liverpool Planning Authority, Historic England and other stakeholders for the past 12-months as part of the planning process.

Following the City Council’s approval, the plans have now automatically been referred to the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government. This is standard practice for a development of this size and scale. The Government will have an initial 21 days to review the application before reaching a decision.

Everton Football Club CEO Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale has responded to the outcome in a letter to fans, stating, “The project, which will be one the most significant infrastructure projects our city has seen in many years, and one of the largest single site developments in the country at this time, will provide a £1.3bn boost to the local economy and deliver more than 15,000 jobs.

“I am sure you are aware of how important a new stadium will be for us – providing the state-of-the-art facilities befitting of an ambitious Premier League club – as well as the important role it can play in boosting our local economy at a time when it’s never been more needed.”

Within the letter to fans, Professor Barrett-Baxendale also expressed gratitude on behalf of the Club’s Board of Directors to Liverpool City Council and its officers for their  work in reviewing “one of the biggest planning applications in the history of our city” and told fans: “If we achieve the final planning approval we have all worked so hard for, then we be in a position to complete our funding arrangements and confirm our schedule for the build process at Bramley-Moore Dock.”

Approval of the plans also brings a new chapter for the Goodison Park area one step closer. Outline plans for the Goodison Legacy project show that the proposals could include high quality and affordable housing, a multi-purpose health centre, community-led retail spaces, a youth enterprise zone, office and business facilities and green space which could include a lasting tribute to the Club’s achievements at Goodison Park. The legacy plans will be refined in the coming years, overseen by a Trust Board and incorporating detailed consultation with the local community. Everton in the Community will lead on this planning and community engagement with the proposal that building work will begin as soon as Everton has completed its move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

In her letter, Professor Barrett-Baxendale also thanked fans for their support throughout the application process, writing: “I also want to reiterate my appreciation to you. The ongoing positive contribution and patience displayed throughout this journey by Evertonians has been such a huge factor in the progress we have made to this point.”