Merseyside Police announce preferred bidder for former headquarters on Liverpool waterfront

Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner has announced that Homes England is the preferred bidder to buy the site of the police’s former headquarters at Canning Place.

Emily Spurrell announced last year the station, which served as the force’s landmark base for more than 40 years, was being put up for sale.

After nine weeks on the open market and following a thorough and considered selection process of the bids received, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has today confirmed that she is commencing the legal process of selling the 2.64-acre site to Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency.

Homes England has submitted proposals to turn the site into an ambitious, high-quality, mixed-use waterfront development, likely to comprise residential, hotel and retail, leisure and commercial spaces.

The proposal was assessed as providing the best value of the 13 bids received.

The money recouped from the sale of Canning Place will be reinvested into modernising and updating Merseyside Police’s stations and buildings to ensure officers and staff are in the right places and best equipped to serve communities across the region.

The Police and Crime Commissioner, working with the Merseyside Police estates team, will now work with Homes England through the final stages of due diligence and site master-planning with Historic England and Liverpool City Council, with the aim of exchanging contracts later this year.

Once the sale is completed, Homes England will look to select a development partner and secure planning consent from Liverpool City Council to manage and deliver the vision for the scheme.

All the bids submitted provided proposals for the site based on nine criteria, including the value of the tender, the quality of the design, social value, the experience and strength of the team delivering the development and environmental and sustainability considerations.

These criteria took into consideration the feedback from the public, businesses and stakeholders received during a consultation undertaken by the Police and Crime Commissioner before the site was put on the market, and the requirements provided by the planning team at Liverpool City Council.

Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said:

“Following extensive marketing of the site and a very robust evaluation and selection process, I am pleased to announce that Homes England is the preferred bidder for our high-profile site at Canning Place.

“All the bidders received an extensive pack of information advising them of the results of my consultation with local people, businesses and stakeholders and the planning requirements for such an iconic and important site.

“Homes England submitted the bid which provided best value meaning I will now be proceeding with the legal process to sell the site to them.

“Canning Place occupies a prime location on our beautiful waterfront but sadly the building was no longer fit for policing purposes, and I made a commitment to selling it to generate much-needed money which we can now invest in Merseyside Police’s stations to create better workplaces for our officers and staff.

“We are already saving approximately £550,000 a year on the running costs of our new headquarters, Rose Hill, compared to Canning Place. This is money which is put straight back into the frontline.

“With the sale of the site, we can move forward with the rest of our estates strategy which includes major new police hubs in St Helens, Wirral and Knowsley and new police stations in Southport and Newton-le-Willows.

“My focus is now completing the sale in order that Homes England can submit their proposals to the planners at Liverpool City Council with the hope this key site can be brought back into use for the benefit of local people and visitors to our region as soon as possible.”

Canning Place - Liverpool Waterfront - Merseyside Police — Credit: Merseyside Police

Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:

“Canning Place is a historic site in a prime location on Liverpool’s iconic waterfront. The acquisition of the former Merseyside Police headquarters would present a unique opportunity for Homes England to add to the significant legacy of regeneration in the area.

“Once the purchase of the site is completed, we will work with Liverpool City Council and Historic England to agree a masterplan that delivers a high-quality vision for the development that respects its waterfront setting, before selecting a development partner to transform the site into a mixed-use development fit for a new generation.”

Canning Place is positioned in a prime location just a stone’s throw from the city’s famous waterfront, facing the Albert Dock, and next to Paradise Street bus station and the Liverpool ONE shopping and leisure complex and Liverpool’s creative quarter, the Baltic Triangle.

The site encompasses the former seven-floor headquarters building which is more than 135,000 square feet, an annex, car park and a gatehouse.

Merseyside Police began the process of vacating Canning Place and relocating to Rose Hill in October 2021 bringing more than 1,100 officers and staff together under one roof. The state-of-the-art new headquarters, just off St Anne Street, was officially opened by HRH The Earl of Wessex in March 2022.

Canning Place, which first opened its doors in 1977, was then used to house various police teams, while refurbishments to other stations took place. It was also used as a base for significant policing operations, including Eurovision in May 2023.

The PCC appointed the consultancy firm Mace Consult Ltd and leading commercial property consultants Colliers, supported by PLACED engagement specialists, to assist with the marketing and disposal of the site and to attract the broadest and highest calibre of potential developers.

As part of the marketing process, a full sales brochure was distributed to more than 1,000 market contacts and the sale was publicised in both industry press and on social media.