New Liverpool housing scheme will be council’s first in more than 30 years

Liverpool City Council’s first major housing scheme in more than 30 years is to set clear its final hurdle this week.

The landmark scheme, at Denford Road in Dovecot, aims to deliver 105 homes in partnership with Merseyside developer Lovell and local registered provider Riverside.

Now a report to the council’s Cabinet meeting on Friday (5 March) is seeking approval for the council to enter into a contract with Lovell as both developer and funding partner, triggering a start on site later this month.

The project highlights the increased emphasis that the council has placed on housing delivery in recent months, in terms of achieving the objectives of the Liverpool City Plan, and prioritising its role as a housing enabler.

The Denford Road scheme contains a mix of homes for affordable and social rent, and underlines the council’s commitment to providing a range of housing tenure options across current and future schemes.

Liverpool City Council is also working in partnership with Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to develop an outline planning application for Stonebridge Cross in Croxteth.

A report at the same cabinet meeting is seeking approval to allow the city council to enter into funding agreements to progress pre-planning survey work in order to produce a masterplan for the site.

The proposed scheme seeks to align with the city council’s emerging Housing Strategy and Housing Capital Programme by collectively setting out to deliver transformational housing change.

It is anticipated that a full business case for Stonebridge Cross will be presented back to the council’s cabinet this autumn, after which work will begin on preparing a planning application.

The city council’s recently formed a Strategic Housing Delivery Team (SHDT) which will oversee the project and lead a comprehensive consultation with stakeholders and the local community.

Liverpool City Council is already working with Homes England and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority on the two-year long remediation of the development zone next to the city’s Festival Gardens. A planning application for 1,500 “eco-friendly” homes on this site is expected to be submitted in early 2023.

Councillor Barry Kushner, Cabinet Member for Housing, said:

“It will be a landmark moment for Liverpool City Council to green light its first house building scheme for 30 years – and crucially these plans realise our ambition to provide high quality housing.

“As a council we are signing up to the Healthy Homes Act that guarantees energy efficient and lifetime homes and the properties at Denford Road will meet those standards.

“We will make sure that we create jobs, apprentices and business opportunities for sub-contractors for local people, and are meeting with the Unite the Union and the building contractor to plan this.

”A lot of work has been undertaken to scope out the housing needs of Liverpool in recent years, and the potential developments next to Festival Gardens and at Stonebridge Cross underline the council’s ambition to make a positive difference in our housing market.”