Communities secretary Robert Jenrick decides not to call in plans for Toffees’ new home
Construction of Everton’s £500m stadium is finally free to begin after the government gave the scheme the thumbs-up today.
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed that the 53,000 seat stadium, due to be built on the banks of the river Mersey at the grade II-listed Bramley-Moore Dock, would not be called in.
The government had asked for more time to make a decision on the scheme after Liverpool council voted unanimously to approve the project in February.
The stadium, which will be built by Laing O’Rourke and has been designed by US architect Dan Meis, is now expected to be ready in time for the 2023/4 season.
Engineering consultant Buro Happold and technical architect Pattern are also on the project team.
The size of the planning application, one of the largest ever received by the council, was said to have contributed to the council delaying its decision on the scheme last year because of the volume of paperwork involved in the planning process.
The approval will be a morale boost for Liverpool, which has been in the headlines this week after Jenrick revealed plans for the government to take over the city council’s planning, regeneration, property management and highways departments amid a fraud investigation.
The intervention was announced following a damning report into the administration which found a “serious breakdown of governance” and an “environment of intimidation” at council operated companies.
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