Everton launch second new stadium consultation

9 May 2019, 06:06 | Updated: 9 May 2019, 06:10

Everton Football Club’s plans for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and a community-led legacy project at Goodison Park will take a major step forward with the launch of a second widescale public consultation on the proposals.

The consultation, which will run between 26 July and 25 August, will seek the views of members of the public on the latest design concepts for a state-of-the-art waterfront stadium, demonstrating how the Club will address the historic context of the Bramley-Moore Dock site and outline plans for the future of Goodison Park. Views from people on transport, accessibility and environmental sustainability will also be sought.
This is the second stage of a formal process and feedback from this consultation will be included in the planning applications for both sites, which are on track to be submitted before the end of the year.
Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, Everton’s Chief Executive Officer, said it is crucial that as many people as possible give their views during the forthcoming consultation.
Denise said: “This is a golden opportunity for our Club to deliver real and tangible transformational change for our city.
“This is a capital project that will deliver much more than a new home for Everton Football Club. It is a critical, civic regeneration project, that will create jobs and opportunities for more than 15,000 people across our city region.
“Our proposals will drive the city’s inclusive growth agenda and, in addition to our stadium spend, kick-start a £650m investment into regenerating our northern waterfront.
“The People’s Project benefits our entire city region and therefore we would encourage as many people as possible – and not just football fans – to take part in our public consultation exercise so we can hear their views.”
The Club has already revealed that it is targeting a capacity of 52,000 for its proposed new stadium, with the potential for it to rise to 62,000 in the future.
Stadium Development Director, Colin Chong, said: “At the consultation in July and August the Club will reveal much more detail about both parts of this project, consult on the design concepts for the stadium and how it will respect and complement its historic context, as well as the scale and type of development in L4.
“Before we undertake our public consultation we will be engaging further with supporters who took part in our workshops last year on specific matters including matchday experience, fan zone, food and beverage offering, transport, accessibility and environmental sustainability.”
This summer’s public consultation, held under ‘The People’s Project’ campaign name, marks the second stage of a formal process which began in November 2018.
More than 20,000 people took part in the first consultation, with the overwhelming majority backing the proposed move to Bramley-Moore Dock, part of Peel Land & Property’s Liverpool Waters site, and the redevelopment of Goodison Park.
Denise added: “The public consultation we carried out in November clearly demonstrated that the vast majority of people – and not just our fans – support the idea of breathing new life into publicly inaccessible dockland by building a new stadium. We had an overwhelming response, with 94% of people consulted supporting our move to Bramley-Moore Dock and 95% backing our plans for a community-led legacy at Goodison Park.”
The public consultation this summer will see an exhibition of proposals visiting a range of locations in the Liverpool City Region. More details on the dates and timings of those locations will be announced next month. There will also be a fixed display at Goodison Park for residents living in L4.