News & Press

Kick off for new Everton stadium

Home » Kick off for new Everton stadium Published: 12th December 2017 This Article was Written by: Richard Furlong - City Surveys Group

It was announced in the last week that Everton have signed an agreement to lease land on Bramley Moore Dock on Liverpool’s historic waterfront. The move paves the way for a 50,000-capacity stadium to be constructed on the site, costing £300 million.

The Blues have secured a 200-year lease on the site in a move that, more or less, relinquishes control of the land to the Premier League club. The lease will run for two centuries at a peppercorn rent.

Everton’s immediate goal is to concentrate on securing funding and gaining planning permission to build the stadium which is set to replace the club’s home since 1892 – Goodison Park.

It is hoped that the proposed new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock will be a catalyst for a £5.5 billion regeneration in North Liverpool, accelerating developer Peel’s ambitious Liverpool Waters development.

Construction of the stadium is hoped to bring a much needed boost this part of the city. It is expected the project will create 12,000 jobs during the build phase and funnel around £250m through the local supply chain. On completion, the stadium will generate an extra £1bn for the local economy – made up of a combination of hotel occupancy, retail and tourist spend.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “The economic contribution to the city of Liverpool through Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, the catalytic effect it will have on surrounding neighbourhoods, and the equally important Goodison legacy project make this a package of projects, a game-changer for the city.

“In addition, it will further enhance the city’s international reputation for delivering major transformational projects on such a large scale.”

The Liverpool Waters development is the sister programme of the Wirral Waters project, and is making use of a series of presently derelict dock spaces at Central Docks, where many of the docks form a World Heritage Site.

This is the area north of Liverpool’s historic Pier Head. Since 2012, both the Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters projects have enjoyed Enterprise Zone status, and jointly form the Mersey Waters Enterprise Zone.

Everton confirmed the agreement in a statement last week, which read: “Everton Stadium Development Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Everton Football Club) and Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited have formally signed an agreement for the Club to lease land at Bramley Moore Dock, Liverpool Waters.

“The signing of the agreement is a significant milestone in the project and means Everton effectively now controls the land upon which a new stadium would be built. This follows several years of searching for a new site and is the culmination of an exhaustive search across the city.”

Robert Elstone, Everton Chief Executive, confirmed the club would look to secure planning permission on the stadium in the New Year.

He said: “Gaining control of the site was essential for us to be able to move forward with the next stages of the project – finalising the funding agreement with the council and preparing for the submission of a planning application – both of which we hope to do in the new year.”

Assistant Project Director for Liverpool Waters, Ian Pollitt, said: “2017 has been a landmark year for Liverpool Waters with a series of planning permissions granted for both Princes Dock and Central Dock, including the plans for a new cruise terminal and a collection of residential developments.

“We know that a world-class stadium, on the banks of the River Mersey, will act as a trigger for even more investment and jobs which will be of huge benefit to the whole city region. We’ve been working very closely with all partners to get to this stage and we’re excited to move on to the next phase of the project.”