A new town-sized settlement could be created north of Liverpool city centre, BBC News reports. The new development would lead to 10,000 homes being built along a three mile stretch from Everton, Anfield, and encompassing Kirkdale and Bootle. The building would take place on existing brownfield sites that are underused or in need of regeneration.
The new scheme would link to other significant regeneration projects in Liverpool that have seen new office space, homes and retail and leisure facilities created. It would create a direct connection between the new £500m Everton Stadium at Bramley Moore Dock and the £20m Bootle New Strand development.
The plans for the ‘new town’ have been proposed to the government by Liverpool City Council, and were drawn up in collaboration with Homes England, relevant landowners and local councils, and also the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Marion Atkinson, leader of Sefton Council, said: “We welcome the government’s commitment to regeneration and this would super-charge our plans to transform Bootle and south Sefton for the benefit of residents and businesses.”
Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said the plans were “bold”, and he added that we are “transforming areas that have been left behind for far too long and showing the power of regeneration to improve lives”.
The New Towns Act was first established in 1946 to help the country rebuild after WWII. Stevenage in Hertfordshire was the first New Town to be created, followed by ten more including Milton Keynes and Crawley in Sussex. The government has pledged to create more New Towns in a bid to tackle the chronic housing shortage in the UK.