Liverpool Waters is a large scale £5.5bn development that has been proposed by the

Peel Group The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former ports ...

in the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

area of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The development will make use of a series of presently derelict dock spaces at Central Docks. From 2004 to 2021, much of the docks involved in the development were part of the

Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City is a former UNESCO designated World Heritage Site in Liverpool, England, that comprised six locations in the city centre including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street, and many of the city's mos ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, but the development of these docks were cited as a reason for the revocation of Liverpool's World Heritage status. This is an area north of Liverpool's historic

Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...

."Peel unveil £5.5 billion investment plans"
, Peel News, 6 March 2007 It is the sister programme of the

Wirral Waters Wirral Waters is a large scale £4.5bn development currently being built by the Peel Group for Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is the sister programme of the Liverpool Waters project. Since 2012 the two projects have enjoyed ...

project. Since 2012 the two projects have enjoyed enterprise zone status, together forming the Mersey Waters Enterprise Zone.

The development

The development is planned to create at least 17,000 full-time jobs and 21m sq ft of new commercial and residential floor space including 23,000 apartments and four hotels. The tallest towers are proposed to be over 50 storeys high. It is split into four sectors: *Sector A:

Bramley-Moore Dock Bramley-Moore Dock is a semi-reclaimed land, reclaimed dock on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. The dock is located in the northern dock system in Liverpool's Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall area, and i ...

, Nelson Dock *Sector B:

Salisbury Dock Salisbury Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and is connected to Nelson Dock to the north, Trafalgar Dock to the south and inland to Collingw ...

Collingwood Dock Collingwood Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, and is connected to Stanley Dock to the east and Salisbury Dock to the west. History The ...

*Sector C:

Liverpool Canal Link The Liverpool Canal Link is an English waterway link that connects the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, at the Liverpool Pier Head, to the city's South Docks. It cost £22m and was opened in March 2009. The new link adds of navigable waterway to ...

, including

Trafalgar Dock Trafalgar Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, in England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Salisbury Dock to the north. The sites of two former docks are located in the ...

, Clarence Dock,

West Waterloo Dock Waterloo Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Princes Half Tide Dock to the south. The site of Victoria Dock is located to the ...

East Waterloo Dock Waterloo Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall and connected to Princes Half Tide Dock to the south. The site of Victoria Dock is located to the ...

*Sector D:

Prince's Half-Tide Dock Prince's Half-Tide Dock on the River Mersey, England, is a half tide dock and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Vauxhall, connected to East Waterloo Dock and West Waterloo Dock to the north and Prin ...

, Prince's Dock The developers have stated that the project may take 50 years before it is finished. The proposals are presently at the planning stage and are subject to public acceptance. The planning applications were submitted by the developers on 4 October 2010. As of March 2012, Liverpool City Council has granted planning permission to the Liverpool Waters scheme as a whole.

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

has formally objected to the plans and

has expressed concern, placing ''Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City'' on its

List of World Heritage in Danger The List of World Heritage in Danger is compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the World Heritage Committee according to Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention,Full title: ''Conv ...

in 2012. The proposal was referred to

Communities Secretary The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction o ...

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for ...

to assess whether to hold a public inquiry. Pickles' decision not to call a public inquiry, announced in March 2013, means that the project can go ahead regardless, although it is unclear what the next steps are or when they may be taken. In July 2021, the

World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...

cited the development as a reason for the revocation of Liverpool's World Heritage status.

Transport links

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

to link the area to Liverpool's city centre, with the potential to connect to the John Lennon Airport has been proposed.

Loss of Liverpool's World Heritage status

Development has met with opposition from several heritage bodies, including UNESCO, who said the development could lead to Liverpool losing its

status. In July 2017,

warned that Liverpool's status as a

was at risk of being rescinded, partly in light of Liverpool Waters' development proposals, with

asserting that the proposals would leave the setting of some of Liverpool's most significant historic buildings "severely compromised", the archaeological remains of parts of the historic docks "at risk of destruction", and "the city's historic urban landscape ... permanently unbalanced". In 2021, UNESCO recommended that the City lose its status, with Liverpool Waters project, the development at Bramley-Moore Dock and the longstanding development of the waterfront being cited as reasons for the recommendation. Liverpool City Region Mayor

Steve Rotheram Steven Philip Rotheram (born 4 November 1961) is a British Labour Party politician who is the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. He previously served as the MP for Liverpool Walton from 2010 to 2017. Rotheram was born in Liverpool an ...

opposed the decision and said, "We are proud of our history but our heritage is a vital part of our regeneration. I'd urge them to take up our invitation to visit rather than taking their decision sat around a table on the other side of the world." The revocation of the World Heritage Site status was confirmed in July 2021.Liverpool stripped of Unesco World Heritage status
''BBC News'' 21 July 2021

References

External links

Official site

Liverpool Pictorial
Regenerating Liverpool’s historic docklands
{{UKSkyscrapers Liverpool docks Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in Merseyside Proposed populated places in the United Kingdom Proposed transport infrastructure in the North West of England Proposed buildings and structures in Liverpool

Liverpool Waters Liverpool Waters is a large scale £5.5bn development that has been proposed by the Peel Group in the Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The development will make use of a series of presently derelict dock sp ...

The Peel Group

The development

Transport links

Loss of Liverpool's World Heritage status

See also

References

External links