Habitat surveys need to be completed before work can begin on a major North Liverpool site earmarked for thousands of homes.
In March last year, Liverpool Council agreed on plans to move a development plan forward for Stonebridge Cross in Croxteth, with a view to building hundreds of homes on the site.
The local authority has held ownership of the site since acquiring it from Homes England in 2014 and has been facilitating the creation of over 300,000 square feet of business and commercial space there. The 55-acre site is located on the East Lancashire Road (A580), one of the main thoroughfares into the city.
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Updates from Cllr Sarah Doyle, cabinet member for strategic development and housing, and Mark Bourgeois, interim Strategic Director - City Development, confirmed a 12 month contract had been commissioned for Arup to undertake work on what species may call the area home, as well as breeding/nesting windows. This information is needed to inform the outline planning application.
In a written update to the strategic development and housing committee ahead of its meeting on Thursday, Cllr Doyle said: “Stonebridge Cross is a really important site in our ownership. It has great potential to provide much needed decent, affordable homes and amenities for the local community to meet our 15-minute neighbourhood aspirations.
“I have set up regular meetings with local ward councillors to update them on progress relating to Stonebridge Cross. At our last meeting we discussed: 1. Habitat surveys are underway.
“Arup has been commissioned to undertake this work. It is a 12 month contract to enable them to capture the various breeding/nesting windows. This information is needed to inform the outline planning application.”
Soft market testing will also take place and procurement of planning consultants to develop an outline planning application for the site that could “transform the housing offer at scale in this part of Liverpool” according to last year’s cabinet documents.
Stonebridge Cross was also one of two sites considered by Everton Football Club for its new stadium before settling on Bramley Moore Dock. It had been hoped back in 2020 that work on the site to deliver new homes could have started within 12 to 18 months.
No timescale for an outline planning application has been set at this stage, according to Mr Bourgeois’ earlier report. The development of the site is part of a wider regeneration of the Croxteth area in the last eight years, including the £18 million St John Bosco Arts College, the first phase of Stonebridge Business Park West and creation of 20 acre landscaped park, Alt Meadows.
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