A Merseyside council has agreed to sell off land to a garden centre so it can make way for a proposed housing development.
The plans would see Whitakers Garden Centre in Prescot move from its current location in Liverpool Road to a site in Manchester Road currently owned by Knowsley Council.
The garden centre’s existing site could then be used to build 227 houses, if the council approves a controversial planning application from developer Taylor Wimpey.
The Liverpool Road site has been earmarked for a new housing development since 2016 and the council has been working with Whitakers to find it an alternative location so it can continue trading in Prescot.
On Saturday, the council announced that it had found a site for the garden centre in Manchester Road and had received a planning application for it from Whitakers.
Council documents reveal that the local authority is selling the Manchester Road site to Whitakers for an undisclosed amount in order “facilitate comprehensive development of the existing garden centre site at Liverpool Road” and “help retain a popular local business”.
The council expects the deal will protect 15 full-time jobs in the area and provide a £4 million investment in the new garden centre.
The exact location of the land has not yet been revealed but there are few vacant plots in Manchester Road.
One likely site is a temporary car park just south of the community police and fire station, which is around a third of the size of the current Whitakers site.
