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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Adam Jones

Everton history changed course in just two hours after new stadium decision at Bramley-Moore Dock

Exactly one year ago, Everton's history was about to completely change.

The club virtually sat before a Liverpool City Council planning committee, armed with a presentation and all the knowledge they could muster regarding their new stadium plans at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Years of consultation, designs, re-designs, more consultations and waiting had gone into this. The nerves were palpable for those tuning into the livestream.

With the country in the midst of its latest lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic on February 23rd 2021, a panel of 11 councillors watched from home as a small team from Everton explained exactly what they had been working on for so long.

At around 9:50am, Denise Barrett-Baxendale kicked off proceedings with an introduction to the project and why the Blues were looking to move from Goodison Park.

This was nothing new to Evertonians watching along. In fact, not much of what the club shared on this historic day was.

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All of the content was instead aimed at a panel of 11 councillors who would decide the immediate faith of the project. This wouldn't be the final hurdle, but it was easily one of the most significant steps standing in the way of the club's new 52,888-seater home.

Colin Chong, Everton's stadium development director, was next to talk about the project in a little more detail. Iain Jenkinson from CBRE was also involved - discussing the Blues' need to stay in North Liverpool among other factors.

Everything that supporters had been hammered with over previous months was hit home once again. Design aspects, heritage issues, sustainability.

The new aspects to fans came with the concept images discussing the 12 stages of the stadium build - before councillors got to have their say.

Numerous questions were asked over the remaining 90 minutes of the meeting as those with the decision in their hands wanted to turn over every stone imaginable.

That's exactly why the club had put in as much work over previous years as they did.

They'd already asked the important questions, often numerous times, to try and provide an answer for essentially anything that could be thrown at them.

It all paid off.

Liberal councillor Steve Radford remarked: "Very impressed, I have to say. Very encouraged."

This is someone who started his question by admitting he's a rugby fan rather than a football supporter.

Mirna Juarez also started her chance to talk by discussing the impressive aspects of the club's presentation, before Joseph Hanson arguably stole the show.

A Liverpool supporter, he spoke in detail about the heritage conversation regarding the stadium - with the city, of course, later losing its World Heritage Status.

That eventuality wasn't down to Bramley-Moore Dock, but Everton's stadium build did attract much of the ire around that argument.

In what is a testament to the club's amazing work, the most vocal criticism which came their way was around the bat roosts that were inside the hydraulic tower at the time.

Even then the Blues had an answer, making clear to Green Party councillor Tom Crone that temporary roosts would be put in place as the build progressed.

A round-robin of praise for the club ended with the all-important vote.

One-by-one. Almost like a penalty shootout taking place across multiple webcams. Each councillor had spoken of their support for the plans, but still there was a sense of trepidation.

There needn't have been, of course.

It had taken the club around two hours to effectively present their case - and they were rewarded with a unanimous decision at around 12:02pm.

So, in fact, that's about two hours and 12 minutes.

It was an intriguing, nerve-wracking morning just for those watching from home - let alone the small cohort of Everton staff situated at the club's Liver Building office.

A similar process with the Goodison Park legacy project followed, and a similar result took place.

A few days after what was a fantastic win at Anfield, breaking an embarrassing streak that had gone on far too long, this was a truly historic day for the club.

It was the culmination of around 25 years of thoughts behind leaving Goodison Park.

King's Dock, Kirkby, Walton Hall Park...at one stage it felt as if Everton were never going to find the right place to call their home in the long term.

But, the moment of finally erasing those memories had come.

The final green light followed when the government decided not to call in the proposals. By July, Everton were on site at Bramley-Moore Dock.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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