Plans have been submitted for a controversial new office development that looks set to transform a swathe of Liverpool's commercial district.
If approved, the Pall Mall proposals would see three new office blocks and a hotel built on open land behind the former Exchange Station - and new public open space created as well.
But the city council-led plans have proved divisive , with green space campaigners and neighbours angry because the project requires Bixteth Gardens, a city centre public space, to be built over.
And councillors were met with hefty opposition to plans to get rid of the gardens as they approved plans to clear the site at a meeting earlier this year.
Those campaigners, led by the Save Bixteth Gardens group and city centre councillor Nick Small, vowed to continue to fight to stop the development after that meeting.
The council have promised the new green space created through the development will be a 'significant green, bio-diverse, accessible, safe and well managed space for local residents, workers and visitors'.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson also said the development was of 'huge importance' to the city centre.
He said: “I’m greatly encouraged by the thinking behind the scheme’s lay out and delighted the emphasis is as much on the quality of the place as it is on the design of the buildings.
“We’re looking at how we can develop the district and this scheme can act as a signpost for the future aspirations for the area.”
If approved it would bring 400,000 sq ft of 'Grade A' office space to the city.
Numerous figures at the council, including Mayor Anderson and chief executive Tony Reeves, have argued that the shortage of high quality office space is one of the biggest challenges facing Liverpool's economy as it continues to grow.
The plans also a 280-bedroom hotel, associated retail and leisure amenities, as well as a new large scale and high-quality piece of landscaped green space and public realm.
A draft masterplan for the city centre as a whole, known as an SRF, was approved by the council's cabinet this year - and the council hope the new office blocks and open space will play a key role in the transformation of the commercial district over the next 20 years.
Kier Property and CTP hoped to start construction on the first office building and public realm next year if planning permission is granted.
Work by the council to clear the land is planned for completion in autumn.
That phase of the project is being funded by the city region's Strategic Investment Fund.
