Liverpool City Council has successfully acquired the site of a major stalled development in the city centre, known as New Chinatown. The 4.55 acre brownfield plot, located at Great George Street, is situated at the entrance to the city’s historic Chinatown and near the Baltic Triangle, adjacent to the Anglican Cathedral.
The residential development has been on hold since 2017 due to a series of complex legal challenges regarding leaseholds. The Great George Street Project Limited, the company that owned the site, entered administration in February 2022.
Since then, the city council has collaborated with the company’s administrators, Cowgills Limited and Farleys Solicitors LLP, to finalise the acquisition. Following a bidding war with the Ascot Group, the local authority has now secured the site under its own unified ownership (as the freeholder of the site), paving the way for new homes and businesses to be constructed there.
The sale to the city council required approval from the High Court, which was granted on November 15, allowing the sale to be completed just two weeks later – on Friday, November 29. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) have backed the Council’s approach, allocating £10million funding to complete the purchase and bring forward development options for the site.
Liverpool City Council has begun developing proposals for a site in efforts to spur on a regeneration wave across the broader Chinatown locale, building on initiatives being carried out by its Business Support Service alongside various partner organisations. This past week saw a gathering of businesses from Chinatown, along with potential investors, student entrepreneurs, community members and stakeholders, all focused on addressing present concerns and formulating a strategy to rejuvenate Chinatown’s business landscape, cultural heritage, and attractiveness to tourists, reports the Liverpool Echo.
The Great George Street location is also intricately connected to prospects in the nearby Baltic Triangle area, especially with the upcoming Liverpool Baltic Station, which has netted £96 million from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and is set to launch in 2027.
Councillor Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Liverpool City Council remarked: “The acquisition of the stalled Great George Street development is a hugely significant step in resetting the story of this major gateway site. Its proximity to the Baltic Triangle, which is undergoing huge change with plans afoot to radically upgrade the transport infrastructure there, means the future development of the Great George Street site is of critical importance to the city.
“I’d like to thank Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) and the government for their support in this process. I am looking forward to delivering new opportunities, homes and businesses, to create a vibrant and positive future for our historic Chinatown district.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, expressed his satisfaction: “I’m really pleased to see Liverpool City Council break through the many legal hurdles that have held this important site back for far too long.”
He added: “With that cleared, we’re now in a position to crack on with bringing new homes and jobs to the area, creating genuine opportunities for local people. Along with the addition of the new Liverpool Baltic Station, this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting development projects in the country.”
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