Former dock workers’ club and football pitches to become new neighbourhood

The former Merseyside Dockworkers Sports & Social club and associated grounds are set to be transformed into a new residential area by Persimmon Homes.

This follows planning permission being granted by Liverpool City Council for the land in Anfield.

The grounds had formerly hosted sports and social activities for Merseyside dock workers, their families and the wider community since 1949, but have been closed to the public for almost a decade.

The announcement follows the completion of the sale of a 12.5-acre site at the Edinburgh Park Dockers Club, formerly the home of grassroots and amateur football in Liverpool, to Persimmon Homes.

The housebuilder will now deliver 232 new houses and apartments across the 12.5-acre site.

The final development will feature a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom mews properties, one- and two-bed apartments, and a series of demi-detached and detached houses, and is set to bring back to life a site that has become vacant and derelict in recent years.

The Dockers Club was advised on the transaction by national law firm Weightmans, with the team supporting a complex sales process that spanned nine years.

Representatives of the Dockers Club, Jim Davies and Mike Tighe, said: “This has been a lengthy process that involved engagement with multiple stakeholders, including Sport England, to ensure we delivered the best possible outcome for this iconic site.

“The plans from Persimmon Homes will give the Dockers Club a new lease of life, welcoming families and young professionals to a new community in Anfield.”

Clive Bleasdale, partner at Weightmans, said: “This is a great result for the Dockers Club.

“Formerly a valuable community asset, supporting amateur football in Liverpool for more than 60 years, it has become disused over the last decade and become a target for break-ins and anti-social behaviour.

“Now, the land will be brough back into productive use, welcoming a new community of residents without sacrificing any green space, with all training land reallocated close by.”

The Dockers Club was advised by Weightmans and Avison Young.