Council approves Liverpool FC’s plans for £60m ground extension

Liverpool FC’s bid to extend its Anfield Road stand was approved by the city council’s planning committee this morning (June 15), despite strong objections to its plans to fell 27 trees as part of the scheme.

The £60m extension will add a further 7,000 seats, taking the overall ground capacity to 61,000.

Council planning officers had recommended approval for the application, which was paused last April due to the impact of the pandemic.

The club had originally hoped to unveil the expanded stand in summer 2022, but admitted last year that the earliest target date for completion is now summer 2023.

The proposal outlines use of the stadium for other team sporting events and an option to host up to 12 concerts and/or major events per annum.

Liverpool FC wanted to close Anfield Road to traffic and include it within the new footprint of the extended stadium, however, following public consultation, it has now dropped this plan.

The club’s chief operating officer, Andy Hughes, told the committee this morning: “After the first public consultation meeting we found enough room so we could re-route Anfield Road around the back of the stadium.”

Objections had been raised by Liverpool Green Party leader Cllr Tom Crone, Liberal Party leader Cllr Steve Radford, the Friends of Stanley Park and Friends of Walton Park over what they see as the impact on the nearby Stanley Park, but the club responded that there is no encroachment on the park.

There were also objections by Anfield councillor Lena Simic to plans to fell 27 trees as part of the development. These comprise 16 trees on land owned by the club.

The club said this is necessary to increase the size of the outside broadcast area as required by European football governing body UEFA. It is proposed to replace the trees, funded by Liverpool FC.

However, Cllr Dave Cummings said: “There is a lot of smoke and mirrors and ambiguity. I am pleading with you to go back to the public and have further consultations.”

Andy Hughes responded: “We’ve spent over £20m on the restoration of Stanley Park. We’ve made really significant contributions to the park and continue to take it seriously.”

Felicity Collins, case officer for the council, said: “This proposal is inevitably going to have some impact on the trees. The mitigation is replacing trees in that location.”

Notes in the planning application illustrated the economic benefit of the club to the city region.

Quoting a report by Kieran Maguire, of the University of Liverpool’s Management School, it said “each home match is potentially worth up to £2.5m to the city economy”.

The club’s application was passed by six votes to two.

Meanwhile, a bid to alter and convert a property in Anfield, near the stadium, to form a 27-bedroom hotel, was deferred by the planning committee.

The submission, by Anfield Living, relates to a property on Oakfield Road, which leads up to the club’s football stadium.

The site currently comprises a vacant block of two, three-storey semi-detached Victorian villas which have previously been amalgamated.

In the proposal, the owners want to make the conversion, and create car parking for 12 vehicles.

It envisages five guest bedrooms on the ground floor, alongside a residents’ lounge and hotel business accommodation including a reception area, office, linen store, w/c and luggage store.

There would be nine guest bedrooms on the first floor and a further nine on the second floor in the same layout. The basement would include four guest bedrooms alongside a breakfast lounge and kitchen.

The external office space would be demolished and a single storey extension added to the Oakfield Road elevation which would become the principle elevation with the construction of a new entrance, vehicle drop off, pedestrian access and landscaping.

Anfield ward councillors Ros Groves, Billy Marrat and Lena Simic all raised objections, including their claim there is already too much hotel stock in the area. Responses were also received from 12 neighbours, including objections.

Cllr Marrat suggested imposing a levy on guests, which could be forefeited, to discourage noisy behaviour to protect nearby residents.

Linked to this, Cllr Joe Hanson called for closer communication with the licensing committee to identify potential problems of excessive noise late at night.

Planning officers had recommended approval of the scheme, with conditions, but an amendment to defer the application was passed by five votes to one.

Committee chair, Cllr John Prince, told the applicant’s agent, Richard Byrne, senior planner with Grayside Planning: “I think there’s a lot of work needs doing on this. I think you need to talk to your ward councillors.”