‘Milestone moment’ as council launches search for Festival Gardens developer

Liverpool City Council has launched a call for a development partner to transform its iconic Liverpool Festival Gardens site into a landmark housing scheme on the  27-acre Development Zone.

It follows approval by the council’s Cabinet following a report last month recommending that the authority embarks on a competitive procurement exercise to appoint a “high calibre development partner” to lead on creating a new neighbourhood as part of the site, which was originally opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1984 as the International Garden Festival.

The ambition is to significantly boost the city’s housing supply with a diverse range and mix of housing types, including affordable properties, together with local amenities, creating a thriving new community in this prime south Liverpool location, which is well connected and within 10-minutes of the city centre.

The scheme, which is a flagship project outlined in the city’s draft housing strategy, will connect with, and enhance, its natural surroundings and biodiversity and provide a high standard of desirable and multi-generational living for all.

The original Garden Festival site was created after removing underground methane from the former landfill depot.

Further significant remediation and enabling works, lasting three years, were completed in January 2024 to enable development, and since that time a team of experts has been curating an ambitious, and deliverable development brief which will provide an essential framework to market the site.

Additional works have also been carried out which include laying drainage and constructing a substation to provide a power supply for the future development.

Clear objectives are outlined which state the council’s intentions to make the 27-acre site a sustainable, healthy and inclusive neighbourhood which has a strong identity and high design quality.

The council aims to secure a development partner towards the middle of next year.

Montagu Evans is running the procurement process on behalf of the council.

It is expected that the contract with the successful development partner will be finalised in autumn 2025 once thorough due diligence has been undertaken.

Council leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, said: “This is a major milestone moment in the evolution of the Festival Gardens site.

“The appointment of a development partner will see the completion of the International Garden Festival initiative and marks the final chapter in a 40-year story of a site which originally covered 250 acres. It will also ensure that the UK’s only remaining Festival Gardens are preserved and enhanced for future generations to enjoy.”