Liverpool City Council to ‘appropriate’ Great Homer St land

LIVERPOOL City Council is taking steps to appropriate roads and open space required for the £150m Project Jennifer scheme north of the city.

The St Modwen-led scheme, which will see the development of a 45-acre site around Great Homer Street, went to public inquiry in June following opposition to a series of compulsory purchase orders. A decision is expected in the autumn.

The proposed scheme will be anchored by a 110,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket and contain around 80,000 sq ft of additional retail. There will also be a new market, a transport interchange and 480 new homes.

At a cabinet meeting on Friday the council will seek authority to advertise its intention to appropriate the land – which is already in public hands – and if no objections are received it will proceed.

According to council papers the proposed loss of open space was first advertised in 2007 and no objections were made.

“The Project Jennifer scheme requires the closure of certain highways to allow the development to be constructed,” said the report.

“In connection with the proposed closure under section 251 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 the council must now appropriate the land beneath the highways from highways and open space purposes to planning purposes and consider any objections which are received once the proposal is advertised.”

The council could say how much land would be appropriated.