St Modwen secures final approval for Project Jennifer
WORK is set to start on Liverpool’s long-awaited £150m Great Homer Street regeneration project after the city council gave detailed plans the green light.
The project, also known as Project Jennifer, includes a 114,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket, 80,000 sq ft of additional retail and nearly 500 homes on 45 acres to the north of the city centre.
It has been in the pipeline for around 10 years but its progress has been hampered by a legal challenge from Tesco, and disputes over the compulsory purchase of around 200 land interests.
Now St Modwen says it will be on site in the spring and the scheme will create 1,000 jobs when it is finished in 2016. Further phases of development will follow in the Marwood Tower and Dryden Street areas. Work will start on the supermarket, which will be the largest in the city, in 2015.
Stephen Prosser, regional director of St Modwen, said: “The attainment of this detailed permission is the next important step forward and is testament to the positive support the scheme continues to enjoy. We are committed to delivering this scheme for the people of north Liverpool and will be working hard to finalise the details over the next few months in the build-up to starting on site.”
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, cllr Malcolm Kennedy, said: “We are looking forward to seeing this vital scheme delivered, which will make a massive difference to people’s lives – breathing new life into the area, providing first-class facilities and creating new jobs.”
