Liverpool FC lodges stadium extension plans

LIVERPOOL Football Club has submitted a planning application for its long-awaited stadium expansion which will increase the seating at Anfield from 45,500 to 58,800.

A detailed application is seeking permission for an extension of the Main Stand by 8,500 seats to 21,000. Outline planning is also being sought for an extra 4,800 seats at the Anfield Road end.

Under the plans the area outside the Main Stand will open out into a large plaza on land currently occupied by housing on Lothair Street. Some 72 homes will be demolished to allow for the work. Most of them have been acquired already and Liverpool City Council said “all parties are close to agreement” for the remainder.

Supporters will enter the ground by walking up a large ramp at the Main Stand above a new home for the Hillsborough Memorial. Construction work on the Main Stand could begin early next year and be finished in time for the 2016-17 season.

The work is linked to a wider Anfield regeneration plan that also involves Liverpool City Council, the social landlord Your Housing, and construction firm Keepmoat. The Anfield designs have been drawn up by London-based KSS Architects.

Liverpool FC’s managing director Ian Ayre said: “When we set out on the journey to explore the feasibility of expanding the stadium, we said the process would be determined by certainty. Certainty that we have the support from local residents and businesses for our proposed plans, that we can acquire the land required and that we can navigate the planning landscape.  

“Over the past 18 months and as part of this approach, we have worked closely with the community, local residents, Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group and we are delighted to be able to bring forward a planning application at this stage. A lot of good work has been done and we still have more work to achieve certainty however the planning application is another step in the right direction.”