Festival site land handover

Oct 1 2007 by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Daily Post

EXTENSIVE plans to restore Liverpool’s former garden festival site have taken a crucial step forward.

Councillors agreed to hand over land next to the 67-acre site so developer Langtree McLean can start its £250m scheme if it gets the final go-ahead from the Government.

Liverpool council must now wait until the verdict from next month’s public inquiry before it knows if restoration work can start on the gardens, woods and grasslands.

Langtree McLean wanted an extra two acres of land between the festival gardens and Otterspool promenade to help it build waterfront apartment blocks.

But after talks with the council, they will now only need about 0.2 acres, mostly to create new footpaths.

Councillors rejected rumours the prom-enade would close to let the development take place.