LIVERPOOL FC was ordered by city planners to consider three sites identified as potential locations for a new home for rivals Everton, the Daily Post can reveal.

Details of the move have been outlined in a lengthy report to the city council’s planning committee ahead of a special meeting next week to decide on the fate of the revised £400m Stanley Park stadium plan.

The three sites – two in Long Lane, Aintree, and one in Scotland Road – have now all been rejected by LFC’s planning advisors.

They were named earlier this year by city council leader and Everton supporter Warren Bradley as an alternative to Everton’s proposed move to neighbouring Kirkby.

The council’s assistant executive director for regeneration, Mike Burchnall, told Liverpool FC to examine the three Everton sites during the summer after US business partners George Gillett and Tom Hicks bought the Anfield club.

Some fans on either side of Stanley Park – destined to become the new home for Liverpool FC – will be astonished that Anfield officials were ordered to look at the Aintree and Scotland Road sites, revealed during the summer by the Daily Post as top of Cllr Bradley’s wish-list to keep his own club in the city.

The club’s advisors dismissed all of Cllr Bradley’s sites as unsuitable for a new Liverpool stadium.

Scotland Road is far too small to accommodate Liverpool’s new stadium, with no scope to assemble a larger site.

Both of the two Long Lane sites were ruled out because the majority of the land is not available, and the remaining development area is not suitable without significant land assembly measures. But both Aintree areas did meet policy demands for brownfield sites.

Mr Burchnall called on the club to re-assess a selection of alternative sites across the city when the US owners announced they were to submit a fresh planning application.

All had previously been discounted in favour of Stanley Park, which remains the favourite.

Last week, co-owner Mr Hicks revealed the cost of the stadium had now reached £400m, at least £100m above previous estimates.

In a report to Tuesday’s meeting, committee members were told that during the course of the new application, three sites had been identified as being potentially suitable for Everton FC should they wish to relocate from Goodison Park.

“ The assistant executive director (Mike Burchnall) rightly felt that these three sites be also assessed by Liverpool FC in terms of their suitability as an alternative location for a new (Stanley Park) stadium,” says the report.

Everton FC has itself dismissed all three sites and is pressing ahead with its new stadium plan in Kirkby.

The planning committee will be urged to back the proposals that will add a stunning building on the north Liverpool skyline. Mr Burchnall is recommending that planning permission should be granted by the committee. Members will spend two hours visiting the Anfield area before starting their deliberations. A go-ahead would pave the way for work to start early in 2008.

READ more details on the new Anfield proposals in tomorrow’s Daily Post.

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