EVERTON FC’S plan to move from Goodison to Kirkby will today be dealt a further blow, as Liverpool City Council will almost certainly submit a formal objection to the plan.

Last night it also emerged that Grosvenor, the firm behind the £1bn Liverpool One, have submitted an objection to the scheme saying it would take £129m turn-over from Liverpool city centre.

The expected Liverpool Council objection comes on the same day Sefton Council’s planning committee is also due to meet – and has been recommended to object to the scheme.

Liverpool Council’s planning committee, which meets this morning and will also consider the new Liverpool FC Stanley Park plans, has been advised by officials to object to the £400m Everton plan which includes a Tesco superstore and 50 shops.

Officials state that while the “council has always strongly supported the ambitions of Knowsley Council to regenerate Kirkby town centre”, it cannot back the plans.

The scheme runs contrary to regional planning guidance, is too big, will have an adverse impact on the city’s economy and other shopping areas. A report also states that its need has not yet been properly proved.

Meanwhile, Kirkby Small Business Forum has given its backing to the scheme in the hope that local companies will be awarded contracts on the scheme. Liverpool’s intervention comes less than a week after it emerged the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) had said the scheme should be refused planning permission because it would have a detrimental impact on Kirkby.

Last month it was revealed that Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities, was likely to “call in” the plans so a public inquiry could be held, in the event of planning permission being granted.

The recent activity increases the likelihood of a “call in”, which could delay the scheme by a year.

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