LIVERPOOL Council and Peel Holdings have hit back following Unesco warnings the city faces the loss of its World Heritage Site status if a £5.5bn skyscraper scheme is approved.
Unesco’s World Heritage Committee has urged the government to ensure the Liverpool Waters plans for the city’s northern docklands do not receive planning permission.
Last night a defiant Peel Holdings, which is behind the plans, said the decision had been made on flawed information.
Liverpool council leader Joe Anderson said the council was yet to grant planning permission to the scheme.
But he added: “We believe it is perfectly possible to retain the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage site, while at the same time reflecting the growing needs of a thriving and developing city.”
A “monitoring mission” will now be sent to Liverpool to assess the situation in the autumn.
It will report back to the next annual meeting of the committee, due to be held next summer.
The intervention will increase the likelihood of the government calling a public inquiry into the scheme in the event Liverpool council grants planning permission later this year.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which oversees the WHS, said all sides agreed there is a need for development to take place.
It is the latest in a number of setbacks to Peel Holdings which wants to regenerate the city’s northern docklands with a series of skyscrapers claiming it will create more than 25,000 jobs and 14,000 apartments in a £5.5bn development.
