A DEVELOPMENT site once earmarked as home to a £100m Urban Splash Liverpool community is now looking at a future as a car park.

In 2008, Urban Splash launched plans for the biggest housing scheme ever to be created in Liverpool by a single developer. The £100m redevelopment of Great George Street, in the shadow of the Anglican Cathedral, was supposed to create a striking new gateway to the city incorporating shops, businesses, a hotel, and 740 apartments and houses.

But little progress has been made since the grand launch of the Tribeca scheme, which had city landmarks the Wedding House at one end and The Blackie at the other.

Now Urban Splash have applied to create a car park with 200 spaces on the site. The land is owned by Liverpool council, and the Daily Post understands Urban Splash has already exceeded the original timescale for starting on the project.

A source close to the Labour administration said “patience is starting to wear thin”, and that, unless progress on building 10 social houses on site was seen before April, Urban Splash face losing the development option.

The source said: “The ball is firmly in their court now, they have done some wonderful things in Liverpool. But patience is starting to wear thin.

“Great George Street is a major gateway to the city centre and there are other developers out there. We will not wait forever.”

No one from Urban Splash was available for comment last night.

The firm, run by Tom Bloxham, was hit hard by the credit crunch.

Just seven months after the launch of the Tribeca scheme, it was forced to start cutting jobs to cut costs.