DEVELOPERS said the second phase of work on the former International Garden Festival site will get underway as soon as possible after the opening of the restored parkland area.

Visitors can now enjoy unrestricted access to the waterfront attraction on Riverside Drive for the first time since the Garden Festival ended more than 25 years ago.

Many of the original features of the 1984 event - such as the Chinese and Japanese gardens, pagodas, and the “moon wall” - have been fully restored in the £4.5m project, along with new lakes, waterways and waterfalls.

With the completion of this phase St Helens-based developers Langtree are now turning their attention to the residential development. This will see 1,374 new homes on 25 acres in the park on the area of the former Festival Hall dome.

Langtree managing director John Downes said: “As much as I was pleased to see the gardens open to the public, as far as we’re concerned this is only half-time.

“It is the comprehensive development of the whole site that we are committed to delivering alongside the Festival Gardens.”