Comment: Speed essential on Kirkby plan

Jun 10 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

THE bid to relocate Everton Football Club to Kirkby is entering a new phase. Yesterday, Knowsley planners agreed the scheme by a vote of 20 councillors to one, but the battle is not over as far as opponents are concerned.

There are the fans who do not want Everton FC to move outside Liverpool’s city boundaries. There are some Kirkby residents who simply do not want such a massive scheme in their midst. And then there are the collective voices of Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and West Lancs councils who have objected to the retail planning policies of “Destination Kirkby”.

The advantages this redevelopment – which includes a Tesco superstore and 50 shops set over 50,000 sq metres of floorspace, as well as 50,000-seater stadium for Everton, a hotel, offices, and more than 3,500 car parking spaces – would bring to one of the most disadvantaged areas of England are undeniable.

What remains to be seen now is whether the scheme can proceed without being “called in” by the Government for scrutiny. This decision is a crucial one, and fortunately it is not something we should have to wait long for.

The Government Office North West has around three weeks to decide whether to recommend secretary of state for communities Hazel Blears to call a public inquiry in to the matter.

In the current economic climate, time really is of the essence. But, while supporters will want the scheme to move ahead quickly without having to grind through a long-drawn out planning inquiry, opponents will be equally hopeful of seeing the issue laid bare for public scrutiny.

The onus now lies with these civil servants to act promptly and decisively in this issue; the matter of whether or not the Minister should call in the scheme has to be a priority, for the sake of everyone involved in the process.

Three weeks may not sound like a long time to wait – but, for those on either side of the Destination Kirkby fence, it is bound to seem interminable.