More than one thousand new jobs will be created at the site of the old Rolls Royce factory in Bootle. The employment boost was announced at an official 'ground breaking' ceremony in Atlantic Park this week at the site which is being developed into a large-scale logistics and manufacturing hub.
Atlantic Park is a 52-acre site, formerly home to Rolls Royce Engineering works, which sits within the Port of Liverpool Freeport zone and is projected to inject £62.9 million annually into the Liverpool City Region (LCR) economy. The development will support approximately 1,125 jobs, including 140 new roles created directly through Phase 2.
The developer for the project – Royal London Asset Management – commissioned independent economic analysis which showed that 685 net additional employment opportunities will be generated for Sefton residents, alongside £1.2 million in annual business rates for Sefton Borough Council. During construction, the developers also confirmed the project will support at least 25 jobs each year for local residents.
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Reflecting on what the future holds for the LCR, Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "There were parts of our city and our region that were post industrialised wastelands, and that was the bad old days. What you're seeing now is the resurgence of Liverpool and our city region as somewhere that investors, private sector money, wants to come in.
"This is about having a product that people want to put their money into, and we're seeing that right the way across the city region, genuinely, because we've got our act together. I look at some of the economic indicators and all of the major levers that we're pulling are having a direct impact on the improvements we're seeing.
"We're seeing more jobs, which is great, but we're seeing lots more apprenticeships. We're seeing more growth sector businesses choosing Liverpool. We're seeing the economic benefits of that, in regards to people staying here, and the visitor economy growing. The whole system needs to function together, and that's what we've started to see.
"The the one thing that is in very short supply at the moment, the one commodity that we need more of is 'hope'. Now we're seeing the tangible result of a lot of work, of a lot of planning, of a lot of determination by some brilliant people."
Also in attendance was Sefton Council's cabinet member for regeneration, economy and skills, Cllr Paulette Lappin, who said: "Sefton Council has been working with Royal London and the Liverpool City Region to progress this project so that we can help our local residents access jobs.
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"We can contribute to the economy, and we can actually generate more business rates so that we can offer the people of Sefton more money to spend on services. So Everyone's a winner here, really.
"As a council, we've worked incredibly hard over the last five years. The initial work for this began in 2006 and then you actually get all the planning permissions and now we're on our way to actually doing these things.
"MLEC is on its way, Bootle Strand is on its way. But it does take a long time to get the plans together."
She added: "It's a really good story. It is about having hope. It's about having a vision and it's also about having agency, recognising the choices you have and the change you can make."
The local authority's Sefton at Work, Invest Sefton, and local education providers will partner with Winvik Construction to implement an Employment and Skills Plan, deliver career talks, work experience placements, and local employment and training opportunities. The LDRS understands more than 28% of new vacancies during Phase 1 delivery were filled by residents of the Liverpool City Region.
The project also supported 19 apprenticeships and developers confirmed 33% of project spend was directed to local suppliers. The second phase of the Atlantic Park construction project is expected to be completed in Summer 2026.
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