New documents have revealed why Liverpool Council is buying a former police station in the city centre.
It was confirmed last month that the local authority would move forward with plans to buy the Smithdown Lane site from Merseyside Police as part of its proposals for the wider development of the Paddington Village zone. This prompted as opposition Liberal Democrats questioned the move and a perceived lack of transparency.
Now, previously unseen documents have explained why Liverpool Council is seeking to take ownership of the location.
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It was announced last week that around £13m will be made available to Liverpool Council to complete the purchase as part of a wider £31m investment in the city region by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Since 2016, discussions had taken place regarding the council potentially taking on the Merseyside Police site on Smithdown Lane to expand Liverpool’s burgeoning Knowledge Quarter at Paddington Village. The station opened in 1976 and became a base for the force’s traffic policing operations.
Paddington Central, which forms part of the wider village development, has been earmarked to shape a Liverpool City Region Investment Zone proposal to the government focused on the region’s strengths in health and life-sciences. A call-in request was submitted by Liberal Democrats, led by Cllr Carl Cashman, citing a “lack of pre-decision scrutiny, as there was no opportunity for the culture and economy subcommittee to consider this issue.”
A cabinet report previously considered during a closed session last month has now been made public ahead of the decision being discussed at the culture and economy scrutiny committee next week. It said how the Smithdown Lane station was a “a key site for the assembly of Paddington South to complement land already in the ownership of the council and the University of Liverpool.”
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The documents outlined how the council entered into an agreement with Merseyside Police for three sites in August 2018, including the sale of land alongside St Anne’s Street to deliver the new headquarters and the former fruit and vegetable market on Edge Lane to house the new fleet repair hub. The third part granted an option for the council to acquire Smithdown Lane, which would expire this month.
The report said: “It is proposed that the Council work closely with the university in master planning the site for future educational and life science-based development with a potential focus on materials chemistry. This report recommends the council enters into a Memorandum of Understanding with the University which will establish principles of how both parties will collaboratively work together to maximise outcomes at Paddington South.”
A final masterplan and development strategy will be presented to cabinet in the autumn, subject to a decision made regarding the call-in. These could include knocking down the existing buildings, with an updated demolition cost prepared last year, informed by the asbestos register provided by Merseyside Police.
The call-in will be heard during the culture and economy scrutiny committee on Wednesday March 13.