The chief executive of Liverpool Council has had his say on the debate over Liverpool waterfront’s UNESCO World Heritage Status and the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium plans.
Tony Reeves said he is confident the council and its partners - including landowner Peel L&P - are “striking the right balance” over the plans to build Everton’s new stadium, adding that they take heritage “really, really seriously”.
Mr Reeves was speaking at MIPIM 海角视频 property summit in London on Monday, at an event entitled ‘Future Cities: A transforming waterfront for the Liverpool City Region’.
At the event, he said the Liverpool waterfront was “incredibly important from a heritage point of view”, and that the city has demonstrated “many times over recent years” its commitment to heritage.
He explained: “We need to balance heritage with the need for inclusive growth and regeneration to transform outcomes for people in Liverpool.
“Sometimes, there’s a trade off. The job of planning is to strike that balance and work through those issues, working with partners like Peel.
“It isn’t about waiting for the application to come in and then taking a view. It’s about developing a dialogue all the way through the process. It’s no secret Liverpool is on the ‘at risk’ list of World Heritage status.”
It comes after Unesco last year gave the whole of Liverpool until February 2020 to address its “serious concerns” as the city risked losing the World Heritage Status it gained in 2004.
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The body raised concerns the new stadium could threaten the “authenticity and integrity” of Liverpool’s waterfront, with Liverpool having also been added to a list of sites at risk in 2012 after concerns of the impact of tall buildings at Peel’s Liverpool Waters site.
But the Blues are making various arrangements to deal with the heritage of the Bramley-Moore dock area, which were .
Mr Reeves added: “We absolutely love having World Heritage status, but that doesn’t define our heritage in its own right.
“The need for regeneration in that part of Liverpool and the catalyst and quality of work give us real confidence that we are striking the right balance, and I would use the Everton stadium as an example of that.”
He added: “It’s really important we have a good relationship with Historic England - as we do.
“We absolutely understand and appreciate that they are going to look at things purely through the heritage lens - because that’s their job, hence their title.
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“It's about us being a confident city, but being absolutely clear we will take account of all views of different stakeholders to work out what's right for Liverpool and we have absolutely got the confidence to do that.”
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Landowner Peel L&P’s development director Darran Lawless was also on the panel at the event, and he told the gathered audience his firm “has always realised we are custodians of the site”.
He added: “We want to leave a lasting impression on people’s lives for generations to come."
Describing the dilemma between heritage and planning as a “difficult balancing act”, he continued: ”If you say there is no development acceptable then we are all out of a job and opportunity to invest into areas that have not seen anything like that in years.”
He said it could be overcome by “having a very clear plan from the beginning” - but “being prepared to engage with lots of different consultees all the way from Unesco to the man on the street”.
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Mr Lawless added: “[It’s about] making the best of what you’ve got, and trying to find the happy medium between the two. Sometimes it’s possible, sometimes there are fundamental differences in opinion.
“What we’ve tried to do is find solutions that keep everyone happy.
“The council has been very helpful in encouraging us to accommodate all interests, it’s about working in partnership and being prepared to change plans if necessary.”