Liverpool City Council has submitted a planning application for a new £50 mill cruise terminal on the River Mersey.
The council said it is looking to create an “international standard”, permanent facility, which would enable the city to welcome the world’s largest cruise ships.
The application includes the controlled removal of Princes Jetty and the construction of a new terminal set within a statement building, based on a new suspended deck structure in the river.
This year, Liverpool welcomed more than 60 vessels, with 120,000 passengers and crew. The council said it wants to create a state of the art passenger and baggage facility, complete with passport control, lounge, café, toilets, taxi rank and vehicle pick up point.
The current terminal generates more than £7 mill a year to the city’s economy.
The application is expected to be heard by the council’s Planning Committee in January, 2018. If approved, site preparation at Princes Dock is expected to start in Spring of next year.
The council is currently inviting tenders for a design and build contractor to construct the facility with a closing date for submissions of 14th December. This is a two–stage contract award project, with the first stage to develop the design and confirm the construction costs with appointed consultancy firm Ramboll UK. The first stage contract is expected to be awarded in March, 2018.
Tenders are also being assessed for the site investigation work needed at the Princes Jetty site, which has been gifted to the council by Peel Ports, and it is expected this work will also start in January, 2018. The council is also in the process of promoting a Harbour Revision Order through the Harbour Authority to construct the new terminal in the river.
Further planning applications could potentially include other projects, such as a new 200 room hotel and 1,700 plus multi-storey car park to enhance the city’s capabilities in handling the next generation of turnaround cruises.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “A new cruise facility is one of the city’s most important regeneration projects of this decade and is vital to growing Liverpool’s tourism economy. We want to provide the next generation of super liners and their passengers a world class welcome with a five star experience.
“A new cruise facility will also be a huge boost to our plans to regenerate the North Liverpool docklands and create thousands of new jobs, which is why we’re putting together the best team of experts to ensure we build this facility to the very highest standards,” he said.
The council, which recently held a two-day public consultation on the scheme, is also investing a further £32 mill in upgrading the A565 to support the new cruise facility and north docklands and is also gearing up to create a £20 mill link road to extend Leeds Street to the waterfront to support a new £30 mill Isle of Man ferry terminal.
Ian Pollitt, Assistant Project Director at Liverpool Waters, said: “We are delighted at the progress the city council is making with the new terminal proposals. We are working very closely with them and our other partners to progress the development and this planning applications is a major milestone in that process.”
