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The in-filled docks of Clarence, Victoria and Trafalgar are not a part of the World Heritage Site - in the immediate buffer zone which does have restrictions and development must be within the spirit of the Heritage Zone. A small part of Trafalgar Dock still exists, however it is more a small access basin to the Clarence Graving Docks and in reality exists only in name. Most of Trafalgar Dock has been filled in, but not built on - it is easy to excavate this dock and reinstate the water space.
Trafalgar Dock, when it was a dock with water, was the continuation of West Waterloo Dock, right up to Salisbury Dock at the Victoria Tower. Excavating the vast majority of this dock and bringing it into the World Heritage Zone is logical and an obvious move - Malcolm Kennedy, a local councillor, is pressing for this. A developer may want to retain some part of the in-filled dock on the river wall side for substantial buildings on the river front - any buildings here would have a water aspect on the docks and river side, which is most appealing.
If the Trafalgar Dock was excavated deep water ships still could have berthed in Salisbury Dock and all the docks to Princes Dock. However the developers have vastly reduced the depths of these docks, for any technical reasons which are beyond me. I can see no case for reducing the depths of the docks to canal boat depths - except to gain money as a construction in-fill site, which is clear what they were used for.
The docks are renedered near useless because of developer greed.
The depth of the docks should have been protected, as after all Liverpool was, and still is, a deep water port, not a canalway. Access for deep water ships should have been maintained. Visiting ships could have moored at Central Docks as they do at Canning, Salthouse and Albert Docks. Central docks has been reduced to virtually a shallow canalway for inland narrowboats. A far cry from the deep sea ships which used the docks.
Maintaining the docks as deep water should be pursued. Ideally all the docks should be reinstated to deep water docks.
The land on the Dock Rd side of Central Docks can be put to greater use in any proposals - the Dock Rd is more a massive barrier and in parts can actually be got rid of to merge the land with the water spaces of the docks.
Below: The sad scene of in-filling at Princes Half-Tide Dock (the entrance to both Waterloo Docks) , which has killed the UNESCO protected unique and essential marine life. Pictures by Dave Wood
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