Speke District

[Kev]

Lets get some pics of this developing

WORK has started on a £36m new town centre for South Liverpool's Speke community.

The 130,000 sq ft centre will create almost 500 jobs and will see a major Morrisons Supermarket as an anchor store along with a parade of shops and community facilities.

The work is starting 10 years after the regeneration started in south Liverpool, with the highly successful Estuary business park and other developments.

The city council-backed Liverpool Land Development Company described the start of the scheme, alongside the main Speke-Widnes link road as a "major milestone" in the area's transformation.

The first phase of work involves the creation of a new junction off Speke Boulevard to access the seven-hectare site of the new centre.

The existing, largely-derelict, shopping centre will be demolished to make way for additional sports pitches for the showpiece Parklands High School.

Developments in Speke and Garston, including Estuary Commerce Park and Boulevard Industry Park, have dramatically enhanced the prosperity of the area.

The new District Centre will provide the local amenities needed to serve the Speke estate and the area's burgeoning workforce.

The centrepiece of the scheme will be the Morrisons superstore and the creation of a new bus terminus at the entrance to the store.

The local stores will also be updated with a 1,040 sq m parade of smaller shops and there will be 3,717 sq m of retail warehouse space.

The new centre has been designed to integrate with the adjacent Parklands Complex which includes a school, community centre, library and Liverpool City Council One Stop Shop. There is also potential within the development proposals for a new health centre.

Liverpool Land Development Company development director Ian Hassall said: "Regeneration is about much more than attracting investment to an area, which is something we have done very successfully in Speke. It's also about creating a sustainable community.

"The new District Centre will both address the needs of the local community and serve the surrounding commercial development and the start of work on site is an important milestone for south Liverpool's ongoing regeneration.

"We are delighted that our partners, Morrisons, are now starting with this significant investment which will create many new employment opportunities and continue to boost confidence in the area."

Liverpool Land Development Company envisage a construction period of between 12 and 15 months in total with Morrisons opening in summer 2007.

Mr Hassall added: "Together with other projects like the Boulevard Industry Park, Estuary Commerce Park, New Mersey Shopping Park and the refurbished Aerodrome and Matchworks complexes, Speke District Centre will provide further evidence of the outstanding success of regeneration efforts in south Liverpool. We look forward to making further announcements about the progress of the scheme."

larryneild@dailypost.co.uk