On 20th February this year, we were honoured to be joined by 120 Liverpool residents, and 12 speakers from projects and establishments across the Waterfront, for our seventh annual Waterfront Residents Meeting. Even with such a large audience, we know there were many residents who were unable to attend, so here’s a summary of what we heard on the night, to help you get involved in some of the exciting events and initiatives taking place in our part of the city over 2025…
First up, Justina Heslop, Waterfront Transformation Portfolio Manager, shared the latest news on National Museums Liverpool’s Waterfront Transformation project, which takes in the Albert Dock’s Martin Luther King and Hartley Pavillion (International Slavery and Maritime Museums) buildings, as well as Canning Graving Dock, the Piermaster’s House, and the Museum of Liverpool on Mann Island.
NML are starting this massive project with repairs to the Grade I listed International Slavery and Maritime Museum buildings. Those who’ve visited the museums will know they were often quite hot. As part of these renovations, NML will be taking out and replacing the 40 year old electrical and mechanical ventilation systems. Hoarding will be going up around these works in April, and we were told NML has consulted with lots of nearby stakeholders on how these hoardings will look, so as not to disrupt the Waterfront.
More excitingly, NML will be building a wall across the open end of Canning Graving Dock, to enable visitors to walk all the way down into the dock, as part of a historical learning space around the Edmund Gardner ship. Work for this will start in March. This will link up with a new bridge being built from the Pumphouse on Albert Dock, to the nearby Canning Dock quayside, starting in May, and completing in Spring/Summer 2026.
We were also told that NML will soon be submitting planning applications for a mixed use commercial offering in Mermaid House, the Cooperage, and Piermasters House, alongside an “interpretation garden” to further animate the space.
Next up, Chris Capes, Development Director at Liverpool Waters, shared their plans for Liverpool Waters Central Docks.
He showed how the “Central Park” we saw mockups of at last year’s Residents Meeting will now be split into 3 zones – a natural zone in the South, play facilities in the North (with ball courts, running track etc), and an open pasture grass zone in the middle. Peel are keen to see the space become part of the community. “It’s for everyone to use,” Chris said, “not just residents and workers in Liverpool Waters.”
RIBA Stage 4 planning is currently in process for this updated scheme, and we expect final detail on Central Park and roads and access into it, to be released in March. Peel aims to start work on site in July, and anticipates a 2½ year build process.
The plan includes development plots for residential and commercial buildings around the park. Chris shared that this will include 20% affordable housing, healthcare facilities, a community centre, and potentially a school if required. He also referred residents to Peel‘s Sustainability Plan for Liverpool Waters, which explains how they’re managing the environmental impact of the development, including the installation of a District Heating Network for more efficient, lower carbon heat.
Our third speaker was James Long, Engagement Manager at Canal and River Trust. The Waterfront docks and canal, as well as South Ferry Island, are among the 2000+ miles of waterways that CRT cares for across the UK.
James explained how a key goal for them in 2025 is renewing the Waterfront’s Blue Flag award, which recognises the quality of water, facilities for boaters, and standards of nature management in a given place. This was last awarded to us in 2021, and lasts 4 years, so CRT have reapplied for renewal in 2025.
He also shared two other key projects in caring for the assets they maintain – repairing the Coburg Bridge with its noisy deck; and undertaking critical repairs on the lock at Brunswick Dock.
At previous Residents Meetings we’ve heard about the floating ecosystem island in Wapping Dock. It may look very wind-swept, but he assured us that lots of the action for the island actually takes place underwater – with a reef where small fish and mussels can thrive. Thanks to sponsorship from Liverpool BID Company, CRT will be doing maintenance on the island this year, to repair storm damage from last Winter.
Working with students from Manchester School of Architecture to design a replacement for the Salhouse Dock floating stage, which was damaged by storms over the Winter. They were out on the water yesterday taking measurements. Hope to share details over the year.
If you’d like to get closer to Liverpool’s docks, you can volunteer to help care for them, via Canal & River Trust’s volunteering pages.
Speaking of spending time on the water, our fourth presenter was the affable Brendan Roche, Senior Sailing Coach and Team Leader at Liverpool Watersports Centre on Queens Dock.
The Watersports Centre, which is run by Liverpool-based charity Local Solutions, celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. We were shown a video of all the fun that’s on offer at the centre, including paddleboarding, rafting, canoeing, swimming, a floating obstacle course, and wheelchair-accessible wheelie boat tours!
Chris said he finds it funny that Waterfront residents will often say they walk past the centre every day, but never come in – whereas people journey from all over the City Region to make use of these facilities, which are on our doorstep. If you’d like to learn more, head to the Liverpool Watersports Centre website.
Next up, Jemima Pyne, Head of Audiences at TATE Liverpool, gave us a short update on the repairs and renovation taking place there. We are now 15 months into practical delivery of transformation, with roof repairs complete, and the scaffolding and side deck removed.
They’re now in “demolition phase”, we were told. Ventilation mounts and wall cladding have been removed (for re-cladding with less obtrusive surfaces). The lifts are being moved. TATE are going for more subtle lighting, making more of natural light, and ensuring all the galleries make the most of views onto the river. The café will move to the first floor, overlooking the river, and the ground floor will be entirely opened up, with the old mezzanine above the reception desk being removed. Windows on the building’s northern elevation (facing onto the Liverpool Mountain sculpture and Piermaster’s House) will be opened up, to let more light into the galleries, and to show people outside the activity taking place on each floor. It sounds like a really exciting change!
As residents will know, TATE recently announced that works are likely to continue for longer than originally planned. Jemima told us they hope to get the building back from the builders at the end of 2026, and to reopen at the end of 2027. We’re looking forward to it!
Jemima was followed by another Residents Meeting veteran, Angie Redhead—now joining us in her new role as Head of Operations at Culture Liverpool—to share some of the events planned for the city.
Angie gave a whistlestop tour through Culture Liverpool’s 2025 event schedule. Outside the Waterfront, Radio 1’s Big Weekend will be coming to Sefton Park in mid-May, attracting 100,000+ visitors over 3 days. Queen Anne returns a few days later, in late May. Cream on the Waterfront also returns in mid-June.
Angie said the council knows it can be challenging for residents, but big events like these generate funding that the council can then spend on events like River of Light, which will be happening on 24th October.
Next up, Josh Boyd returned for a second year to share an update on Daffodil – the restored and repurposed Mersey Ferry which has now taken pride of place in the South-Eastern corner of Canning Dock. When Josh showed a video of the ferry arriving, we swear we could hear the sound of a few attendees wiping an emotional tear from their eyes!
Josh noted that tonight’s presentations show common themes—preservation of heritage, enhancement of the built environment, Scouse spirit and pride—that he hopes Daffodil will be able to contribute to over the coming years, as a central part of Liverpool’s Waterfront.
He gave everyone a quick virtual tour of the new space, from the outdoor furniture on the sun deck, through to the 60–120 capacity upper bar deck (which starts the day as a light and airy coffee and breakfast spot, and turns into a cocktail bar at night), and the 80-seater restaurant on the lower dining deck. Daffodil’s restaurant will be starting to serve afternoon tea in March, and Josh said they’re also hoping to launch a weekend brunch service and Sunday roasts later in the year. You can see more of what’s to offer at Daffodil—including their bookable event space down in the hold—on their website.
Our eighth and ninth speakers were both from Liverpool City Council – Nuala Gallagher, Corporate Director of City Development, and Sam Campbell, Director of Planning and Building Control.
Sam explained that her team are leading on the Waterfront Plan for which the council ran a series of consultations in the second half of last year. The plan will link up some of the projects we’ve already written about above, and stretches all the way along what Sam charmingly described as a “string of pearls” along the Waterfront, from Bramley Moore Dock down to Festival Gardens.
The City Council are aiming to define an ambitious vision for the whole area, which developers and businesses can then build upon. In Spring/Summer this year, they’ll be starting another round of consultations on two documents that define this vision – a “blue sky thinking” about the waterfront (which is the space for fresh ideas like sinking the Strand!), and then a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) that formalises the plans. We at Engage will make sure to share news of these consultations with residents as soon as we hear any more.
Nuala and Sam went on to explain a number of other changes they’re working on for the Waterfront and City Centre areas. Such as new homes in North Liverpool and South Sefton, centred around “catalytic areas” like Greatie Market (which they’ve already secured £5m from government to improve), Bootle Strand, Goodison Park, and Anfield.
After the traffic chaos during the first major test event earlier that same week, they acknowledged they have work to do on transport at Bramley Moore stadium. They assured residents that the city council will be working with Combined Authority (who manage MerseyRail/MerseyTravel) and Everton Football Club to resolve this.
We also heard how Phase 2 of the redevelopment of the Strand has not been forgotten – the city council is currently working up renewed plans for this, which will be coming out for consultation later this year.
Finally, we were shown plans for new housing on the disused city council land at Festival Gardens. The council is currently going through a procurement process to bring a developer on board for this, and we at Engage hope to share more news on this later in the year.
Entering the home straight now, our next speaker was John Mawer, General Manager at GPH Liverpool, to fill us in on the latest plans for Liverpool Cruise Port.
Residents might not know that Global Port Holdings (GPH) acquired Liverpool Cruise Port from the city council in April 2024. GPH is the world’s largest independent cruise port operator, running over 30 ports in 18 countries. John explained how being part of a bigger network means GPH can target cruise operators who run stops elsewhere in the world, to visit Liverpool too, enabling us to compete with other UK ports like Dover, Glasgow, and Portsmouth.
GPH expect to serve over 200k passengers and 150k crew at Liverpool Cruise Port in 2025, which will bring a £27–28 million contribution to the local economy.
As we know, the cruise port is currently limited to one berth. John explained that they’re currently having to turn away ~30 ships each year because of this lack of space, so they’re also looking to invest £30m into the infrastructure over the coming years to increase capacity.
John was followed by a representative from our hosts for the evening—Ben Williams, Director of Commercial and Business Development at ACCL—to share some of the events that the arena and convention centre will be hosting over 2025.
These include some very big musical events (Diana Ross, Kylie, Busted/McFly, and Andre Rieu), sports events (such as Netball Super League, World Boxing Championships, and Premier League Darts), and comedy headliners (like Peter Kay, John Bishop, and Jimmy Carr).
Both Beyond Monet and and refreshed Beyond Van Gogh will be taking place in the Exhibition Centre, between 15th July and 3rd August.
And between 28th September and 1st October, the Labour Party Conference will once again return to Liverpool. Ben thanked residents for putting up with the inconvenience of this event in particular, which effectively locks down the entire Kings Dock for a week or two, due to security requirements. Business events like the LGA Conference and Labour Party Conference bring big economic impact to the city, he said, because of the mid-week hotel beds and associated spend.
Our final speaker of the night was Matt Houghton, CEO of Hype Urban Bikes, opposite Queens Dock.
Hype is a social enterprise, with a mission to provide access to affordable, well maintained bikes for all ages, abilities and backgrounds, across the Liverpool City Region. They sell both new and pre-loved bikes, and run maintenance classes and training sessions from their “Hub” on Sefton Street.
Matt shared that they’ve also created five rides—of different lengths and levels of challenge, from 1 mile long, to 20 miles long—that extend out from their Hub, which Waterfront residents might like to try. You can access the route maps here.
Questions
William Jessop Way resident: We spoke last year about kids swimming in the Mann Island canal. I wondered whether rather than trying to prevent them, we could make it safe for them instead?
James (Canal & River Trust): It’s not possible to make the canal safe for swimming because it’s too deep. But CRT are trying to work with the council and partners to offer something else for kids, to divert them away from the area.
Sam (Liverpool City Council): Plan is to provide opportunity for other areas, that are safe, managed.
North Docks resident: There are just no buses in the North Docks! They added one to the Isle Of Man Ferry Terminal last year, but that seems to be invisible now!?
Gerry (Engage): A shame there’s nobody from LCC Transport here to answer that.
Chris (Liverpool Waters): Peel pays for the buses to the Isle Of Man Ferry Terminal, but they only run when the terminal operates. There will also be some buses to the new stadium.
Waterfront resident: Not a question, just wanted to offer my congratulations to Josh and the Daffodil team. What a gem! Hope the first year goes well!
Waterloo Warehouse resident: Can we get more rubbish bins along the Riverside stretch of the waterfront? We pick up trash as we go along, but you can quickly end up with a full trash bag.
Gerry (Engage): Thank you for being so public-minded to do litter picking. Challenging situation, because some of it is CRT land, some is LCC land.
James (Canal & River Trust): The bins are maintained and emptied by CRT staff and volunteers. CRT have upgraded some bins along the Waterfront, but they’re expensive and CRT is a charity so, sadly, it’s often more important to spend on key infrastructure like locks and bridges.
Sam (Liverpool City Council): The upcoming Waterfront Plan does look at public realm, street furniture, etc. Will pass comment on to colleagues in Waste department.
Waterfront resident: Is there a plan to build a bigger cruise terminal?
John (GPH Liverpool): In a nutshell no. Southampton has the UK home port market pretty much cornered, due to their scale, proximity to Heathrow, proximity to the Southern third of the UK, and being a sailing day closer to the Mediterranean). So GPH are focussing on “transit day calls” at Liverpool, which don’t require a large cruise port terminal for starting and ending a cruise.
And that was all we had time for! We hope this summary has been helpful to those who couldn’t make it in person. Thanks once again to Kerry, Abigail, Paul, and Simon at ACCL for supporting the event, and to all of the speakers for taking time out to keep Waterfront residents in the loop.
If you’d like to keep on top of all the things we’ve mentioned above, make sure to join our monthly Grapevine newsletter list for updates on consultations, events, and news for Waterfront and City Centre residents.