It is the largest brownfield site in the city and more than 2,000 homes could be built thereDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
21:03, 07 Sep 2025
The land that will become Central Docks as part of Liverpool Waters(Image: Peel Waters)
The development of a new waterfront neighbourhood and park just north of Liverpool city centre has taken a significant step forward. Earlier this week, the ECHO reported that Peel Waters has appointed construction company GRAHAM as the main contractor for infrastructure works at Central Docks.
Central Docks is the largest brownfield site in Liverpool and the biggest of the five planned neighbourhoods within Peel’s Liverpool Waters regeneration programme. Described as an “ambitious 30-year vision to completely transform the city’s northern docks”, the £5bn Liverpool Waters scheme is being delivered by property giants Peel and spans 2.3km along the banks of the River Mersey to the site of Everton’s new stadium.
The project is split into five neighbourhoods – Central Docks, Clarence Docks, King Edward Triangle, Princes Dock and Northern Docks. So far, work has seen development at Princes Dock, with a number of residential blocks built and a number of businesses operating in the area.
King Edward Triangle will become the site of a skyscraper cluster, where KEIE Limited, part of the TJ Morris group which owns Home Bargains, will work with Hugh Frost, whose Beetham Organisation built the 40-floor West Tower in the city centre, with the aim of constructing a new tallest building in the city.
The Central Docks neighbourhood is found around 1km north of the city centre, to the west of Regent and Waterloo Road and the north of Jesse Hartley Way. This site is currently brownfield land and will be converted into a new neighbourhood consisting of more than 2,000 homes and a new park, called Central Park. Here, we take you through what we know so far.
The homes
In her first speech as Chancellor after Labour’s general election win last summer, Rachel Reeves announced government funding for the housing development at Central Docks.
Ms Reeves said: “We will create a new taskforce to accelerate stalled housing sites in our country. Beginning with Liverpool Central Docks, Worcester Parkway, Northstowe and Langley Sutton Coldfield – representing more than 14,000 homes.”
This meant that Central Docks became a New Homes Accelerator site. The funding was then given final approval by HM Treasury in the following autumn budget. Last year, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet agreed to accept the £55.2m Brownfield Infrastructure Land grant funding from Homes England.
Last December, GRAHAM was appointed to produce the final designs, along with the associated site investigations for the Central Docks infrastructure and Central Park. The construction firm will now move into the role of main contractor and will be responsible for completing infrastructure to support the delivery of approximately 2,350 new homes, in line with Peel Waters’ masterplan for the area
This infrastructure includes underground utilities, roads and public realm at Central Docks that Peel says will be fundamental to delivering the number of homes within the neighbourhood.
A new CGI showing how the Central Docks development at Liverpool Waters could look(Image: Peel Waters)
Works also involve the construction of an 2.1-hectare Central Park that sits at the centre of the plans for Central Docks. Hundreds of new trees will be planted within the park, as well as new sports, recreational, and play facilities for residents and visitors, as well as spaces to relax.
The park will become one of the city’s largest green spaces and the focal point of the 10.5-hectares Central Docks neighbourhood in Liverpool Waters.
The 2,350 future new homes at Central Docks will sit around the park and will have a diverse tenure offering, including affordable, build-to-rent, build-to-sell and elderly living. Peel Waters said it is already engaged in advanced discussions with several partners to develop plots within the mixed tenure neighbourhood, and will be seeking new partners for the other development plots.
Regarding the appointment of GRAHAM as contractor, Councillor Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “This appointment is a major milestone as it sets in motion a multi-million investment drive in one of the most important brownfield developments sites in England.
“The Central Docks site at Liverpool Waters has massive potential to deliver a housing scheme of significance and show the country how transformational brownfield regeneration can and should be done. It will also act as a catalyst for our wider plans for north Liverpool, which will greatly help stimulate the housing sector in our city region.”
The park
How Central Park at Liverpool Waters could look(Image: Peel L&P)
Within Central Docks, the park will be located south of Collingwood Dock, on the west of the neighbourhood and towards the River Mersey. In total, it will be 2.1 hectares – around the size of two football pitches.
At the moment, the site is far from a park. Work at Central Docks began last year and the ECHO reported in April that planning documents outlined what will be undertaken by GRAHAM to transform that land.
Peel and GRAHAM’s summary of the project’s scope is as follows:
- Development of the drainage and utilities infrastructure to supply water/electricity/comms to the plots and the park area
- Development of any additional required substation transformers, based on existing loading assessments
- Installation of drainage and additional pumping stations – Development of various SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) to be integrated into the main streets design
- Development of an open space central park area with the installation of various recreational equipment
- Installation of a full landscaping arrangement of Central Park
- Construction of two additional bridge structures across the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (Footbridge and Road bridge)
- Remediation of the site including the screening chamber
Regarding the timeline of the project’s delivery, a planning document says: “All infrastructure and parks are planned to be completed by December 2027, subject to GRAHAM and Peel agreeing T&Cs, and obtaining final grant approval. Following this, the Central Docks neighbourhood will be made publicly available.
A bird’s eye view of the plans for Central Park in Liverpool Waters(Image: Planning Documents / Peel / GRAHAM)
“As the delivery of plots start coming forward however, further details will be provided as part of their own detailed applications to set out how the construction of buildings will be dealt with and importantly, how access and safety is considered for those using the area.
“No other interim uses are planned within the neighbourhood until the works set out in this document are completed.”
According to Peel, Central Park’s design will celebrate the site’s industrial heritage and coastal location, blending coastal and woodland plantations, wetlands, community gardens, and open parkland. The park will feature amenities such as shelters, recreational facilities, and wildlife habitats, to be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.
Chris Capes, development director at Liverpool Waters, has previously said the park would form the ‘green lungs’ of the wider development. He added: “We want Central Park to become a destination for everyone and a place where people can visit and relax with their family and friends.
“We know the docks are very special to everyone in the city and green space has never been so important, both for our physical and mental health and wellbeing but also as a way of absorbing air pollution. Being able to create a new large public park at the heart of the city in an urban environment is really exciting.”