Liverpool Council is preparing to market the 55-acre Stonebridge Cross site in Croxteth for a mixed-use development that could deliver around 220 homes, a significant reduction from the 1,200 homes originally planned. The site, located on the East Lancashire Road (A580), has been owned by the council since 2014 after being acquired from Homes England.
Shift from Housing to Employment-Led Development
In March 2021, plans were agreed to move forward with a development plan for 1,200 homes, with hopes an outline planning application could be submitted a year later. However, four years on, the council is now proposing a 70-30 split towards employment uses, with just 220 homes. Cabinet documents describe the site as “one of the city’s largest remaining development opportunities” and cite “strong demand” for employment floorspace based on updated market testing and employment land evidence.
Reasons for the Change
Officials said the evidence base had changed since an assessment five years ago. The site’s location, with access to the port, city centre, and motorway network, makes it suitable for modern industrial, logistics, and manufacturing uses. The documents state that an employment-led scheme would “allow the majority of the site to support modern employment development while enabling a residential element, indicatively around 220 homes, where this supports a comprehensive and well-designed scheme.”
Affordable Housing and Local Impact
The housing element is expected to include a mix of tenures and property types, with a substantial element of social and affordable housing to “relieve affordability challenges in the city.” The move away from a sole housing scheme is described as “more realistic and deliverable than seeking a single specialist use and gives the council the best opportunity to attract credible occupiers and deliver jobs for the local area.”
Next Steps
Subject to cabinet approval on Tuesday, a specialist marketing agent will be appointed to promote the site and secure developer interest. The council’s preferred approach is for an overall comprehensive development, but it may accept bids based on the 70/30 split towards employment and housing.
