Everton’s £500m stadium gets green light

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Construction of Everton Football Club’s new stadium can finally proceed after communities secretary Robert Jenrick gave the project the thumbs up.

The formal government approval for the scheme, which is being built by Laing O’Rourke, comes after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government decided not to intervene in the planning application, which gained consent last month.

Liverpool city councillors unanimously approved the application to build a 52,888-seater stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock at a meeting in February. Laing O’Rourke was named as contractor on the £505m project last year.

The £82.5m redevelopment of Everton’s current home, Goodison Park, for a mixed-use project including residential, commercial and community facilities, was also approved by the committee.

Stadium construction is set to begin imminently and last for around three years.

Its anticipated completion date is 2024 and it could be used for the 2024/25 football season. Everton had hoped to begin work sooner but said in August that additional consultation, along with decisions relating to third parties had slowed due to COVID-19 and would delay work until 2021.

The club said in a statement said: “On such a momentous day, the football club would like to thank every Evertonian, along with the many organisations, the tens of thousands of people across the city region and the team of dedicated staff who have played a vital role in ensuring the club reached today’s milestone.”

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