24-acre urban green space Southern Grasslands launches in Liverpool

A huge urban green space, regenerated from the recycled soil of a former landfill site, opens to the public today (August 7).

The unique 24-acre recreational area, called Southern Grasslands, has been created as a result of a remediation programme to lay the foundations for a potential new housing scheme at the nearby Festival Gardens development zone.

Situated just three miles south of Liverpool city centre, Southern Grasslands is five times bigger than Chavasse Park and will be officially opened today by Mayor Steve Rotheram and Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins.

Over the past two years, more than 400,000 cubic metres of soil and waste has been removed from the Festival Gardens development zone, land that was used as a public waste deposit facility for more than 30 years. More than 95% of this material has been recycled including 100,000 cubic metres of earth that has created what will become an eco-haven for wildlife.

Features: The radically relandscaped green space, which now rises by more than 30 feet to provide views of the city centre and River Mersey, also features more than 5,700 new trees and shrubs as well as 2km of walking paths near to the shoreline.

Southern Grassland also contains a series of new public benches and picnic tables and there will be dedicated paths to the Festival Gardens park for the first time since it was famously opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1984, as part of the International Garden Festival. Southern Grasslands is also serviced by a new car park which will ensure it is accessible for people with mobility issues.

Brownfield Award: The mammoth excavation programme, which has been shortlisted for a national Brownfield Award, has also included an additional £6m programme of ground infrastructure works to lay drainage and construct a substation to provide power supply for the future development.

The package of works has been jointly funded by Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Homes England and OFGEM.

Access to the rejuvenated site is also possible now through Riverside Drive, which now has Liverpool’s first ‘sparrow crossing’, which enables cyclists and pedestrians to cross the road using separate lanes.

Access from the river front, on Otterspool Promenade, has also been improved with new resurfacing, railings and art installations, providing an enhanced entrance into the Festival Gardens site for pedestrians and cyclists.

Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins, Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “The opening of the Southern Grasslands is a watershed moment in both the story of our famous Festival Gardens site and in Liverpool’s journey to tackle climate change.

“It’s creation marks the end of a truly monumental two-year long process to excavate the nearby development zone – and is testament to how nature and wildlife can benefit from development when we put our minds to it. I applaud everyone involved for the work that has gone into making this dream a reality.

“Repurposing the soil from a former landfill site to create an eco-haven is a story wildlife campaigners dream of. This is the ultimate win-win. Liverpool is gaining not just a potential new housing scheme but a year-round recreational space which will also act as a huge new carbon sink and which will benefit our unique coastal bio-diversity for decades to come.

“And by forming a natural extension to Festival Gardens park and Otterspool Promenade for cyclists and pedestrians to use and enjoy, Southern Grasslands will be a truly special asset for us all to celebrate.”

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “The Festival Gardens site holds a special place in the hearts of many Scousers, but it has been left to go to rack and ruin by decades of private sector failure. It is only through devolution, with a metro mayor working in partnership with Liverpool City Council that we can put that right.

“Our funding is helping to transform the Festival Gardens into a public asset once more and laying the groundwork for homes to be built. Rather than a forgotten wasteland playing home to dumping, this new grassland should be home to a thriving community of new homeowners.”