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The Planning Committee Ruled against in-filling of West Waterloo Dock. Many thanks to all who filed an objection. We won this time. The battle is not over, an appeal may be submitted. Expect further proposals to in-fill docks and water spaces. The lack of a firm cast-in-concrete strategy to determine the survival of all docks and water spaces and excavate in-filled water spaces hinders the future.

Concerns

City Centre Docks Reduced to Canal Boat Depths Prevents Historic Ships berthing at Liverpool

The historic military ship collection, including a WW2 U-Boat, at Birkenhead, may have to be split because a home cannot be found for them at Liverpool. Docks near the city centre have been reduced to canal boat depths unable to accommodate deep water vessels, in deep water Liverpool. The docks were filled to create a lucrative waste dump for developers. Once more short sightedness by the city hinders the future. See: Canal Link, West Waterloo In-fill and Princes Half-Tide Docks on Menu below.

Land by Stealth via re-directed Canal Link Accepted by Council

Indeed British Waterways has submitted plans to re-direct the proposed canal link through the partially in-filled Trafalgar Dock and West Waterloo Docks. They are lining up dominoes to gain lucrative land.

Astonishingly, the application was accepted without going through the planning committee. Objections at government level are expected.

City violates UNESCO World Heritage Status agreement

The partial in-filling in of Princes, Princes Half Tide Dock, Trafalgar Dock and the intended proposed filling in of West Waterloo is in violation of the World Heritage Status agreement.

UNESCO protected dock marine life killed

The essential and unique marine life has been killed at West Waterloo and Princes Half-Tide Docks.

Click on UNESCO Violations by City below.

Land by Stealth in the Wirral

Does the Wirral Waters project have a Land by Stealth angle built in by the developers, as was the Liverpool canal link? Will river fronting Egerton, Morpeth and Alfred Docks be filled in to generate lucrative land for the developers at our expense? Click on Wirral Waters - Birkenhead Docks on the Menu.

We were promised this.............

But got this........... Yes, this is Liverpool's World Heritage Site.
Photo courtesy of Dave Wood at Liverpool Pictorial A waste processing dump on an infilled historic dock.

Future city around historic waterspaces and docks?
New Amsterdam or Hamburg of North West Europe?
How?
Without Water?

This Web Site Promotes:

The preservation of the existing dock network and waterspaces - the jewels in Liverpool's crown
Excavation of infilled docks to reclaim waterspaces, our history and heritage
The construction of the new Amsterdam at Liverpool and Wirral

Liverpool's Water Based Legacy - The Jewels in the Crown

The city of Liverpool inherited a brilliant legacy of redundant intertwining docks and waterways - the largest, finest, enclosed, interconnected, built of granite dock system in the world. Many have compared the dock system to the building of the pyramids. The docks and waterspaces are the jewels in Liverpool's crown - the future of the city, based on its past. The docks and quays are ready to create an Amsterdam, a Hamburg, a Venice of North Western Europe. A legacy every other city in Europe would drool over. This legacy is being squandered.

Docks so Unique World Heritage Status was Assigned

Liverpool docks were considered so historically important to the industrial revolution and populating the New World, UNESCO awarded World Heritage Status to sections of the interconnected docks and waterways.

UNESCO state: "Many of the former docks survive to the form of now redundant water bodies. These are an important aspect of the Site's significance and character and their conservation and use requires consideration within future sustainable regeneration schemes."

Liverpool Docks Populated the New World

More emigrants departed from Liverpool than any other port in the populating of the New World - the largest migration of people in history. Liverpool docks are the counterpart of the piers of the Lower East Side of Manhattan and Ellis Island - two historical sites valued and preserved by the USA. The United Nations descibed Liverpool Docks as being of “universal human significance”. Liverpool is custodian of these docks which are of world importance in the history of mankind.

Docks and Waterways Disappearing At An Alarming Rate

This unique dock waterway creation has been disappearing at an alarming rate. In the past few decades: Herculaneum, Harrington, Toxteth, parts of Queens, Kings, Dukes, Victoria and Trafalgar Docks have been filled in. Many of these docks date from the 1700s. Half of the South End Docks and large sections of Central Docks have been filled in. A vast water acreage, larger than many major ports in the world, has disappeared. The Wirral has lost large acres of water space at Bidston, Wallasey, Morpeth Branch and Bromborough Docks.

City On The Water Promised

After the success of the Albert Dock preservation and conversion to residential and leisure facilities, the people of Liverpool were promised a city on the water. A water centric city, with the population living amongst the water in high quality developments, centering the city around the renovated historic docks and waterspaces. Little of this promise has been realised. Far too much emphasis has been to develop the dock waterspaces for commercial activities rather than accomodate people who would make the waterspaces vibrant raising the quality of life. At the current rate of dock infill there will be little left of any historic water to build around. An easily realised dream is being shattered.

Lack of Strategy Assists in Water Space Disappearance

The total lack of a firm strategy directing the dock water spaces and river waterfront, is responsible for the disappearance of large swathes of dock water spaces over the past three decades. UNESCO criticised the city for not having a master plan in place for the dock water spaces. The city has been devalued in many ways because of lack of foresight. A strategy protecting the water spaces and outlining the future usages and look and feel of the docks water spaces is urgently needed. Otherwise, it is constant needless iterations of developers proposing dock in-fills to make fast bucks generating land and campaigns to stop it.

Below: Liverpool and Birkenhead Docks in 1972. Liverpool docks stretched for over 7.5 miles (12 kilometres). Birkenhead Docks, where E Float and W Float are on the map, move inland and end at Bidston Moss. .

12th February 2007
The Planning Department are recommending to extend the use of Trafalgar Dock as a waste dump. The matter goes to the Planning Committee on Tuesday 20th February 2007 commencing at 9:45 a.m., held in the Council Chamber, at the Town Hall, Dale Street, Liverpool 2,

17th January 2007
Maro, the developers of Brunswick Quay Tower unfortunately are considering a bland, anywhere, scaled down proposal for the Brunswick Dock site. Ian Simpson, the world renowned architect, who reached the semi-finals of the World Trade Centre replacement in NY, said: ‘Maro is after someone to produce a much lower, non-iconic, lower-density scheme".
‘If Maro is after doing more of the same and is not particularly ambitious then I would not be particularly interested in being involved.’. He added, "I think it is a great loss for the city of Liverpool, cities which stay away from being bold risk ending up being very second rate and filled with dross."

8th January 2007
Planning application 04F/4376

"To change use of land to provide an inert waste recycling facility for a temporary period of three years including the installation and operation of material crushing plant and to carry out associated works."

With 8% of the city's land idle, there are many brownfield sites suitable for waste purposes. The city should reject this application outright and get on with excavating Trafalgar Dock and developing the docks and water spaces as a matter of urgency to project the city forwards. Three years is three years too long.

Please object to the above proposal. Address details on page Canal Link, West Waterloo In-fill and Princes Half-Tide Docks on the Menu.

4th January 2007
The former Cammell Laird shipyard site has been bought in a £100m deal by property developer Peel Holdings, owner of Birkenhead and the north Liverpool Docks.

It clears the way for Peel to include the former shipyard site and associated docks and basins in its existing £4.5bn Wirral Waters plan to develop Birkenhead's docklands into a mini-Dubai.

Peel Holding's plans will be presented at a public meeting on Tuesday 9th January 2007.

Update when plans announced.

30th November 2006
Maro, the developer of the proposed tower at Brunswick Quay, is seeking a meeting with city council leader Warren Bradley and chief executive Colin Hilton.

Maro want to rescue the project and is also considering legally challenging the decision by Ruth Kelly to refuse planning permission.

27th November 2006
The latest planning application submitted by British Waterways to move the canal route has been accepted. It didn't even go to committee. Planner John Woodward just took the decision which many find astounding given the level of interest in the way the docks are to be developed. Objections are to proceed at government level.

17th November 2006
Brunswick Quay tower appeal rejected. Ruth Kelly the secretary of state for communities and local government, rejected the iconic proposal. This will deter advanced high quality developers from investing in Liverpool, curtailing regeneration.

Some of the grounds for rejection given by Kelly were so inaccurate they are laughable.

30th October 2006
Peel Holdings say they will have a joint announcement on the Wirral of the Central Docks and Wirral Waters schemes in the new year.

26th October 2006
British Waterways are at it again. An application to re-direct the proposed canal has been submitted. Another land by stealth application.

26th October 2006
UNESCO Preliminary Report released. UNESCO Report

UNESCO give the city a slap on the wrist, pointing out simple points, like: "Currently there is no master plan for the waterfront, for instance".

20th October 2006
UNESCO officials have completed their inspection of the city, and will publish a report in, wait for it....July 2007. Liverpool may be the first city to have World Heritage Status recinded. If this happens this would be because of clear incompetence by the city.

11th October 2006
UNESCO officials are to visit the area between the 18th and 20th October 2006 to assess violations of World Heritage Status Agreement.

10th October 2006
The Planning Committee ruled against filling in of West Waterloo Dock

3rd October 2006 Planners recommend refusal of filling in West Waterloo Dock. Application No. 06F/2292, the filling in of West Waterloo Dock, is to be heard on 10.10.2006. The planning committee can override the planners recommendations and often do.

3rd October 2006
Local councillor Malcolm Kennedy is pushing for West Waterloo Dock to be a part of the full UNESCO World Heritage Site, not just in the buffer zone.

Unesco's World Heritage Committee headed by Mechtild Rossler, will visit Liverpool concerned over the proposed ultra modern X-Museum stating: "with great concern that the new museum building, next to the Three Graces, does not comply with the recommendation as it is designed to be dominant rather than recessive".
UNESCO are investigating violations regarding killing of marine life and proposed filling in of docks.

7th September 2006
Peel Holdings announce similar project proposal to Wirral Waters at Liverpool's Central Docks. Details will be revealed in a few weeks.

6th September 2006
Large £4.5 billion proposal, to be the UKs largest project, submitted for East Float at Birkenhead Docks, titled Wirral Waters. Project features water based skyscrapers. Click on Wirral Waters - Birkenhead Docks on the Menu.

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