Liverpool cruise liner terminal opening set for May

The temporary cruise liner facility is expected to be operational for three years

A temporary cruise liner terminal will be opened in Liverpool at the end of May after a cash row was settled.

The facility at the city's Princes Dock will be linked by road to the current embarkation point.

The terminal will have full turnaround facilities and allow cruises to start and end in the city

The new terminal will host its first cruise liner on 29 May and is expected to be used for three years while a permanent facility is built.

'Moving ahead'

Liners are currently only able to make stop-offs in the Mersey.

Liverpool has agreed to pay back £9m in government grants for the building of its existing terminal, after rival port Southampton claimed it was unfair for the city to use public money to compete in the cruise liner market.

Malcolm Kennedy, cabinet member for regeneration and transport for Labour controlled Liverpool City Council said the city had "to start now" on the temporary facility to secure the terminal's future.

He said: "If we waited for all the details to be finalised we wouldn't have it.

"It's simply now a matter of coming to a financial agreement with the government and we are moving ahead."