Liverpool Festival Gardens: Site bought by council

Mayor Joe Anderson hopes the gardens can be used to host cultural and artistic events

Liverpool's Festival Gardens site has been bought by Liverpool City Council for "high-quality housing" and "cultural" events.

In a statement, the council said it hopes to create a "world-class cultural destination" on the riverside location.

Under the plans, approximately 28 acres would be used for housing, with 66 acres protected as open space which could be used for cultural activities.

The site was the original home of the International Garden Festival in 1984.

Planning permission for 1,308 apartments and 66 town houses was granted after a 2008 public inquiry which has also seen the restoration of the Chinese and Japanese gardens, the lake and the creation of new woodland walks.

Negotiations have been completed with property investment and development company Langtree to buy the land, the statement added.

Liverpool's Mayor Joe Anderson revealed in March he wants to use the land to create a new open space for the public which could also host music, theatre and public art events.

Liverpool Festival Gardens

• The International Garden Festival took place between May and October 1984 and attracted 3.8 million visitors

• It was one of the first major projects by the Merseyside Development Corporation to regenerate Liverpool in the wake of the 1981 Toxteth riots

• Its legacy was meant to be a unique riverside parkland gifted to the city and "available for all to share"

• This site has changed hands several times since 1984 with half of the original festival grounds used for residential housing

"This is a significant moment in the future of the Festival Gardens site and brings a bright new cultural future considerably closer to reality," he added.

The council said it hoped the area could be a "vibrant outdoor classroom" for local children as well as a place where Culture Liverpool, Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool work together to make the area a cultural attraction.

Stephen Barnes, Development Director at Langtree, said: "We always recognised the strategic importance of this site to the future of the city and are pleased to be handing it on in a considerably better condition than we found it in 2005."

Mairead Smyth, BBC Radio Merseyside political reporter

The legacy of the five-month Garden Festival, held in 1984, was meant to be a unique riverside parkland gifted to the city and "available for all to share".

The area has much to offer; sitting on the edge of the River Mersey with good transport links to the city centre. It's been derelict for almost 20 years when Pleasure Island amusement park closed. Now the council says it wants to build a "destination park and high quality housing" on half of the site. But there are restrictions because the land is a former dump.

I met Mayor Anderson on the site and, although he wouldn't disclose how much it cost, he is confident the city will get a good return. His vision is clear - he wants an outdoor venue for cultural offerings - something Liverpool is well used to hosting - along with high quality houses that will contribute to the council's coffers through council tax revenue.

But will the idea of buying a home in a riverside concert park put purchasers off? Mayor Anderson says they will "get the balance right" when the plans are being drawn up.