Landfill parkland will be eco-haven, says council

The Southern Grasslands site formed part of the Liverpool International Garden Festival in 1984

A redeveloped parkland on the banks of the River Mersey will be an "eco-haven" and "benefit coastal bio-diversity for decades to come", Liverpool City Council has said.

Southern Grasslands, on Riverside Drive, has been created using recycled soil to prepare part of the Festival Gardens site for housing.

Trees and shrubs have been planted at the park, also built on landfill.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins said the move was "the ultimate win-win".

"Repurposing the soil from a former landfill site to create an eco-haven is a story wildlife campaigners dream of," she said.

Over 400,000 cubic metres of soil and waste have been removed

She said the site, which formed part of the Liverpool International Garden Festival Site in 1984, was the largest transformed green space to open in the city this century and is almost five times as big as Chavasse Park in Liverpool One.

"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," she said.

"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."

The re-landscaped green space, which now rises by more than nine metres (30ft) high provides views of the city centre and across the River Mersey to North Wales, and features more than 5,700 new trees and shrubs as well as 2km of walking paths.

The site, which was home to the Liverpool International Garden Festival in 1984, was bought by the council in 2015 and is split into three zones:

• Development Zone - the site of the Festival Hall dome, which is being now being prepared for housing

• The Gardens - Oriental Gardens set around the remaining original Festival Gardens

• Southern Grasslands - former festival site land which has now been reopened as parkland

The 90-acre site had been derelict since 1997 and part of the gardens, features such as Chinese pagodas, Japanese gardens and water features, were reopened in 2012 after after a £4.5m redevelopment.

Work to prepare 22 acres of the city's Development Zone for housing has seen over 400,000 cubic metres of soil and waste removed from the site which was as a waste deposit facility for over 30 years.

As these works near completion the council said would be seeking to appoint a development partner in Spring 2024.