Ring master
Player Valuation: £90m
Everton still hope to be "on-site" at Bramley-Moore Dock to begin construction on the club's new stadium within the first half of 2021.
The Blues have today issued an update on the project and say they expect Liverpool City Council to rule on the club's application in late January or early February.
Everton's hopes of having a planning decision this month were dashed as the process became delayed as a 'stretched" local authority dealt with the impact of the pandemic.
But in a letter to supporters this lunchtime, the club's Stadium Development Director Colin Chong says the club are working on the belief a decision will come soon into the New Year.
Chong wrote: "We fully expect that our planning application will be determined within the first couple of months of 2021, meaning, with Government approval, we are aiming to be on-site at Bramley-Moore Dock within the first half of the year.
"Achieving a positive planning determination is the next key milestone in this project and unlocks the next phase of work streams we need to complete, with a key focus on confirming the land acquisition, finalising our preferred routes and access to funding and formalising our relationship with our preferred contractor Laing O’Rourke.
"For many, 2021 will be a period of transition as the world recovers from the impacts of a global pandemic as we see the continued roll-out of a vaccine. While there is no need to adjust our overall project timeline, I am sure you can appreciate that not everything is directly under our control, we remain on track with our own internal plans and the most important thing for us is that we continue to move forward and plan accordingly.
"We are confident that 2021 will give us the license to move forward by getting the necessary approvals to deliver a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Everton Football Club and the Liverpool City Region."
Everton have already undertaken some preparatory work on the waterfront site with bricks and building materials tested.
Since our last update in August and the submission of our amended planning application in September, we have been working alongside our preferred building contractor, Laing O’Rourke, and engineering consultants, Buro Hapold, to develop this highly complex scheme in readiness for the stadium construction," Chong added.
This has culminated in two listed building consent submissions to Liverpool City Council focusing specifically on the Regent Road Dock Wall and the enabling and remediation work required prior to the commencement of building the stadium.
"While on-site we have also been testing various brick samples and building materials. These samples allow us to understand how our building materials will respond to the waterfront environment, how they will look against the aesthetic of the site itself - with the hydraulic tower and external dock wall - and against the surrounding urban environment. By having our chosen brick, glass and steel materials in place it means we can save the time we need when going into the build phase.
"We have also been finalising technical matters in relation to ecology and transport - as well as completing our climate modelling. Our climate reporting gives us a clear picture of what the wind, temperature and precipitation levels are like throughout the year on-site. This information backs up our initial modelling and has been helpful in confirming we have the right stadium design and materials."
