St. Modwen, the UK’s leading regeneration specialist, has begun work on site for the £150 million regeneration of Great Homer Street, after more than a decade of hard work and preparation.
A ground-breaking ceremony, attended by the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, marked the official start of work on the scheme, known locally as ‘Project Jennifer’. Representatives from the community attended to celebrate the milestone.
Project Jennifer, which is being delivered by St. Modwen in partnership with Liverpool City Council, will create more than 1,000 jobs and is a scheme that is much needed and wanted by the community.
As well as a 110,000 sq ft Sainsbury’s supermarket*, this major regeneration project will bring 80,000 sq ft of retail, 900 free customer car parking spaces, a petrol filling station and homes. Major road improvements will be made, including a new junction linking Scotland Road to Great Homer Street and improved links to Everton Park. The new ‘Greaty’ market facility also opened its doors in Dryden Street last month as part of the scheme.
Paul Batho, Projects Director at St. Modwen, said: “The commencement of main site works is a major landmark for the scheme and represents the substantial investment being made in the city. This significant milestone brings more than 10 years of work to fruition and is testament to the support for the project in the local area. We are now in a position to accelerate activity on site, with a view to delivering this major partnership regeneration project by summer 2016.
Mayor Anderson said: “This is a day the local community has long waited for. Project Jennifer will transform this part of North Liverpool, providing much needed jobs, shops, homes as well as the new market.
“It has the support and involvement of the people who live here and now that work has started they will see that what has been a long-term ambition will become a reality.
To mark the milestone, St. Modwen ran a competition with pupils at Notre Dame College to create designs for the site hoardings, which were unveiled to the public as part of the ground-breaking ceremony. The winning designs were created by 14 old Christina Leong and Harry Odubo, also 14, and showcase the theme of community.
Mr Batho continued: “Project Jennifer is a result of community collaboration and so we wanted to ensure that we involved people from the immediate area in this important milestone. By working in partnership with Notre Dame College, we have been able to bring to life the community spirit in the area so that passers-by can see what this means to local people.
Andrew Sanderson, Sainsbury’s Regional Development Manager, said “This is a project we first became involved in many years ago and this is an important step forward with Project Jennifer and the regeneration of the Great Homer Street area. We will take control of our site and be starting work next year and look forward to becoming involved with the local community”
St. Modwen began enabling works at the site earlier this year, preparing the site for development, including the rerouting of utilities for the area and the demolition of some buildings on the site.
Sainsbury’s will begin development of its store in summer 2015, with opening expected to take place during summer 2016. The retail units on the eastern side of the scheme will also open during summer 2016.
For more information visit http://www.greathomerstreet.co.uk/
***Pic (L to R) Stephen Prosser from St. Modwen, Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson and Cllr Malcolm Kennedy from Liverpool City Council mark the start of work on site***