Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, has updated local councillors and their residents on the future of two of the city’s Lifestyles centres, Everton Park and Park Road, with work underway to safeguard their long-term use.
In December 2023, Liverpool City Council launched a Community Asset Transfer process, inviting organisations to express interest in taking over the running of the centres. The aim has always been, and continues to be, to preserve these facilities as vital community assets.
Over the past 18 months, the Council has held detailed discussions with the City of Liverpool Gymnastics Foundation and St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust. These conversations have identified the best means to secure the future of the centres on a sustainable basis.
For Everton Park, a long-lease agreement is now being explored. This would allow the Academy Trust to operate the centre while maintaining public access. In the meantime, essential maintenance work on the roof is being carried out to prepare the site for its future use.
At Park Road, a new model is taking shape and plans are being developed for a multi-partner sports hub, including its role as a national centre of best practice in gymnastics.
Both approaches are complex pieces of work and will take time to fully assess and implement.
Elsewhere, work continues at the Peter Lloyd centre, where the majority of pool upgrades are complete. Final installation of a critical component is underway, alongside improvements to the changing village – acting on the feedback of centre users. The pool is expected to open following the completion of the new changing facilities in early 2026.
Councillor Doyle said: “Our Lifestyles centres are essential community assets and we want to future-proof them for residents so they can continue to enjoy high-quality leisure facilities.
“I want to be absolutely clear – these sites are not closing, and they will remain under Council control while plans are explored and implemented.
“We understand that some may feel disappointed with the length of time this process has taken so far, and I appreciate people’s patience. But it is vital we get this right and ensure due diligence is carried out at every step as we strive to deliver a leisure offer we can all be proud of.”
