A new life

10 years on from the start of regeneration work in Speke Halewood in south Liverpool, the economy of the area is now one of the most buoyant in the city

The success of Speke Halewood is set to continue following several recent inward investment announcements, the start of work on a number of important new business developments and significant progress towards the creation of a new district centre serving the Speke community.

The organisation behind the regeneration of Speke Halewood – and the three other main gateway routes into the city – is Liverpool Land Development Company (LLDC), created by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, English Partnerships and Liverpool City Council.

LLDC Chief Executive, David Waugh, says: “This area has been transformed over the past decade and it’s very encouraging that regeneration efforts have now gathered such momentum that success really is breeding success.”
This momentum was evident in the decision by the Littlewoods Shop Direct Group to relocate its headquarters to Speke Halewood earlier this year, safeguarding 1,200 Merseyside jobs.

Littlewoods now occupies three buildings at the Aerodrome development and the adjoining Estuary Commerce park, including Skyways House, an award-winning conversion of a 1930s aircraft hangar into office and showroom space.
Other recent arrivals at the Estuary include Liverpool Blood Centre and the Riverside Housing Group. Work is also in progress on major new facilities for chequebook printing company Communisis and social housing organisation Keepmoat plc. The £30m National Biomanufacturing Centre has recently been completed and the private operators are now in occupation.

Close to the Estuary, on another part of the former Speke Aerodrome complex, Priority Sites is making good progress on Dakota Business Park. This scheme will involve the creation of 3,772 sq m of office and light industrial space, and around 160 jobs.

Nearby, work on the second phase of the Urban Splash Matchworks development is well underway. 7,221 sq m of business space will be created by the conversion of a 1940s factory building, with a spectacular new high-tech building also being constructed in a prominent position at the front of the Matchworks site. The four-storey Match Box will provide 1,674 sq m of high-quality office accommodation.

Additional new business accommodation is available in the area at the Venture Point scheme within Speke Industrial Estate. A range of serviced development plots and industrial units will provide up to 26,800 sq m of new office and light industrial space, creating up to 650 new jobs.

Meanwhile, a further 450 new jobs are also in the pipeline at the new Speke District Centre development. This scheme involves the creation of a new Morrisons superstore plus a range of other shops, large retail units and a petrol station.
While all this work is in progress on new projects, existing local facilities are also going from strength to strength. The New Mersey Shopping Park remains one of the top retail parks in the North West and Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport is one of the fastest-growing regional airports in Europe.

The remarkable revival of Speke Halewood in recent years is symbolised by the spectacular Mersey Wave gateway feature to the area, the first sculpture in the UK specifically designed to be viewed from a moving car.
And according to LLDC Chief Executive David Waugh, this revival shows no sign of slowing down: “The great thing is that developments like the Estuary and Venture Point have given us the infrastructure to continue attracting new businesses to the area for years to come.”

For more information about LLDC and its regeneration work on the other key gateway routes into Liverpool, log on to www.liverpooldev.co.uk