LIVERPOOL City Council has begun work on Paddington South, the next phase in the city’s flagship, mixed-use £1bn Knowledge Quarter Liverpool (KQ Liverpool) development, in collaboration with the University of Liverpool.
Morgan Sindall Construction has been selected to undertake masterplanning and enabling works to ensure the city centre site is plot-ready for future developments.
Paddington South is the next phase of the multi award-winning Paddington Village development, which currently includes the WELL Platinum standard rated Spine Building, which provides Grade A office space, a clean energy multi-storey car park, and the Novotel Liverpool Paddington Village Hotel.
The ambition for the Paddington South masterplan will be to super charge the city’s research, development and innovation sector, whilst creating a vibrant new neighbourhood for the area, embedded in sustainable development principles.
Central to the development will be a revamped public green space around Grove Street, with the aim of improving biodiversity by 10% as part of the city’s wider urban green up programme.
The city council received a multi-million pound package from Government in spring to accelerate innovation-led economic growth. This funding enabled the acquisition of the former Smithdown Lane Police Station, which is expected to be demolished in the first quarter of 2025.
Emily Robson, Assistant Chief Executive of Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, said: “Paddington Village is intrinsic to the future success of the KQ Liverpool innovation district, with the capability to help create upwards of 10,000 new, highly-skilled jobs in the city region, building on our existing strengths in life sciences, robotics engineering and materials chemistry.
“The provision of green space and other amenities is crucial in creating a genuine sense of place and attracting people to live and work here. We look forward to supporting Morgan Sindall and the city council in their efforts to complete this next phase of work – taking us a step closer to realising the enormous potential of Paddington Village.”
Once complete, the new green space will be aligned with the Liverpool Public Realm, and Design for Access for All Strategic Planning Documents with the aim of achieving zero carbon in operation, aligning with the Council’s 2030 net zero ambitions and assisting the University in its 2035 net zero campus aim.
Throughout the delivery of Paddington South, Morgan Sindall will continue to maximise the amount of social value generated. To date, the team has offered 296 apprenticeship opportunities, 126 work experience placements and has delivered numerous educational talks and tours, resulting in a social value legacy of £122 million across Paddington Village.
The City Council owned Paddington Village site has earned numerous industry awards including eight Considerate Construction Awards including “Most Considerate Site”, an Innovation Award from the BCO for The Spine and three Constructing Excellence North West Awards for The Spine.
