Liverpool, Merseyside -- (SBWire) -- 03/23/2012 --Managing Director of Gateway Merseyside, James Kilgallon, has welcomed news of a proposed major leisure development in South Liverpool.
Plans for the New Mersey Leisure Complex in Speke have been approved by the city council, and should create around 320 jobs and will see the construction of a seven-screen cinema, a seventy-eight bed hotel, restaurants and a fitness centre.
As reported on the BBC News website, the site, in development by the Benmore Group, will cover an area of six hectares (14.8 acres) and should generate approximately £5.5 million a year to the local economy.
“This is a welcome cash injection. It is fantastic to see projects taking off like this,” said Mr Kilgallon, Managing Director of Gateway Merseyside.
However, not everyone is behind the recently announced plans. Car manufacturers Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, who lease the land as a freight terminal, are said to be in staunch opposition to the plans, claiming two hundred jobs could be at risk with the loss of the terminal.
The Chief Executive of Benmore Group, David Burrows, said his group was “committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure this project is delivered on time and on budget, with minimum disruption to existing businesses using the site and maximum benefit to the people of Speke Garston.
“The New Mersey Leisure scheme will transform a key gateway into the city and represents, in the current climate, one of the city’s most significant regeneration projects for the next decade.”
Mr Kilgallon at Gateway Merseyside said: “The site will bring a new lease of life into the area, and the few hundred jobs its construction will bring should be good news for local unemployment figures. It’s always great to hear of businesses expanding – especially in this economy. Here at Gateway Merseyside – due to our dedication to the service we provide on behalf of our clients and the results we achieve we are set to expand even more so than what we have already, defying recession, you could say.”
Work is expected to begin on the site later this year, with completion in early 2013.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16806156
Gateway Merseyside Welcome Plans For New Leisure Development