The next big phase in Liverpool’s waterfront regeneration has been given the go ahead with Plans approved for a new £40m Exhibition Centre Liverpool and a £26m integrated hotel at Kings Dock.
The decision paves the way for work to start in late autumn on the construction of the 8,100 sqm, three-hall exhibition centre and the 200-room ‘headquarters’ hotel, which will form part of ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena.
Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the integrated hotel will be directly connected to the existing facilities at ACC Liverpool, via an interlinking bridge, making the venue the only purpose-built interconnected arena, convention and exhibition centre in Europe.
The new facilities will open in spring 2015 and will be capable of hosting large scale conferences, trade and consumer exhibitions, concerts and sports events. Plans for the facility include an atrium, meeting rooms and a business centre. The three halls will each be 2,700 sqm and will be separated by movable walls.
Pullman will be the brand for the integrated four-star hotel, which will include up to 10,500 square metres of floor space and seven storeys of rooms, above a ground floor reception, lobby, restaurant, bar, meeting rooms and gym.
Pullman, which is owned by international hotel company Accor, has hotels all over the world, including all the major European cities, but currently only one in the UK, in St Pancras, London. Branded Hotel Management (BHM) was appointed as hotel operator in April this year.
Bob Prattey, chief executive of ACC Liverpool, said: “Receiving planning permission for Exhibition Centre Liverpool and the headquarters hotel is another significant milestone in Liverpool’s development. ACC Liverpool has already generated more than £620m in economic impact since opening in 2008. This project is further proof that the city means business when it comes to competing with European destinations in hosting major conferences and exhibitions."
Jobs
In its first year of operation, Exhibition Centre Liverpool is expected to host about 50 events and attract more than 250,000 visitors.
ACC says that the exhibition and event programme will support 1,300 jobs in the wider economy and contribute in the region of £40 million per year in economic benefit to the Merseyside area. The hotel is expected to create about 45 to 60 permanent jobs.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “This decision from the planning committee means we can now press ahead with delivering an absolutely world class waterfront development."
