Riverside Drive News

The Land Restoration Trust will be managing the park once it has been developed and they are running a drop-in session for the general public where you can meet the various partners involved with the project and see the plans for the site.

It is between 3.30pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday 24th Feb 2010 at Shorefelds Technology College.

One of the leaflets that will be available can be downloaded here.

The land by "The Gates" at the corner where Promenade Gardens, Dingle Road and Dingle Lane meet is for sale by auction by United Utilities on 25 Feb 2010 at Manchester United Football Ground.

The full details of Lot 104 can be seen at Pugh Auctions website

There are various reports available for download on the website which are well worth a read not only for a description of the land but also if you are interested in its history and that of the surrounding area. (Click Download Legal Documents to see them)

According to the Liverpool Daily Post

Developer Langtree will move on to the site today, the first time work has taken place on the derelict site in 13 years.

The £3.7m restoration begins almost 26 years after the International Garden Festival first opened to huge public acclaim in 1984.

After accessing the 70 acres of land construction starts within seven days to restore the Oriental gardens, returning them to public use.

Also revamped will be the lakes and waterways, the Moon Wall will be rebuilt, two pagodas restored and the landscaping of woodland trails carried out.

A new pedestrian access will create links with Otterspool Promenade together with a new parking and public transport facilities.

It is the first work on the Garden Festival site since 1986 when 600 homes were built on the land after the hugely popular park closed.

A recent council meeting resolved that...

... having given due consideration to the objections received as a result of the advertisement of the disposal of the former Landscape Maintenance Depot and adjacent land, Otterspool Drive site as shown shaded blue on the plan submitted, they be not sustained and that the decision (Minute No. 77 (b)) of the Board of 9 October 2009 to grant an agreement for a 125 year lease, conditional on satisfactory planning consent, of the former Landscape Maintenance Depot and adjacent land, Otterspool Drive as shown verged on the Plan No 16,716 submitted to Keith Perryman for the sum of £33,129 plus a rent of £5,000 per annum for the first ten years followed by a peppercorn ground rent, plus £1,656 surveyor’s fees and £1,325 legal costs, and on other terms as agreed by the Operations Manager Property and Asset Management Services be reaffirmed.