The Liverpool Waters vision involves regenerating a 60 hectare historic dockland site to create a world-class, high-quality, mixed use waterfront quarter in central Liverpool. The scheme will create a unique sense of place, taking advantage of the sites’ cultural heritage and integrating it with exciting and sustainable new development. Liverpool Waters will contribute substantially to the growth and development of the city, allowing ease of movement and strong connections between Northshore, its hinterland, and the city centre. It will accommodate new and existing residents, attract national and international businesses and encourage a significant increase in the number of visitors to the city, adding to Liverpool’s cultural offer and providing a new and complementary destination.

Liverpool Waters will draw on the unique identity of the site and the city to define character areas, delivering a high density and accessible quarter, which is both economically and environmentally sustainable, and which will significantly reinforce Liverpool’s strong identity. Based on strong contextual and place-making principles, the area will be characterized by activity and diversity, providing public spaces that encourage formal and informal use. It will establish a stimulating and dynamic environment that re-vitalises the whole area, and responds to the needs of different communities.

Based on a long-term programme, Liverpool Waters will include mixed use development of residential, visitor attractions and supporting uses, office/commercial and local shops and services. It will accommodate city centre expansion and will further stimulate economic and social regeneration and integration with the adjoining areas of the city centre, north Liverpool and the wider sub-region. As an integral part of Liverpool’s iconic skyline, and continuing its tradition of innovation, Liverpool Waters will symbolise the city’s 21^st century renaissance alongside its 19^th and 20^th century heritage on the world stage.

In March 2011, the UK Government established 4 areas within the United Kingdom to give their special support to and called them “Enterprise Zones”. One of these Enterprise Zones was given the name of “Mersey Waters” which includes Peel’s flagship projects Wirral Waters and Liverpool Waters.

There are many specific and exclusive benefits deriving from this, some of which are:

• Potentially 100% business rates discount for five years. This means that each business that qualifies will receive discounts for five years from the start of its occupancy in the Zone, providing it enters the Zone by April 2015 subject to a maximum cap of £275,000. This cap would typically be reached if an occupier took 1,000 square metres (10,000 square feet) of floor space.
• A Simplified and improved planning regime replaces the old legislation which means more flexibility in terms of changes of use of floor space within the entire Peel ITC complex.
• The Government will support the provision of superfast broadband in these zones which is in addition to the £13 million investment by Wirral Government to improve existing Broadband facility.