{"id":410594,"date":"2026-02-06T05:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/410594\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T05:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T05:18:12","slug":"liverpool-fc-set-for-major-redevelopment-at-merseyside-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/410594\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool FC set for major redevelopment at Merseyside site"},"content":{"rendered":"

The academy is the club\u2019s base for the under nines through to the under 21 squads and is the main development hub for LFC\u2019s young players aiming to reach the first team\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool FC submits plans for youth academy expansion(Image: KSS Design Group LTD)<\/p>\n

Liverpool Football Club is set to embark on a major redevelopment, after submitting plans for the overhaul of its academy base in Kirkby. The club is now engaged in a formal planning process but hopes the project will be completed in 2028.<\/p>\n

A planning application for the LFC academy has been submitted to Knowsley Council<\/a>, requesting a two storey extension to the existing academy training building, converting the existing grass \u201cshow-pitch\u201d to an all-weather surface with a domed roof, and constructing a 499-seat spectator stand.<\/p>\n

The application site comprises the existing Liverpool FC<\/a> academy training ground located on Arbour Lane in Kirkby<\/a>. The location has a long association with LFC, having being acquired by the club in 1998 and used as its youth training facility for almost 30 years.<\/p>\n

According to a planning statement prepared by Ryan and May consultants, on behalf of LFC, the current application sets out alternative proposals to extend the existing academy building and provide new and enhanced accommodation, including a gymnasium, sports science suite, changing facilities and visitor accommodation.<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool FC submits plans for youth academy expansion(Image: KSS Design Group LTD)<\/p>\n

The academy is the club\u2019s base for the under nines through to under 21 squads and is the main development hub for LFC\u2019s young players aiming to reach the first team. The first team training facility relocated to land immediately north of the academy in November 2020, creating a single training campus for the club and proximity to \u201cinspire young players to succeed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The academy currently houses specialist coaching teams, sports scientists, and medical staff dedicated to youth development. The site also hosts some of the club\u2019s foundation activities at certain times of the year, such as school holidays, offering a range of sporting and community activities for primary and secondary school children, along with targeted sections of the adult community, such as walking football.<\/p>\n

A formal pre-application request was submitted to Knowsley<\/a> Council last year. Following a meeting at the site, the council\u2019s written response set out relevant planning history and policies, and includes preliminary comments from the council\u2019s highways, environmental health and ecology services.<\/p>\n

The response states: \u201cThe proposals are generally satisfactory and would not impact adversely on the visual and residential amenities of the area, or on highway safety. Based on the information supplied the proposals seem to comply with planning policies, and as such any planning application submitted for similar would be considered favourably subject to appropriate supporting information.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Liverpool<\/p>\n

Liverpool FC submits plans for youth academy expansion(Image: KSS Design Group LTD)<\/p>\n

The largest built element of the development is the construction of a new domed-roof building over the existing show pitch that lies to the south of the training building. The current grassed pitch will be converted to a full-sized artificial pitch with associated storage accommodation and viewing areas accessible from the training building.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the plans in a September update on LFC\u2019s website, academy director Alex Inglethorpe said of the project: \u201cIt\u2019s a big statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe owners have embarked on a number of infrastructure projects in recent years with the redevelopment of the two stands at Anfield<\/a>, building the AXA Training Centre to put us all on one site here at Kirkby, and giving Melwood a facelift for the women\u2019s team to go there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always been patient as an academy, knowing where we sit in the order of things, but now it\u2019s our turn and it\u2019s really exciting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve never had a full-size indoor facility before that would match up with a lot of our competitors. While I\u2019m all for toughening them up in the Kirkby wind and rain, there are a lot of days when we have to cancel training or the quality of a session is compromised. It\u2019s going to make a massive difference.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The academy is the club\u2019s base for the under nines through to the under 21 squads and is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,2217,147539,134,2168,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-410594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-kirkby","10":"tag-knowsley-council-leader","11":"tag-liverpool-fc","12":"tag-regeneration","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}