Work has finally begun on the rebuilding of Anfield, with the club finally in possession of the remaining houses that needed to be attained. The club will knock down the remaining houses in order of rebuilding the historic ground. Anfield currently holds 44,000 will be extended to 58,000, although the initial expansion will only see the ground rise to 53,000, and then over time will rise to 58,000.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said he was thrilled to see work begin. “It’s great news. To see the diggers go in signifies our determination and desire for this project to succeed". “It is not only good news for Liverpool FC , it is great news for the wider community. This is a massive regeneration project which will act as a catalyst for the whole area, bringing new housing, shops and jobs.“It has been a long time coming – ideally we would have wanted to do this earlier but I am really pleased that a start has been made.”
Speaking last week Liverpool FC managing director Ian Ayre said: “When we set out on the journey to explore the feasibility of expanding the stadium, we said the process would be determined by certainty". “Certainty that we have the support from local residents and businesses for our proposed plans, that we can acquire the land required and that we can navigate the planning landscape. Over the past 18 months and as part of this approach, we have worked closely with the community, local residents, Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group and we are delighted to be able to bring forward a planning application at this stage." “A lot of good work has been done and we still have more work to achieve certainty however the planning application is another step in the right direction.”