Everton £400m Stadium Move Rejected

Premier League club Everton’s planning application to move to a new £400m stadium development in Kirkby has been rejected by the government.

Communities secretary John Denham confirmed his decision after concerns were raised over the possible harmful effects on the ‘vitality and viability’ of local communities.

The development would have seen Everton move from Goodison Park in Liverpool to the 50,000-seat stadium in Kirkby as part of a complex with a Tesco superstore and other shops.

However, following a public inquiry earlier this year, Denham has decided that the move would breach shopping policy which discourages major supermarket chains from taking business away from town and city centres.

The move was expected to bring up to 7,000 jobs to the town, which is a suburb of Knowsley.

Everton, who had already lost one planning battle when hopes of raising £10m through the redevelopment of the club’s training ground for housing were dashed in January, were set to contribute £78m to the scheme.

The news could hit the city of Liverpool’s hopes of being part of England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals, the decision on host cities to be made on 16th December.