Sports site in city park transferred to community ownership
A sports pavilion located on a site once linked with housing a football team in the search for permanent roots has been off-loaded by Liverpool Council. As part of its updated community asset transfer policy, for the past two years the local authority has sought to give a number of sites and buildings a new lease of life through fresh ownership.
Among them is the sports pavilion at Adlam Park in Fazakerley. The single storey building was among the first tranche of four locations earmarked by city officials to be taken off the council’s books and given out to community use.
It has now been confirmed the location, once mooted as a permanent home for City of Liverpool FC, will be taken on by a sports charity based at the park in the north of the city. A register of decisions made by officers confirmed how earlier this month terms had been agreed by the council and Sports Live.
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Documents said the building, part of phase one of the asset transfer programme, was advertised on the open market for a period of eight weeks in January 2023. It is a purpose-built single storey building on hardstanding floor incorporating changing rooms, showers, toilets, games room and an office.
The surrounding area consists of two sports courts. Sports Alive Northwest was the only organisation to submit an application for the property and have occupied the premises without any agreement since 2015.
The report said: “They occupy the property for the purpose of various community, sport and youth activities and are an established charity with a strong record of delivering services to the locality.” Sports Live aims to provide a variety of services focused on the promotion of the communities social, physical and mental wellbeing.
These include outreach sessions to ensure people who can’t access the centre experience their sessions, detached sessions focusing on people who find themselves involved in antisocial behaviour, exploitation or dangerous behaviours. The organisation also provides the Sports Alive Food Van which promotes healthy eating but offers additional outreach services to provide extra intervention.
According to the heads of terms agreement, the existing pavilion could be knocked down to be replaced by a two-storey multi-purpose sports facility and community hub. Sports Alive has been granted a 30-year lease as part of the new agreement.
Adlam Park is the first of the original four to secure a new future, having been initially listed alongside land at Mulgrave Street, Princes Park; Monument Place/London Road public toilets and land at Jubilee Drive, Kensington and Fairfield.