Proposals to redevelop Kirkby town centre, by way of a Tesco superstore, and a new 55,000-capacity stadium for Everton Football Club, moved a step closer last week with the results of a public consultation showing resounding support for the £400m development.
 
A Knowsley Council spokeswoman told B&E online that if the second phase of consultation, which ends in December, is successful, plans to regenerate could be adopted as early as the New Year.
 
She said: “The results from our consultation phase in the summer show that the majority of people say they want Kirkby regenerated in a big way. A lot of people are unsure about the potential impact of a stadium, but the underlying message that came out of that consultation was that the majority, nearly everybody, believes that we need to do something big in Kirkby to transform it.”
 
The plans now go to consultation, which ends on 14 December.
 
She added: “That will be making everybody aware of it. Then it is a case of bringing all that together and either formally adopting an Interim Policy Statement or doing a second phase of consultation on the finalised version. Basically we’ll see a vision in place just before Christmas.”

The final document will have to go to Knowsley’s decision-making Cabinet to be formally adopted. Results are to be presented on 2 January 2008.
 
The development could provide jobs for 515 construction workers a year during the construction phase. An Everton spokeswoman confirmed that the stadium is due to be opened by 2010.