The £400m development will see the football club move out of Liverpool into a new £130m stadium in neighbouring Kirkby, and be part of a complex of shops, offices and hotels.

A 25-strong Knowsley Council planning committee approved the plan in June, however, the Communities and Local Government Minister Hazel Blears and the Government Office North West did not back the project.

Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council, St Helens Council, West Lancashire Council and Lancashire County Council all oppose the plans.

The public inquiry is scheduled to run until January 16 with a decision by government inspector Wendy Burden expected in spring 2009.

Possible legal challenges to the decision could delay the final verdict, however.