A planning application has been approved for the placement of eight former shipping containers at Collingwood Dock, which will be transformed into a new heritage trail visitor centre highlighting the long and illustrious history of the north Liverpool and Bootle docks.

The application for the development of the new ‘Docklands Trail’ Visitor Centre, which was submitted by Arup on behalf of Peel Land and Property (Ports) Limited and The Docklands Trail Charity is part of the wider £5 billion Liverpool Waters project. The new Heritage Trail Visitor Centre will provide a new attraction to Collingwood Dock, which will complement the Friends of Allonby Canoe Club that is already situated at the historic dock, whilst also preserving the industrial look and feel of the docks and dock boundary wall.

The publicly accessible containers will be managed by The Docklands Trail Charity and will be an invaluable source of information for school children, visitors and enthusiasts alike sharing information and stories about the many transformations the docks have seen over the years, as well as the importance of the docks to the local economy.

Peel worked with The Docklands Trail to consult with a number of partners and stakeholders, including Liverpool City Council and the Titanic Hotel, to ensure the container village is best placed to serve the local area, as well as provide a distinctive educational space for school chidren.

Ian Pollitt, assistant project director at Liverpool Waters, said:

“It is fantastic to see the plans we’ve been working on for many years become a reality. Much of the land at Liverpool Waters is currently disused dockland, we are keen to share its history with the public and encourage them to come on site and share its story. The Council’s approval of our planning application for the heritage trail visitor centre comes just weeks after we broke ground at Liverpool Waters as building work started on Plaza 1821, the £21 million, 16-storey residential tower. As more and more projects progress past the planning stage and enter the development stage, we’re looking forward to sharing even more good news in the future.”

Les Ellis, chair of The Docklands Trail Charity, said:

“I am delighted at the significant progress this project has seen so far, and with the approval of this planning application we can now bring the container village to life. Our aim is to create a first-class tourist attraction with several sites across the north Liverpool and Bootle docks which will educate children, communities and visitors on the wonderful heritage of Liverpool’s renowned port. We would like to extend our thanks to Peel for gifting the land and funding the application – without this support the project would not have been able to go ahead.”

The approval of this planning application is timed perfectly with the number of exciting projects and developments already taking place on Liverpool’s waterfront as part of the Liverpool Waters project, led by Peel. This £5 billion project will transform the city’s northern docks, regenerating a 60-hectare site to create a world-class, mixed-use waterfront quarter in central Liverpool.