Work has finally begun on Everton's new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock with the club reiterating its commitment to preserving the city's history.
Last week Liverpool was stripped of its Unesco World Heritage status with the Toffees' £500million-plus waterside development listed as one of the contributing factors.
However, as contractors officially moved onto the site on Monday stadium development director Colin Chong was keen to stress the importance of the locality.
"There has been a lot of talk about heritage this week, but we have been clear throughout our planning that respecting and enhancing heritage has always been one of our key principles," he wrote in a letter to supporters.
"Our commitment to bringing the dock's heritage features to life has not changed and we will be investing more than £55m to preserve, restore and celebrate the heritage assets at Bramley-Moore Dock.
"Indeed, this process has started already by repairing the listed dock wall and, in the coming days, we'll begin stabilising the hydraulic tower.
"Once construction is complete we will be opening the inaccessible site up to the public for the first time in decades – allowing people to appreciate its heritage."
🏟 | With the Club taking possession of the Bramley-Moore Dock site today, our Stadium Development Director writes to Evertonians... 🔵 — Everton (@Everton) July 26, 2021
The hydraulic tower will be turned into a visitor centre, while cobbles, mooring posts, dock walls, railway lines and a connecting water channel will be retained.
But while there is huge interest in the development fans have been warned to stay away, with the club installing a webcam for supporters to monitor progress remotely.
"While this is a significant occasion for our club I would urge supporters not to attempt to access the site," added Chong.
"There will be no public access through the gates at Bramley-Moore Dock and the health and safety of everyone on-site is a priority."
The first stage of the project will be enabling works to prepare the dock for the build and although the club plan to formally break ground on the eastern part of the site in early August demolition of non-listed structures and infilling of the dock are still some weeks away.
