Liverpool Football Club

The landscaping scheme associated with the main stand, included a new home for the Hillsborough Memorial, set in a tranquil garden which was constructed to remember forever the 96 lives that were lost on that tragic day in 1989.

Liverpool Football Clubs main stand expansion was designed by international architects KSS, and constructed by Carillion plc at a cost of over £110 million.

The elevated seating created spectacular views across the City and the Wirral peninsular.

The external public realm is completely integral to this hugely successful development. The scheme has also been a catalyst for the regeneration and linking of the stadium with the surrounding area.

Where there once stood rows of terraced houses, there is now an open landscaped plaza that enhances the breathtaking scale of the new stand.

The work involved the planting of over 100 large scale semi mature trees up to 70cm girth, which involved meticulous planning and detailed interfacing with other trades. All of this work was undertaken within an extremely tight construction programme.

Major shrub planting and turfing was also undertaken.

The tree pits were excavated out of solid red sandstone, and particular attention had to be paid to porosity to ensure that the pits did not hold water.

Problems Overcome

Living landscapes Ltd were chosen by Carillion plc to deliver this high profile scheme with challenging time constraints. We have enjoyed a strong trading relationship with Carillion for several decades, and already had a portfolio of successfully completed schemes.

We were also well known to the landscape architects Planit-ie, and they were pleased that we had been selected to implement the landscaping package.

The work was programmed for peak summer planting. Whilst not ideal, the problem was mitigated by the trees being geographically close to site at Specimen Trees in Cheshire.

Loading and transporting large scale semi mature trees in high summer temperatures, requires care and precision. The trees only travelled 45 minutes to site, and this was a major benefit to the project, with the trees arriving in optimum condition.

The tree pit excavations proved to be a lengthy operation due to the presence of underlying red sandstone.

The pits had to be broken out, and particular attention was paid to the porosity of the ground to ensure that the completed pits did not hold water.

With maintenance running in tandem with the defects liability period, this was of major importance.

The entire planting period was hampered by long dry spells, with temperatures soaring into in the 80 degree range.

Blustery winds and constant dust from construction activities all added to the complexities of delivering a successful scheme.

Turfing operations were also difficult, with all elements working against you.

Water supply was intermittent and hose pipe bans were regularly enforced.

Despite all of the above constraints, the scheme was successfully delivered on programme, and the stadium was opened in time for the first game of the season.