African Caribbean centre stays in council U-turn

An African Caribbean centre in Liverpool will not be forced to relocate as part of plans to build a much needed girls' school, the city council has decided.

A proposal for an all-girls Muslim faith school to be built on the site of the centre off Upper Parliament Street was agreed at a cabinet meeting last month.

But it led to protests and was later "called-in" by councillors to look again at its initial decision. Now the cabinet has agreed to exclude the centre from land earmarked for the new school.

Council leader Liam Robinson said the community had "sent a clear message they want it to remain on the current site and the council shares that commitment".

As a result, a 125-year lease will be awarded to the Department of Education and Star Academies for the development of a new school on land around Upper Parliament Street, Mulgrave Street and Selborne Street, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The meeting heard testimonies including one from Garth Dallas, who previously sat on the council's culture, tourism and sport select committee.

He described the site as "not just a building, it's a vital and irreplaceable space for Liverpool's black community".

Mr Dallas said the centre was a "lifeblood" and its loss would further disenfranchise people who had already lost "so much".

Robinson told the Town Hall chamber the cabinet's preferred position had been for the centre to remain in situ alongside the development of a new school.

"A high achieving school and a thriving community centre is in everyone's interest," he said.

He said council officers had identified that additional land adjacent to the former St Margaret of Antioch school can be incorporated into the site for the school, as well as an area being vacated by Princes School.

The council will now seek to enter into negotiations with stakeholders to secure the long-term future of the African Caribbean centre.

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