Peel Waters has given contractor Graham the thumbs up to start £71m of enabling works at Liverpool Central Docks to pave the way for the biggest neighbourhood within its £5bn Liverpool Waters scheme.

The main contract, procured through Pagabo’s Civil Engineering & Infrastructure Framework, covers underground utilities, roads and public realm to unlock around 2,350 homes.

It also includes delivery of the 2.1-hectare Central Park, which will become one of the city’s largest green spaces, complete with hundreds of new trees, sports facilities, play areas and landscaped zones.

The contractor is the largest part of an £81.1m infrastructure package being backed by £55.2m from Homes England and £25.9m of Peel Waters’ own investment, following the site’s designation last year as a New Homes Accelerator project by the Chancellor.

Central Docks site – the largest brownfield site in Liverpool

Work will begin this autumn, laying the foundations for a mixed-tenure neighbourhood with affordable housing, build-to-rent, build-to-sell and later living accommodation all set around the new park.

Alastair Lewis, contracts director at Graham, said the scheme “will play a pivotal role in further regeneration of the docklands area” while Peel Waters managing director James Whittaker hailed it as a “major step forward in turning our vision for Central Docks into more of a reality.”

Councillor Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council, described the deal as “a major milestone” that would showcase “how transformational brownfield regeneration can and should be done” while acting as a catalyst for wider plans in north Liverpool.

The 60-hectare Liverpool Waters site is being redeveloped over 30 years into a mixed-use waterfront district, with Central Docks at its heart.