00:00An African Caribbean centre will not have to relocate to accommodate a new school on the edge of the city centre.
00:07Fears were raised in February when Liverpool Council unveiled proposals for a new school on land occupied by the much-loved centre on Upper Parliament Street.
00:15This prompted a huge backlash from the community in L8 as well as centre trustees who launched a campaign to protect the centre which has stood since the 1970s.
00:26Tensions rose in a series of meetings to discuss the proposals for Eden Girls Leadership Academy which will provide hundreds of vital places in the city.
00:35With the City Council formally submitting its site plan to the Department for Education for final sign-off, leaders have pledged to preserve the centre's building and surrounding land.
00:46As a result, the existing community centre will remain untouched.
00:49It is thought the first intake for the school year 2026-27 could take more than 120 pupils at the facility operated by Star Academies.
00:59There is a huge demand for secondary school places in Liverpool and a shortage of supply which the City has said will be critical in 2026.
01:08Initial proposals were not considered acceptable to the centre's trustees and the wider community.
01:13A 125-year lease was granted to the Department for Education and Star Academies for the development of the new school on approximately four acres of land around Upper Parliament Street, Mulgrave Street and Selborne Street earlier this year.
01:29Department for Education officials identified L7, L8, L15 postcode areas as the required geographic search area for the new school.
01:37However, many criticised the local authority for a perceived lack of engagement with the L8 community over the future of the site.
