It's ridiculous. I realise the dock system is important, but so is regeneration. You'd think we were knocking down the fucking Liver Building. People flock to the city to see the Albert Dock, not Bramley Moore!
Imagine if we lose WHS because of BMD, and then Everton can't build their stadium, or go bust building it?
I hate seeing historic Liverpool docks being filled in, I really do. If dockland's are to be redeveloped then, for me, the actual docks themselves need to be the centrepiece. What would the Albert Dock be without the actual dock?
In the case of BMD, however, I sort of see it differently, due entirely to its direct neighbours. Any residential and/or retail right next to that steaming pile of shite is going to suffer. It's ugly to look at and offensive to smell. On the entire 'Liverpool Waters' stretch, BMD is by far the worst and by far the least desirable.
With the above in mind, the stadium would actually be a great screen between the sewage plant and the rest of the LW redevelopment. It's the least attractive site on the whole stretch, and
something has to go there, and here we have the Bitters willing to take the site on. If they can genuinely afford it, I say let them do it. As I said, that's the least attractive parcel of land on the entire stretch sorted out and a screen between the rest of the development and the sewage plant done and dusted.
For me, it's what goes between Waterloo Dock and BMD that really counts. If they get that right, it's all good. Thing is, when you see what's going up in town you sort of despair. Recently we've had yet another non-descript, soulless, characterless block go up near Princes Dock. In many ways, this city does it to itself with the utter shite they allow to be built. They allowed Lime Street, the rail gateway to the city, to be redeveloped in such a poor, bland and characterless way too. But anyway, if they get the LW redevelopment right, BMD is not that relevant other than a pretty good screen shielding the rest of the development from the sewage treatment plant.