Liverpool City Council’s planning committee has said it was minded to refuse Liverpool FC’s application to keep a road next to Anfield permanently closed to vehicles, leaving the club’s Lfc Planning Committee Decision in the balance. The vote was not a formal refusal, but it means the application will return for a final decision.
The dispute goes back to 2021, when part of Anfield Road in north Liverpool was closed while the Anfield Road Stand was expanded. A new road was built between the stand and Stanley Park to replace that section, but it has not opened to motor vehicles over the years since.
Why the road matters
The issue is not just about access to the stadium. Residents say the closure has pushed traffic on to nearby streets, with the debate centring on traffic concerns, stadium safety arguments and planning conditions about when the replacement road should open.
That local impact was made clear at the committee meeting by Savannah Shellard, a sixth-form student from Anfield, who said the change had made Walton Breck Road busier and harder to cross. She described it as “quite intimidating for a young girl like me”.
What happens next?
The committee’s position is significant because it shows the application is not settled, even if this stage stops short of a final refusal. Liverpool FC will now have to wait for the next round of planning scrutiny, with the future of the road still unresolved.
For now, the question is whether the replacement route beside Anfield will ever be opened to motor vehicles, or whether the current arrangement will be preserved. The final decision will determine how much weight the council gives to the concerns of residents against the arguments for keeping the stadium area closed off.
