ISLE OF MAN FERRY TERMINAL OLD & NEW | Liverpool Central Park Funding Newsflash

In this video we look at the changing docks of Liverpool, focusing especially on the Isle of Man Ferry Terminal, which opened in June 2024. On the way we cast an eye over the Central Docks development area and there is a newsflash about government funding from the project, which came through on the date of editing and publishing of this video. This redevelopment area is right next to the new Everton Stadium at Bramley Moore Dock, due to open in 2025.

We check out the progress of the residential tower Patagonia Place, which is taking shape on Princes Dock. We look at the history of Princes Half Tide Dock and its forgotten role in ferry operations between Manchester and Dublin. I travelled on the B+I LIne ferry to and from Dublin and I recreate an even more distant memory, when I saw a nighttime view over Liverpool Docks for the first time as a small child.

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This article from Place North West gives information about the new Isle of Man Ferry on the occasion of its opening. https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/isle-of-mans-70m-ferry-terminal-opens-for-business/
https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/isle-of-mans-70m-ferry-terminal-opens-for-business/

A new chapter in the maritime history of Liverpool has begun – four years behind schedule – and is it now possible for me to cycle all the way from Liverpool to the Isle of Man? I share this image of the LIverpool Docks I captured when I was three years old, we check out the progress of Patagonia Place on Princes Dock as well as the futuristic new city quarter next to the Bramley Moore stadium, and what’s this strange language? It’s not Welsh, it’s not Scouse and it’s definitely not Manc! 13th of August 2021, just near the Kingsway Tunnel ventilation shaft, my first visit to a new road named Jesse Hartley Way after the man who designed the Albert Dock and ran the docks in the mid-19th century. New shiny display boards confidently proclaim Central Docks will be coming soon, an exciting residential, business, entertainment and leisure district at Liverpool Waters. There’s a visualisation, wow it looks impressive. There’s the old Isle of Man terminal, with the vehicle bridge down to the floating jetty. Further up is the new terminal, the design looks sketchy here. And what are those four blocks behind it, next to the dock? These boards are from three years ago, so how do things stand today, on Sunday the 30th of June, 2024. We’ll see how work on Central Docks is progressing… Ah. It’s an empty site, still ripe for development. It’s been ripe for development for a long time now. That’s the six sided ‘Dockers clock’ or Victoria Tower in the distance. That is set to be renovated, there’s the new Everton stadium, at least that’s moving ahead – slowly – It’s now scheduled to open in 2025. That’s the new extension to the Leeds Liverpool Canal and actually, a park is planned for the area along here, called Central Park. I hope to ride around it – eventually, so keep watching AidanEyewitness. And on Monday the 15th of July, just as I was doing the final edit on this video, news came through that a a cash injection of 55 million pounds towards the development of Central Docks has been pledged by Homes England. The money will pay for the necessary infrastructure work and that should set the regeneration in motion. New chancellor Rachel Reeves, hinted that stimulus to unlock the site, which she described as stalled, was imminent. Source: the daily briefing from Place North West. Now back to the video Those buildings are Quay Central and the taller Park Central, both residentialm developer Romal Capital. I saw a one bedroomed flat for 800 pounds per month. Great views from the upper floors. Up until recently Jesse Hartley way was closed at the canal bridge but now I can cycle over into a new quarter of Liverpool, what shall we call it? My suggestion: The Isle of Man Ferry Quarter. It’s great to see the river from new angles, it’s wider up here, no ships passing the moment. Landmarks on the other side of the river, Wallasey Town Hall and the other Kingsway Tunnel ventilation shaft matching the one on this side. But what’s that building under construction on the left? Let’s cycle down and see. It’s a new apartment building also by Romal Capital. Let’s look at the original design, the one we saw on the visualisation earlier. Four apartment blocks side by side standing on a filled in section of the dock. That was the original proposal. There were objections and a new plan was approved with smaller buildings and fewer apartments and that’s what’s under construction here. It has arches said to be inspired by the Albert Dock, and are those real bricks? Looks like it. A great place to look out over the river at sunset and very convenient if you often travel to and from the Isle of Man. Yes, sitting by the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away – what’s the name of the singer of that song? Watching the ships roll in, then I watch ’em roll away again. There’s another cargo ship leaving the docks by the giant red cranes. I could sit and watch the view all day. But who are those guys on motorbikes? They’ve just disembarked from the Isle of Man Ferry. We’ll ride down on the human-powered bike towards the entrance to the terminal. The name of this road is Triskelion Way, that sounds Welsh but it’s from Ancient Greek and means a triple motif, of which the Three Legs of Man symbol is one example. For me it’s incredible to ride along here for the first time… past vehicle check-in… and there it is the brand new Isle of Man Ferry Terminal- Kione Ynnyd Paggad bree Vannin in the Manx language and there, beneath the Manx three-leg symbol, a welcome message in Manx. Failt erriu – welcome to you. Manx is a sister language of Irish and Scots Gaelic and it’s being revived. And there’s the newly opened walkway on the top of the now sealed up dock entrance . We’ll take a closer look later. And the singer? Otis Redding. PART TWO Now I’d to go back in time again to see how the site looked a few years ago. That’s Prince’s Half Tide Dock, once a busy dock full of cargo ships handling all kinds of goods. Today, the warehouse on the right contains apartments, to the right of it, of similar size, but modern in design, Waterside Apartments. I photographed the steel framework of the ferry terminal under construction in 2022 as it gradually began to take on its final form and character. Architects are The Manser Practice, it was built by John Sisk & Son, it’s operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Initial projected cost £30m, final cost £70.6m. It opened four years later than originally planned. Information from Place North West, link below. The site for the project was bought by the Isle of Man Government on long-term leasehold, for just over 230 years, so it’s kind of like a little bit of Isle of Man territory next to Liverpool, and so that’s how you can cycle from Liverpool to the Isle of Man! The wall on the right was built in front of the lock gates to seal off the dock. I travelled in and out of those lock gates many times! At dusk, the area takes on a lot of atmosphere. The new terminal looks inviting with the interior lights shining through its floor to ceiling glass windows, but it was another year before it would open. And it was in this dock, that in past decades, the B+I Ferry port was located and as I’ve mentioned previously on this channel, the new Isle of Man terminal bears a remarkable similarity to the old B+I terminal – a two storey structure with glass exterior walls and rounded corners. I departed from and arrived back here many times while travelling to and from my university, Trinity College, in Dublin. There’s the Stena Line ferry on its way to Belfast. There’s my photo of the Connacht arriving in Dublin. It was always exciting to feel the rumble of the ship’s engines turning over as the lights on the quayside started to move away, as the vessel slipped its berth, heading for the lock gates and out into the River Mersey. Here’s my earliest memory of the Liverpool Docks: As a small child with my parents travelling for the first time on the ferry to Dublin, I was captivated by a string of lighted portholes reflected in the water. I’ve recreated what I saw in Photoshop using royalty free photos. In later years, the river exit from Princes Half-Tide dock was sealed and a new link bridge has been created, providing a continuous walking route from the Pier Head, past the new terminal and currently as far as Jesse Hartley Way. So let’s look back at the old Isle of Man ferry terminal next to the Liver Building. Here’s the ferry as it was arriving on the 16th of July 2021. The catamaran Manannan was built in Tasmania in 1998 and operated in Australia and New Zealand. Then she was converted for use with the US Navy and served as a military vessel. She was bought and again converted for the Isle of Man to Liverpool route and entered service on the 22nd of May, 2009. Here’s the previous Seacat ferry seen from New Brighton in 2000. The old ferry terminal was located on the Pier Head, convenient for foot passengers, but for vehicle traffic, not the best location and it was right in front of the cruise liner terminal. The new Isle of Man Ferry terminal opened on Tuesday, the 25th of June 2024. I took the opportunity of photographing the old terminal in its final days of operation, for posterity. The Grade II* Engine Room Memorial memorial is next to the access road and bridge. Welcome to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, with the Legs of Man symbol and there’s the mast with radar equipment & flags. Prior to sailing, vehicles lined up on the road next to the Pier Head, supervised by staff. Media reports confirm that the first sailing to use the the new terminal was the 3pm arrival from Douglas on Tuesday the 25th of June, so I assume the last passengers to use the old terminal left on the 11:15 sailing on that day. So let’s look again at the new link or bridge, the fence on the side closest to the river has images and names of Liverpool’s historic docks. On the other side, we saw people working on it earlier, is a conventional waterside railing. The walking and cycling route goes around Alexandra Tower. It’s actually a longer walk for passengers to get to and from the new Isle of Man ferry terminal compared to the old one, so maybe buses could be provided, like the ones I used to take between Lime St Station and the old B+I Ferryport. On the right is the site of the planned permanent cruise liner terminal. I’ve not seen any news about that for a while. To the left, under construction, is Patagonia Place. I’ve been tracking its construction, let’s see the stages so far. It will have 278 apartments and a rooftop restaurant, architects Falconer Chester Hall. I’ll keep tracking it as it rises to its full height of 95m or 351 feet. On Sunday 30th of June 2024, there was a cruise liner on a visit to Liverpool, the Seven Seas Mariner, operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises, built in St Nazaire, north west France in 2001. On the other side of the river is the Stena Embla, operated by Stena Line, built in Weihai, north east China and delivered to Stena in Weihai in December 2020. She operates the night service to Belfast. The Manannan will be departing shortly, so we’ll return to watch. So let’s look again around Prince’s Half Tide Dock. There are the old lock gates. They’ve left old machinery in place to remind us of the old docks. I’m enjoying seeing all the familiar buildings, old and more recent, from a new angle, including the ones reflected here in the windows of the new terminal. Over there is the site of the old B+I ferry port, now occupied by low-rise residential buildings. This is a great location, next to the river, looking out towards the sea, the Isle of Man, Ireland and beyond. I’ll continue to enjoy sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the ships rolling in and out and I don’t consider it to be a waste of time! Let’s watch the Manannan leaving the new ferry terminal for the 2 hour 45 minute journey to Douglas. I hope to travel on this route soon. So please like, subscribe, share with others and post a comment, respectful please. And if you’d like to support what I’m doing, you can go to buymeacoffee.com and make a donation! So vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen und auf Wiedersehen in Liverpool.