Liverpool City Council has approved funding of just under £300,000 to be spent on a new bridge that will form part of the ferry terminal.

The bridge will connect Princes Dock with the new Isle of Man Ferry Terminal, currently being constructed at Central Dock, and provide a ‘vital link’ to enable pedestrians and cyclists to access the whole development, according to the government.

It will eventually open up access along the entire Liverpool waterfront from Aigburth to Bramley-Moore Dock.

It forms part of the Liverpool Waters scheme, which is a 30-year vision to transform the city’s northern docks to create a ‘sustainable world-class, high-quality, mixed-use waterfront’, according to Liverpool Waters developer Peel L&P.

It says the bridge will act as a public right of way along the canal-side of the ferry terminal site and provide a more direct route for ferry passengers wishing to travel to and from the city centre on foot than via Waterloo Road, Jesse Hartley Way and Triskelion Way.

The bridge is not part of the Isle of Man Ferry Terminal project, so no funding comes from the Isle of Man Government.

The requirement to maintain a public right of way along the canal-side, linking the bridge with Triskelion Way, was a condition of planning from the outset.

Chris Capes, Peel L&P’s development director for Liverpool Waters, said: ‘This bridge is a critical link, connecting the new ferry terminal with other developments at Liverpool Waters, including the recently approved £100m waterfront neighbourhood being developed at Central Dock by Romal Capital.

‘The bridge will also encourage active and sustainable travel along the whole of the Liverpool waterfront through new connecting pedestrian and cycleways, which is an important part of our long-term plan for Liverpool Waters.’

The historic lock gates, which sit on either side of the dock, will be retained to preserve the heritage of the dock and new granite setts will be embedded in the ground, engraved with each dock name, to form a welcome mat at both ends of the new link bridge.

The bridge will be in place and ready for the opening of the new Isle of Man Ferry Terminal expected to be completed by June 2023.

With the terminal originally having been predicted to cost in the region of £38 million, it has since been taken back to Tynwald to approve further funding of £32,621,921 in December to enable the completion of the site.

Now costing the government over £70.6m, the facility is due to be completed next year after suffering multiple setbacks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.