An initiative has been launched to explore the “untapped potential” of one of Liverpool’s major heritage and green space assets and help secure its future.

Organisations across the city are being asked for their views and recommendations on how services at Croxteth Hall and Country Park could be developed to deliver new activities, boosting further income at the site and enhancing its role as a tourist attraction.

The Grade II*-listed Edwardian mansion served as the ancestral home for the Earls of Sefton until 1972, and after then being operated by Merseyside Council Council it has since been run by Liverpool City Council since 1989.

Other attractions at the registered historic 500-acre Croxteth Park include Croxteth Home Farm and the Victorian Walled Garden.

Councillor Steve Munby, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, says: “We want to see what ideas are out there from people who are prepared to invest in this facility and attract more visitors to it.  We don’t want to be prescriptive but it could involve, for example, finding new uses for the existing buildings, having new sports provision or leisure facilities.

“There is a huge potential for Croxteth to be a much bigger tourist attraction than it is at present and we will be looking for ways to develop that as well as making it more attractive to local people.

“What I want to emphasise is that this is a public asset and it will remain so. This is emphatically not privatisation by the back door. The parallel I would draw is that the national parks, introduced by the Attlee government, have seen income- generating activities added over the years and nobody can say they have been privatised.

“Our aim is that eventually it becomes financially self-sustaining and we are looking forward to hearing some innovative and thought-provoking ideas on how to achieve that.”

Councillor Peter Mitchell, mayoral lead for parks and open spaces and Croxteth ward councillor, adds: “Croxteth Hall and the Country Park are highly valued by local people as a green space for relaxing, an important place for wildlife or for the events which take place there.

“But it has a lot of untapped potential and we need to exploit that so its future as a public asset is safeguarded. We need investment which makes the best use of this magnificent facility for both local people and visitors.”

A number of sessions are being lined up to take place at Croxteth Hall, offering further understanding for interested organisations of what is required to achieve the vision for the site.

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