Liverpool has announced plans for a £200m ‘New Chinatown’ of shops and homes that could ‘transform’ the city centre.

The proposed scheme will see 800 new residential units including apartments and town houses constructed on a derelict city centre site, along with 200,000 square feet of commercial space.

Developers North Point Global of construction firm PHD1 has concluded a deal to buy an interest in the location, which was held by Urban Splash.

A planning application for the project is due to be submitted to the council shortly. The three-phase scheme is expected to cost between £150m and £200m.

Deputy mayor, Cllr Ann O’Byrne, said the site held ‘fantastic potential’ because of its location close to the city centre and region’s Baltic Triangle.

She also applauded the ‘exciting’ ideas of PHD1, which she anticipates will ‘completely transform this patch of land and will be the catalyst to breathe new life into the wider area’.

‘They have devised some extremely innovative ideas around developing links with China and the universities to create a substantial numbers of new jobs and bring a completely new commercial and retail offer to the area,’ Cllr O’Byrne added.

Public consultation is now underway with developers also due to hold a number of meetings with local community groups and businesses.

Project director for the scheme, Antonio Garcia from BLOK Architecture, said: ‘From the very outset we viewed this development as an historic opportunity to be the catalyst for the regeneration of Chinatown.

‘We are offering a dynamic mixed-use scheme that will bring people and business to the area and make it an international quality destination.

‘We view this as one of the most important and potentially transformational development opportunities in Liverpool.’