PLANS TO OPEN STRAWBERRY FIELD SITE TO PUBLIC

 

Strawberry Field is one of the stops on the city's Beatles landmarks

A former children's home in Liverpool made famous by the Beatles is set to be opened to the public.

The Salvation Army, which owns the Strawberry Field site in Woolton, plan to reopen it as a training centre for people with learning difficulties.

The proposals would also see the site opened to Beatles fans, if the plans are approved by the city council.

John Lennon immortalised the home, which closed in 2005, when he wrote Strawberry Fields Forever in 1967.

Strawberry Field gates

Drew McCombe from the Salvation Army said he hoped the £6m project would include retrieving the original Victorian Strawberry Field gates which were put into storage in 2011.

He said the scheme was in the "early consultation stage" but the charity hopes to submit an application to Liverpool City Council next month.

As well as the training centre, the building will have a cafe where young people will be able to train in catering and hospitality.

It will also have a heritage exhibition featuring the history of the Salvation Army and Strawberry Field.

The former children's home is a stop on tours of the city's Beatles landmarks.

Mr McCombe said the opening of the site Beatles fans was "secondary" to the aims of the project.

"It's about enhancing the lives of young people, preparing them for work and giving them a work-based training centre."

The original Strawberry Field, which housed a large number of children who had been taken into care, was demolished in the early 1970s and replaced with a smaller building.