A LONG-AWAITED school and housing estate can now be built on green space in Liverpool.

Bids to turn the two sites – in Everton and Edge Hill – into village greens were formally rejected by councillors yesterday.

Campaigners had lodged the bids to stop the building of North Liverpool academy on Dixie Dean playing fields and homes on open ground off Tunnel Road.

But Liverpool council rubber-stamped a planning inspector’s recommendation that both requests should be turned down.

Residents and education officials today welcomed the news, saying they hoped it would end years of waiting for the two projects to start.

When work finally starts, the two schemes will see:

The North Liverpool academy built on Dixie Dean playing fields, allowing hundreds of pupils to move from ageing classrooms at nearby Anfield comprehensive.

About 130 homes built on land off Tunnel Road for families currently living in a demolition zone around Royston Street, Edge Hill.

A spokesman for the academy trust board said: “We look forward to being able to provide a much-improved environment for students.

“The new building will provide not only a first-class school for north Liverpool, but also much-needed jobs .”

Resident Norma Lee, who has campaigned for new housing for people living in Edge Hill’s old terraced streets, said: “After all the hard work we have put in, we can see light at the end of the tunnel..”

Campaigners said both sites should become village greens because they had been used by residents for sports and recreation for more than 20 years “as of right”.

Liberal Party Councillor Steve Radford said their fight is not over.

He said: “For Dixie Dean playing fields, we are seeking legal advice about the possibility of requesting a judicial review.”