The news came as Liverpool City Council and Everton Football Club revealed they have been working together over recent months to investigate alternative plans for a new stadium for the club.

These new plans no longer focus on Walton Hall Park but on two other potential sites brownfield sites within the city boundary.

Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Most people will be aware that I did give a commitment to Everton to support a potential scheme at Walton Hall Park with the aim of regenerating the area and creating new jobs.

“However, through the work that the Club and the council have done, we have concluded that effectively building a new village in North Liverpool with lots of retail space is a step too far in this current economic climate.

“On the subject of the park itself, I can now say that the park will remain a park and will be designated as such in our Local Plan which will be out for consultation this summer.”

The Council and the Club are now working together to explore a stadium solution on a brownfield site in the city.

Robert Elstone, chief executive of Everton Football Club said: “Our work with the council, particularly over the last few months, has been positive and progressive and whilst our work evaluating the alternatives is at an early stage, we are hopeful that the new sites provide us with a much more straightforward, deliverable opportunity to build a new stadium.”