• Cabinet agrees to SPV for new ground at Bramley Moore Dock • Stadium may be used as part of bid for 2022 Commonwealth Games

Everton’s move to build and finance a new £300m stadium on Bramley Moore dock has taken another step forward after receiving approval from Liverpool city council.

Council plans to create a special purchase vehicle (SPV) company – to act as guarantor for the loans required to construct the arena on Liverpool’s waterfront – were passed at a cabinet meeting on Friday. Under the agreement the council will provide security for Everton’s loans and receive £4.4m a year from the Premier League club as a security fee.

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The mayor, Joe Anderson, who helped negotiations between Everton and Bramley Moore’s landowner, Peel Holdings, defended the council’s involvement with a club where the major shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, is a billionaire. He also confirmed the proposed stadium would form part of Liverpool’s bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“We are not funding a billionaire. We are doing a great deal for Liverpool city council,” Anderson said. “I have met Farhad Moshiri several times and he will invest in the football side of things but he wants the club to stand on its own two feet.

“It is a win-win for us as a council. It is a great deal for the council regarding funding but it is important to recognise that it’s going to be a driver for the regeneration of north Liverpool. It’s great for Everton as an institution but for Liverpool city council it brings in £4.4m a year, probably a bit more, and hopefully kick-starts the regeneration of north Liverpool.

“We are using our financial strength to securitise the deal and we have securitised ourselves against all eventualities. We are serious about a Commonwealth Games bid and want Everton in their design to look at that and they are doing [so]. We are truly well securitised. I don’t believe Everton will be relegated in the near future but even if they were, we have the security of season ticket revenue, the TV deal, the value of players and the value of the club.”

Friday’s decision gives Everton the security required to attract funding for their relocation project. The club are also expected to submit a detailed planning application by the end of the year, although Anderson insists there are no time constraints on the Bramley Moore plans other than in the relation to the Commonwealth Games’ bid.

He added: “We are not demanding caveats. With Liverpool we did give the new owners a time limit to assess the situation and decide between a new stand at Anfield or a new stadium on Stanley Park, which was already agreed, because of the uncertainty and because [of] European funding that had to be clawed back. With Everton, it is different. They own the land at Bramley Moore and it’s up to them to put conditions in place that satisfy their shareholders and the club. They are aware of my feelings and I want them to crack on. Hopefully, if we get the chance to host the Commonwealth Games in 2022, the stadium will be in place.

“For the 2026 bid we are expecting a decision in August or September but because of Durban pulling out they need to find a replacement and there should be announcement in the next two months. We are putting forward our bid at the moment. We will hopefully have a stadium on that site and we can have an athletes’ village next door. We have already had conversations about that with Peel. Hopefully the government listens to us.”

The cabinet meeting also approved proposals for a £17m investment in grassroots facilities in the city. Four football ‘hubs’, designed to increase the number of all-weather facilities and participants in the game, are to be built with funds provided by the council, the FA, Premier League and Sport England.