Merseyside-based developer Langtree has started work a £3.7m scheme to transform Liverpool's derelict International Garden Festival site, more than a quarter of a century after it first opened.

The proposed restoration of the site, which has received investment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), is set to take 12 months to complete and will help to create a major new visitor attraction. Landscape architects Planit have helped to draw up plans for the renovation of the gardens, which include the rejuvenation of two pagodas in the oriental gardens, the Moon Wall and lakes and waterways.

A new pedestrian access point will also be created, with work underway to remove undergrowth that has covered many of the site's original pathways. Existing pedestrian routes will be widened and repaired. Langtree managing director John Downes said: "The creation of the park and the new residential community will finally deliver a long term sustainable scheme for this strategic site on a major gateway in to the city."

The International Garden Festival was held between May and October 1984, attracting nearly 4 million visitors.