Port Sunlight Village Trust scheme completes

PORT Sunlight Village Trust has completed a £2.5m scheme to build 21 apartments at the historic Wirral village.

The development, which is based on Water Street, includes 14 two-bedroom apartments and seven one-bedroom apartments over three storeys.  Funding for the development was provided by The Royal bank of Scotland in Chester.

The project, which has taken a year to complete, is the work of registered charity Port Sunlight Village Trust, which is responsible for the preservation of the historic site. The funds generated from the sale and rental of the apartments will go towards the trust’s conservation work.    

The design of the apartment block mirrors that seen throughout the rest of the Port Sunlight village and incorporates neo-arts features such as a sweeping roof and circular bays.

Lionel Bolland, chief executive of Port Sunlight Village Trust, said: “The apartments will provide the trust with an additional source of income which is essential if we are to continue to be able maintain and preserve the whole site. Our goal has been to create a development in keeping with the architecture of the village and we are pleased with the result.”  

Port Sunlight was built by William Hesketh Lever in 1888 for the employees of his soap factory Lever Brothers.  The site contains 900 Grade II listed buildings and was declared a conservation area in 1978.