Iliad to move 4,000 graves for student scheme
COUNCILLORS in Liverpool have approved plans for the construction of student halls in the city that will mean exhuming 4,000 graves.
Liverpool developer Iliad and the Catholic church put forward plans for 250 student rooms in a four and seven-storey building on the site of St Michael’s Church and burial ground on the corner of Grenville St South and Kent Street.
The space has been deconsecrated and used as a park but the council understands that it is the site of a mass grave dating back to the 19th century.
These graves will have to be exhumed and re-interred before any development begins.
The proposal was opposed by ward councillors and attracted 12 letters from nearby residents who objected to the loss of open space, the scale of the building and the presence of 250 students.
The head of planning disagreed saying the scheme would be an appropriate form of development within the area and it would not have an undue impact on local residents.
“The proposal offers economic regeneration benefits and may help kick-start development interest on the adjacent vacant/derelict plots,” said a council report.
