Approval recommended for 507-apartment scheme on former industrial site
Liverpool planning officers have recommended a scheme to create 507 apartments on land next to the main Northern Line rail link between Southport and Liverpool.
Next Tuesday’s (April 23) planning committee will consider the application, from Chris Boles of Love Lane (Liverpool) Ltd, which proposes the demolition of existing buildings and the development, on four plots, of residential apartments, as well as ground floor commercial units in the adjacent railway arches.
Widnes-based Sourced Development Group and Network Rail are behind proposals, which include dedicated on plot car and cycle parking on each plot, and a landscaped spine between the new buildings and the railway viaduct.
The proposed scheme lies approximately half a mile north from the city’s business district.
Former Tate & Lyle factory – copyright Neil Hodgson
The land was previously occupied by the former Tate & Lyle sugar refining factory which closed in April, 1981, after 109 years on the site.
All four plots have been laid out as perimeter blocks around enclosed communal courtyards with commercial, retail, and communal uses integrated into a ground floor plinth and residential use on the upper floors.
Each of the plots has its own architectural style but follows a shared scale and massing.
In height the blocks are seven/eight storeys on the frontage to Pall Mall/ Love Lane, rising to 10-11 storeys to the rear of each plot next to the railway viaduct.
A total of 507 residential apartments is proposed, comprising 147 one-bed apartments, 330 two-bed apartments, and 30 three-bed apartments.
Further on street parking would be available on Love Lane and Pall Mall, within the adopted highway.
No objections to the scheme have, so far, been received, said the council planning papers.
The site lies to the east of the Ten Streets Regeneration Area, where the council will support uses that maximise the economic potential of the area.
Former Tate & Lyle factory – copyright Neil Hodgson
In recommending the proposal for approval, the planning officers say: “It is considered that the principle of residential and commercial accommodation development in this location is acceptable and accords with the development plan, the city’s strategies for regeneration and the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework).
“The scheme maximises the redevelopment potential of the site, which is within a priority regeneration area of the city centre’s extension.
“The proposal would complement the residential development approved on the adjacent plots. The proposal would create a positive street frontage to a large section of Pall Mall and Love Lane and improve the pedestrian environment linking the city centre to areas further north.
“The application takes account of the sensitivities of neighbours in its layout and environmental considerations.”
