Proposal for city centre housing scheme refused by Liverpool City Council

A housing scheme in central Liverpool was rejected by Liverpool City Council Planning Committee this morning (June 4), while another key proposal was withdrawn at the last moment.

Both schemes had been recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers.

CERT Property sought to convert the site of a former Barclays Bank office building in Moorfields, opposite the Merseryail station into 45 apartments, including single-level and duplex apartments.

Manchester-based CERT Property acquired the 27,238 sq ft office building, Centric House, for an undisclosed sum, in 2018 with plans refurbish the site to provide high quality office accommodation with suites available from 86 sq ft to more than 11,000 sq ft.

Prices were tipped to start at £149 per desk for fully serviced accommodation with traditionally leased space also available.

As part of the latest proposals, the building’s existing basement car park would accommodate 11 parking spaces including an accessible bay – 49 bicycle storage spaces and waste storage are also proposed at basement level.

But the application was refused in the vote by councillors in a 5-4 split.

Debate centred around S106 matters and affordable housing issues.

It will now be brought back to the planning committee at a later date, in accordance with the council’s agreed process.

Also, a plan to build a part eight storey/part 10-storey building comprising ground floor use as commercial and upper floors to accommodate 93 apartments on land at Norfolk Street/Brick Street, in the Baltic Triangle, was withdrawn before the start of today’s planning committee.

The application was on behalf of housing developer, Torus.

The proposed site is around 0.15 ha and located towards the eastern edge of the Baltic Triangle. It fronts onto Norfolk Street to the north and Brick Street to the south. It was previously occupied by Liver Grease Oil and Chemicals Company but has since been cleared of all buildings and vegetation. The site has been used for temporary storage associated with the construction of a neighbouring residential building.

To the west is a nine-storey residential building known as Baltic View. To the east is a nine-storey residential-led development currently under construction known as The Vault. The site opposite on Norfolk Street contains a seven/eight-storey mixed use block of student apartments and commercial space.

There are historic warehouse buildings on Norfolk Street to the west which are mainly in industrial use with some office space. The site faces towards Baltic Creative accommodation on Brick Street to the south.

The surrounding streets now include a significant amount of residential accommodation along with retained industrial uses, creative and digital industries, hotels and some food and drink and entertainment uses.

Torus’s plans are for four ground floor commercial use units, ranging in floor area from 38 sq m to 89 sq m, all with street frontages, and residential uses on the upper floors.

The 93 residential units would comprise 45 one-bed apartments, 45 two-bed apartments and three, three-bed apartments, including 21 wheelchair-accessible units.

All residential units would be offered as ‘rent to buy’ intermediate affordable housing by the applicant.