Metalworks 401-unit residential scheme slated for approval
Proposals to develop two 16-storey residential towers, providing more than 400 apartments, are recommended for approval by Liverpool City Council.
This would be the third attempt to kick-start development at the site, known as ‘Metalworks’ and which was acquired out of administration in April 2023.
Jarron Investments, based in Scarisbrick, Ormskirk, is behind the scheme located at the junction of Leeds Street and Vauxhall Road, in the city’s Vauxhall ward.
The plan is to demolish a former pub, which has been empty for more than seven years, and build two interconnected 16-storey buildings comprising 401 units, made up of 396 flats, ranging from one- to three-bedrooms, and five townhouses, with a residents’ gym, cinema room, workspace and lounge, as well as a ground floor commercial unit, together with parking spaces for 52 vehicles.
A disused rail line runs beneath the site.
The Build to Rent development will be retained by a single management company.
Planning permission was granted in 2017 for redevelopment of the site, comprising two interlinked blocks of 13- and 11-storeys, with commercial units at ground floor and residential above.
That scheme was not implemented and a further application was submitted in 2018 for a 13- and 15-storey scheme, but the application was not determined.
The area has recently undergone several residential developments, including the substantial Atlantic Point student accommodation scheme by Unite, residential accommodation fronting Leeds Street, and The City of Liverpool College on Pumpfields Road.
A residential development, known as ‘The Gateway’, is currently under construction on the adjacent site on Freemasons Row, and there are further new residential developments at Bevington Bush and Paul Street.
In recommending the scheme for approval, the city’s planning officers say: “The scheme maximises the redevelopment potential of the site, which is within a priority regeneration area for expansion of the city centre.
“Although there are recognised areas where the proposal does not comply with policy, in respect of affordable housing, open space and tree contributions and residential amenity, these have been considered in the planning balance and, in these specific circumstances, are outweighed by other policy aims and material considerations.
“The proposal would complement the residential development within the wider street block, and elsewhere in Pumpfields, and would create a positive street frontage in place of a long term derelict, vacant plot.”
The application will go before the city’s planning committee next Tuesday (February 18).
Property advisor, Turley, submitted the planning application in January 2024.
