Property round-up: X1; Hassett Homes; Matchworks; Bloc; Post Office; WeDO Business Services; Liverpool Science Park
X1 Sales & Lettings has been appointed as the new managing agent for one of Liverpool’s flagship Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) developments – formerly known as ‘The Exchange’ and now rebranded as ‘X1 The Platform.
Situated on Hotham Street in the heart of Liverpool, X1 The Platform offers 486 high quality student bed spaces, providing modern, city centre living.
This appointment strengthens X1’s presence in Liverpool’s thriving student accommodation sector and reflects the company’s reputation for managing large-scale, high-profile developments, it said.
Alongside X1’s appointment, Haymarket Management has been named as the block management company, overseeing the building’s day-to-day operations and maintenance.
Melissa Green, head of operations at X1 Sales & Lettings, said: “Our focus will be on delivering an outstanding living experience, fostering a sense of community, and providing high quality support throughout residents’ time with us. Liverpool is an exceptional city for students, and we’re proud to contribute to making their experience here the best it can be.”
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Proposed scheme in red line layout
Liverpool-based developer Hassett Homes has submitted an application to build 20 properties on a prime site in the upmarket suburb of Woolton in south Liverpool.
The £12m development, designed by Drome Architects, proposes 16 four- and five-bed homes for open sale, with four two- and three-bed units available for rent or shared equity. Two of the homes will be wheelchair adaptable.
The 2.34 acre site, accessed from School Lane on Camp Hill, utilises the former tennis courts of St Julie’s Catholic High School, which were rendered surplus when the school was re-built on an amended footprint.
Hassett Homes development director, Ben Thompson, said: “The site rises up Camp Hill and has a lovely leafy aspect looking across to Woolton village.
“The village offers an outstanding array of independent bars, cafes and restaurants and its distinctive Georgian architecture makes it enduringly popular. The area’s excellent schools ensure demand for housing is always high.”
Planning consultant Darren Muir, of Pegasus Group, said: ”The focus is on delivering high quality and much needed housing to the village, whilst adding value to the Woolton Conservation Area, recognising what makes it such a special place to be.”
The new homes are described in the submission as ‘of high quality contemporary design and materials which respect the local character and context.’
Other consultants supporting the project include GIHP (heritage), Axis (highways), Ascerta (ecology) and Square Yard (landscape design).
The site is next to Woolton Hall, built in 1704 for the first Viscount Molyneux and remodelled in 1772 by the leading architect of the Georgian era, Robert Adam. It is considered his finest work in the north of England.
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Amey Matchworks
Amey has committed to another five years at Liverpool’s iconic Matchworks facility, enhancing its workspace to support sustainability and employee wellbeing.
Building on two decades at the site, the business has invested in creating a high quality, future ready environment for its shared services and North West consulting teams.
The 14,390 sq ft of refurbished offices, prioritises wellbeing and collaboration, featuring a new reception and meeting suite, flexible room sizes, a 156-desk open-plan area, and upgraded breakout areas. In line with modern workplace expectations, Amey has also upgraded Matchworks’ welfare facilities, introducing draft lobbies and installing self-contained ‘Superloos’ with individual cubicles featuring a WC, basin and hand dryer. A substantial step forward from the building’s original communal washroom layout.
David Isteed, head of property at Amey, said: “We are proud to continue our long standing relationship with the Matchworks, creating a workspace that offers a comfortable, collaborative, and sustainable environment for our North West colleagues. Our ongoing investment not only supports our people but also reinforces the Matchworks reputation as a premier business hub.
“These enhancements, driven by our ESG ambitions, show that it is possible to create modern, high quality workspaces that are both sustainable and future focused.”
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CGI of Foundation Coffee Bloc space
Manchester-based coffee specialist, Foundation Coffee, has opened a new city centre coffee house at Bruntwood SciTech’s Bloc, in the heart of the city centre on Marble Street, just off Market Street.
A new bespoke menu ‘Mini FNDs’ will be launched at Bloc – a celebration of nostalgic classics including triangle press cheese toasties and ploughman’s wraps. Foundation’s house-made and delicious baked goods will also be in abundance including favourites such as their brown butter and white chocolate cookies.
Bloc is home to forward-thinking companies including Slalom, Medius Software and Coco Green. The building features one of the city’s biggest living green walls, technology to monitor and optimise air quality, a state-of-the-art wellness suite including studio gym, a sleep pod, co-working and office spaces, pop up wellness and physio room, and a cascading garden in the foyer.
Foundation at Bloc will be the fifth Manchester site for the independent coffee brand, which was founded in 2015.
Charlotte Wild, head of retail and leisure for Bruntwood SciTech, said: “Foundation is a fantastic local success story and the team have built a well earned reputation and loyal fanbase through their commitment to quality and attention to detail. We know it will complement our offering at Bloc perfectly.”
Hannah Mitchell, operations director at Foundation, said: “We’re focused on staying true to our roots, and continuing to provide the community feel that we started with 10 years ago – it’s at the heart of everything we do.”
Foundation Coffee at Bloc will open from May 25.
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Photo courtesy of the Post Office
Post Office Ltd is proposing to relocate Adlington Post Office to a new location – Ron Burgess, 51 Park Rd, Adlington, Chorley, PR7 4HZ.
The current postmaster, at 18-20 Market Place, Adlington, Chorley, PR7 4EZ, wishes to leave the business and has stayed on while Post Office has found a suitable replacement after 33 years of service.
A new operator has been appointed who has identified an alternative location from which to operate Adlington Post Office to safeguard services at the greengrocers and provisions store.
There would be two serving positions in total, two open planned positions at the retail counter.
The same wide range of Post Office services would still be available and the opening hours would remain as Monday to Friday: 9am-5.30pm, Saturday: 9am-12 noon.
The proposed premises has a wide door and steps at the entrance. A secondary entrance is planned for the side of the premises, featuring a wide door with level access to ensure ease of entry, subject to planning permission.
Consultation will close on June 13. Customers can share their views during the consultation online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 289427.
Submissions can also be made via email to comments@postoffice.co.uk, by post to Freepost YOUR COMMENTS, or by telephone 03452 66 01 15 or Textphone 03457 22 33 55.
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WeDo Business new HQ
A company which supports SMEs with finance and a range of other services is gearing up for its next phase of growth after moving to new headquarters which are double the size of its previous base.
WeDo Business Services has taken almost 7,000 sq ft of office space at Annie Kenney Mill in Chadderton, Oldham, a short distance from its former HQ at Meadowbank House.
Annie Kenney Mill, developed by The Mills Hollinwood, provides 20,000 sq ft of modern office space over three floors. The building has an EPC rating of A, with electricity generated by solar panels, an energy-efficient heat pump system, EV charging points and LED lighting.
It is named in honour of a leading suffragette from Oldham. Annie Kenney worked for many years in the cotton mills which inspired the name of The Mills office development on the site of the historic Ferranti operation. Annie Kenney Mill is the first of seven office blocks planned for the 4.5-acre business park.
WeDo has taken the entire first floor, providing scope to expand its workforce in line with its growth strategy.
The WeDo group, was established in 2019 by joint chief executives, Mark Lindsay and Chris Robinson, with just four staff. It has grown organically and through acquisition, and currently employs more than 70 people in Oldham and across its network of offices.
Mark Lindsay said: “When searching for a new head office, it was important for us to remain in Oldham. We’ve found a fantastic location with excellent transport links and, after an extensive fit-out, we are delighted with the end result.”
Chris Robinson said: “We have stayed true to our roots as a business, as Annie Kenney Mill is only about 300 yards from where we set up originally.”
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CENTRAL TECH
Liverpool Science Park labs has hit 100% occupancy, with more to come at CENTRAL TECH.
In just three months, rarely available lab space within Sciontec Developments’ portfolio, has now been snapped up once again.
Three new deals have been done at Liverpool Science Park (LSP) site, with a combined total of 4,589 sq ft (426 sq m) of Containment Level 2 labs.
Pierion Biosciences, has expanded further following its initial inward investment into LSP’s iC3 innovation centre in 2022 and University of Liverpool spin-out ReNewVax, which aims to prevent life-threatening bacterial infections and combat antimicrobial resistance with vaccines, has also joined the community.
The final space has also been taken by another University of Liverpool spin-out and will be announced in the coming weeks.
Colin Sinclair, CEO of Sciontec and Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, said: “The general sentiment is that lab demand still outstrips supply, and that is certainly the case in the Knowledge Quarter Liverpool Innovation District.
“The North West new-build development lab pipeline is c. 850,000 sq ft, including our new buildings, HEMISPHERE One and Two, of which a significant percentage is pre-let or in advanced negotiations.
“With lab space at LSP once again hitting 100% occupancy, innovative, research intensive occupiers are now able to lease the new-to-market labs within CENTRAL TECH, which will help to meet some of that demand in the immediate term.”
Launching on May 14, CENTRAL TECH will offer more than 2,000 sq ft (189 sq/m) of prototyping labs and write-up space, in which innovators can design, make, test and validate their concepts ahead of commercialisation.
Sciontec is already in discussions with a number of organisations who are keen to be first movers into the innovation hub’s labs, and who will benefit from the Academic Support and Knowledge (ASK) initiative, which will connect CENTRAL TECH customers to a specialist team or expert at the University of Liverpool or Liverpool John Moores University, to support their research and innovation objectives and help grow or scale up their business.
Sciontec has also recently progressed plans for two purpose built, new-build lab developments, HEMISPHERE One and Two, at nearby Paddington Village, Liverpool City Council’s flagship development site.
HEMISPHERE One and Two will offer 183,183 sq ft of chemistry labs, data labs, bio labs and innovation labs, alongside incubator and grow-on space, with some of the world’s most advanced robotics and AI facilities.
