Thumbs up to £40m Wolstenholme Square plan

A £40m scheme which could transform Liverpool’s historic Wolstenholme Square has received strong backing from the public at a consultation event.

Feedback demonstrated that there was overwhelming support for the plans put forward by Elliot Group, with more than 90% of attendees in favour of the opportunity to re-energise the area with residential and commercial space, a new subterranean home for super club Cream and the possibility of a new performance venue run by collaborators from  iconic city venue The Kazimier.

The public consultation event was held at Nation and attracted a constant flow of interested attendees who were keen to have their say on the plans and speak to members of the project team.

The scheme includes in excess of 370 residential units, a move which has been welcomed by leading city estate agent Alan Bevan.

“The proposals for Wolstenholme Square promise to transform this area of Ropewalks into a vibrant, exciting place to live,” he said.

“Ropewalks has seen very little new residential development over the last seven or eight years and yet is extremely popular with both tenants and owner occupiers.

“As we have highlighted for some time there is a huge and growing demand for quality, affordable residential accommodation and the design and location of the scheme will help satisfy this requirement.

“We expect the apartments to be particularly popular with young professionals, graduates and those tenants wanting to live in a lively, mixed-use development but where the accommodation is affordable and designed to meet their needs.”

The project, designed by Liverpool architects Falconer Chester Hall, will see the creation of new buildings ranging up to 10 storeys and a new passageway through from Wolstenholme Square to Seel Street to improve the area’s permeability.

These proposals combine a mixture of uses with residential, commercial, leisure and retail spaces all contained within five blocks that wrap around three sides of the square and could create hundreds of jobs in the construction phase and in the shops, restaurants and cafes created in the scheme.

The scheme will now be reviewed in light of the feedback from the event before a planning application is submitted. Work could start on site as early as March 2016.