Student nightclub hotspot set for redevelopment

PLANS to redevelop of the student nightclub capital of Liverpool with four blocks between three and 10 storeys high have been submitted to the city council’s planners.

The scheme in the historic Ropewalks area will see the Nation and Kazimier clubs as well as the smaller Cream club, currently housed in dilapidated warehouses, replaced.

There will be a replacement nightclub over two basement levels, a range of commercial units and a total of 427 self contained studio apartments and 20 one-bed apartments with an existing warehouse also transformed.

The ground floor of the warehouse will be refurbished to provide an additional performance venue/nightclub space, with adjoining courtyards to the rear of the scheme.

A design statement has been submitted to the city council by architect Falconer Chester Hall on behalf of applicant Wolstenholme Square Developments Ltd . The planning consultant is Roman Summer Associates.

The site on Wolstenholme Square is a few minute walk from Liverpool ONE, the City’s main shopping area.

The statement says: “The proposal provides the opportunity to renovate a generous portion of currently under-used land within the Ropewalks area, as well as providing additional buildings of quality to this area of the city.

“The Planning Framework encourages new uses, such as leisure and residential, in the Ropewalks, in order to create a mixed-use area that incorporates the residential, warehouses and creative industries that currently dominate the area.

“In recent years, there has been some success in attracting start up businesses, particularly artists and craft workshops, and clearly residential accommodation will support these uses. The proposal seeks to bring investment to the area, encouraging growth in an area which is currently struggling in the economic conditions.”