Lime Street regeneration ‘in limbo’ – developer

THE company behind Liverpool’s £35m Lime Street regeneration scheme says the project is in “limbo” until the Court of Appeal rules on a legal judgement.

A Judicial Review challenge by SAVE Britain’s Heritage was heard in the court yesterday, but developer Neptune must now wait for the decision for possibly two weeks.

SAVE says Liverpool planners should have referred the planning application for Lime Street’s redevelopment to the Department of Culutre, media and Sport and UNESCO as the site is in the Buffer Zone of Liverpool’s World Heritage Site.

Meanwhile, Neptune director Steve Parry told the Liverpool Echo after the hearing the scheme was “in limbo until we get a decision”.

Neptune has warned the legal challenge to the scheme – including the  Futurist cinema “could paralyse the planning process and stall Liverpool’s regeneration, if successful”.

SAVE says the warning is “nonsense” and accused Neptune of being “bent on fighting the court case in the media in advance of the court hearing”.

This follows the recent closure of Lime Street as engineers assessed how and whether the Futurist facade could be rescued safely. The building is not listed.
The project  would see new student accommodation, a new hotel and shops built on and behind Lime Street.

A number of buildings between the Crown and Vines pubs – including Futurist cinema – would be demolished.

Neptune says they had worked out that heritage campaigners’ plans for the site would cost “in excess of £17m of public money to deliver”.