YPG submits plans for Wirral student accommodation
Liverpool-based developer YPG has submitted plans to convert the former Wirral Council building in Birkenhead into 200 student flats.
YPG plans to convert the vacant office block on the corner of Cleveland Street and Adelphi Street into accommodation for the nearby Maritime Education & Training Centre, which is led by Liverpool John Moores University in partnership with Wirral Council and Peel Ports.
The developer will also add a rooftop extension to the building, increasing its height from three storeys to five.
The 48,000 sq ft development will also include a gym, communal areas, and a garden in the centre of the building.
Subject to planning approval, the project could start early next year.
Ming Yeung, managing director of YPG, said: “Our research tells us there is a real appetite for this kind of student and key worker accommodation in the centre of Birkenhead, partly because of the city region’s excellent cross-river transport links.
“This site is very close to Hamilton Square and in a prominent position so its reinvention as a high quality apartment block will be another step in the regeneration of the wider area.”
Cllr Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, added: “This is yet more proof that Birkenhead is once again becoming the vibrant, thriving town we all remember.
“We welcome developments such as this and, through the new growth company we are well on the road to getting off the ground, it will be the next in a long line of exciting developments which will transform Birkenhead’s economy, creating a high quality offer for skills, retail and leisure in a prime location on our waterfront.”
YPG is the developer behind a controversial 45,000 sq ft call centre at Liverpool’s Kings Dock, which is set to be let to LEP chairman Asif Hamid’s The Contact Company, despite the fact the plot had been advertised for tourism use by the LEP.
Yeung told Place North West he planned to submit an application for further development at Kings Dock in November this year.
