Liverpool warms to co-living

The city council plans to take a more nuanced approach to determining applications for co-living developments, having had little truck with the model to date.

The draft of Liverpool’s revised local plan sets out a specific policy for co-living, which gives hope for developers in this corner of the market. The move to adopt a co-living policy marks a departure from the current local plan, which does not mention it at all.

A more accommodating approach to co-living would bring Liverpool in line with other regional cities, which have more readily accepted the model.

In 2021, Crosslane’s plans for a 236-unit scheme were rejected on the basis that the project provided too many one-bed units and that 192 of the homes did not comply with nationally described space standards.

The following year, the city council published a policy advice note on co-living to give clarity on its stance.

The advice note said that co-living schemes would be treated in the same way as any other residential product, including in terms of minimum space standards.

This stance presented a challenge to co-living developers given the fundamental nature of the model.

High density co-living schemes typically comprise private en-suite bedrooms – smaller than what you would find in a build-to-rent scheme – and a focus on shared communal spaces. Often, the size of the private bedrooms falls below nationally described space standards, which set out that a one-bed flat must exceed 398 sq ft.

The argument from co-living developers is that the amount of communal space provided within developments makes up for the smaller room sizes, while also promoting a more social atmosphere within a building.

Liverpool’s draft local plan offers a glimmer of hope to developers who had given up on the possibility of making a co-living scheme stack up in the city.

Policy H9 in the draft states that, while developers should still aspire to meet NDSS, a project that contains smaller units may still be approved if it is of high enough quality, sustainably located, and provides adequate communal space to make up for the shortfall in private space.

In addition, developers must provide evidence of demand, a 24-hour management plan, and offer flexible tenancies.

“Co-living is not a substitute for conventional housing but may complement the city’s wider housing offer,” the draft local plan states.