Baltic and Drury Lane projects approved in Liverpool

A scheme designed by Studio RBA for loft apartments at Bridgewater Street in the Baltic district has been approved at Liverpool’s July planning committee, along with an 11-storey co-living block opposite the India Buildings.

Proposed by developer Eloquent Global, the Baltic project will see a disused former factory building become home to 35 “New York loft style apartments” within both the existing structure and a bronze-clad, three-storey roof extension.

The development will contain a mix of apartments ranging from studios up to two four-bedroom units, the developer said, as it seeks to attract a diverse range of residents. There will also be a creative sector-focused workspace at ground level.

Adam Morgan, director of Liverpool-based Studio RBA, said: “This conversion will help strengthen the character of the burgeoning Baltic District with the design for the existing building being complementary to its surroundings while the new build extension sits comfortably within its context and softens the overall mass through the use of recessed balconies and large tapering portal windows.”

In the second scheme, developer CRC proposed a mixed eight, 10, and 11-storey block on a site currently used as a car park on the corner of Drury Lane and Brunswick Street, opposite the India Buildings.

Alongside a 430 sq ft retail unit, at ground floor level there will also be a kitchen, lounge, laundry, gymnasium, and cinema room; while the upper floors will house 111 one-bed studios, as well as seven one-bed and seven two-bed flats.

The project was previously proposed, and approved by committee on 20 February this year, as a mixed housing and aparthotel scheme. However, the developer has now decided to bring the project forward for co-living instead of a hotel.