CERT to start Liverpool office-to-resi after planning snub
The developer was refused permission to convert the vacant Centric House into homes in June and will now proceed with the project under permitted development rights.
Liverpool City Council rejected CERT’s attempts to secure approval for the conversion twice. The authority’s planning committee took exception to the project’s absence of affordable homes while CERT argued including them would render the scheme unviable.
The committee’s protestations have ultimately proved futile, with CERT forced to take advantage of recently changed PD rules.
As of March 2024, the upper limit on the size of buildings that can be converted from offices to apartments under PD has lifted.
“Planning reform is a hot topic,” said Howard Lord, CERT’s managing director.
“In our view, the viability process is something that requires specific focus from Labour’s newly formed government to help the process run smoothly and ensure housing targets are met.”
The scheme will see the 27,000 sq ft Moorfields building transformed into 46 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The roof extension proposed under the rejected plans will not go ahead; this type of work does not full within the scope of PD.
CERT has appointed Truman Design & Build, which recently completed the Molo Hotel scheme on Duke Street in Liverpool.
Truman is due to take possession of the site next week and the project is expected to take around a year.
Lord added: “We have operated Centric as serviced offices for a number of years and with the pandemic affecting occupancy, the opportunity arose to look to extend our residential expertise into Liverpool to reinvigorate Centric.
“Our residential track record in Manchester speaks for itself with our commitment to deliver contemporary and desirable places to live, with this same approach applied to our first residential venture in Liverpool.”
Enabl is advising on planning and acting as the quantity surveyor on CERT’s Centric scheme.
Centric will be operated by CERT’s in-house property management team when it completes in 2025.
