Irwell Chambers extension secures funding

Frontier Development Capital and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking have committed more than £2m to fund the development of 20 apartments at the top of Irwell Chambers, on Union Street in Liverpool city centre.

The project will see a two-storey extension added to the top of the 1870 building, with 12 two-bedroom apartments, six one-bedroom apartments and two duplexes. The extension will be set back from the host building by 1.2m.

Since being acquired by Rodger Danks, the building has undergone a basement conversion which took it from 50 apartments to 65. Three top floor flats will be lost to the redevelopment scheme, making a total of 82 in the building once complete. The building, just off Old Hall Street, sits within both the Castle Street Conservation Area and the Maritime World Heritage Site.

Lloyds is to lend £1.4m for the project, with Froniter investing £700,000. Danks’ vehicle RDI Property secured planning in summer 2017 for the extension, advised by Cerda Planning.

Danks said: “This new rooftop extension will provide Liverpool with further affordable, high-quality residential apartments. We have already undertaken several property development projects around the UK and with this new investment from FDC and Lloyds Bank we can prepare for the next exciting chapter of Irwell Chambers and the Liverpool region.

“Since the basement renovation in 2015, Irwell Chambers has delivered a strong financial performance and we are committed to increase housing for the Northwest and in particular Liverpool”.

Vaughan Hobbs, relationship director with Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “We’ve been working with Irwell Chambers for the past four years and the funding support we’ve provided this year marks another step in our partnership.

“It’s great to see the business continuing to deliver against its ongoing growth strategy and boosting affordable housing options in the North West.”