Liverpool approves Pall Mall intervention
The city council has agreed to use £15m of government funding to get the first phase of an office development in the central business district away, a move the authority hopes will boost investor sentiment.
Place North West revealed at the end of May that Liverpool City Council had put together a strategy to deliver the 111,000 sq ft first office at Pall Mall, which had stalled due to viability constraints.
At a meeting on Tuesday evening, the council’s cabinet rubber-stamped the plan, which also includes a rental guarantee to increase the investment value of the asset.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Nick Small, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for growth and development, said the scheme would be the first new-build grade A space in the CBD for 13 years.
He added that the lack of development over recent years had “damaged inward investment confidence [and] supressed office rental growth”.
Of the big nine regional cities only Cardiff has a lower headline rent than Liverpool’s £29/sq ft.
As well as missing out on new arrivals to the city, Small said there is a “threat” of losing existing businesses approaching lease events.
“There is a critical situation in the city where we don’t have enough grade A office space and that is damaging the current and future prospects of the city,” he said.
“[The grant and rental guarantee] is a significant milestone in the city’s economic development to bring better quality jobs and more investment into the city,” he said.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said the intervention was further proof that the authority is “cracking on and delivering”.
“[There are] huge opportunities for what this could unlock for business growth and regeneration in the city centre and how that could have a ripple effect across the city,” he said.
It is hoped that the package of support for phase one could pave the way for later phases, which include 230,000 sq ft of additional office space across two further buildings and a 284-bed hotel.
