Cabe refuses to support LLDC’s Edge Lane project

Property developer Liverpool Land Development Company's plans to transform Liverpool gateway Edge Lane have been condemned by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

In a letter to Liverpool council planners, Cabe, which is statutory consultee on large developments, refused to support plans by Bellway Homes to build 210 replacement homes, and urged councillors to throw out the planning application, stating that it would not meet key objectives to transform the housing stock and renew the property market.

It added that neither would the plans improve the entrace gateway into the city – one of the main objectives of the £350m masterplan.

Cabe also criticised the quality of the plan when set in the context of the wider masterplan, and questioned the principle of widening the road as detailed in Edge Lane West plans – an issue that has been the subject of a public inquiry that closed at the end of last month.

Regeneration agency English Partnerships and LLDC want compulsory purchase orders to be placed on almost 70 properties along Edge Lane.

If the inquiry confirms the CPO, those properties, along with 300 others, would be demolished in order for the road to be widened.

Ian Hassall, chief executive of LLDC, said: "We welcome Cabe's endorsement of the area-wide regeneration aims of the Edge Lane West scheme, and its support for the planning policy for this area.

"Cabe's comments concerning the detailed design of the scheme will be fed back to Bellway's design team for consideration. We will work with Bellway to address the areas of concern."