Elliot Group on site at Falkner Street

Demolition work has begun on a derelict plot in Liverpool’s Canning neighbourhood to make way for a £15m residential scheme made up of 109 apartments for rent.

Contractor Mee Group is working at the corner of Falkner Street and Bedford Street on behalf of developer Elliot Group. Site clearance is due to complete in August, with construction due to begin in September.

The scheme on the site of the former Toxteth Community College has been designed by Falconer Chester Hall, and will provide 109 flats over four floors.

Women’s training organization and social enterprise Blackburne House is to take 8,000 sq ft on the ground floor.

The homes are largely one- and two-bedroom units for rent to professional couples and young families. Students are not being targeted as tenants and the project will include a residents’ gym.

Elliot Lawless of Elliot Group said: “Liverpool has strong appeal amongst retail investors and many return to us again and again to seek further opportunities to invest in the city.  This project and our ‘triple towers’ proposal for Pall Mall are part of our strategy of widening our product range to allow investors to add variety to their portfolios.”

The Canning area, famous for its wide Georgian streets and squares, borders the city’s knowledge quarter to the north and the city centre to the west. Educational trust Blackburne House occupies the former Liverpool Institute High School for Girls further along Falkner Street, and had been looking for space to expand its range of training programmes and social enterprise initiatives.