Liverpool’s Audley House tipped for resi conversion

TJ Hughes owner Anil Juneja wants to extend the former London Road department store upwards and redevelop the building into 266 apartments. 

The scheme is the second part of a plan that aims to deliver more than 500 homes within the two former TJ Hughes stores on London Road. 

In 2020, Liverpool City Council granted permission to convert Hughes House, located next to Audley House, into 245 apartments. Equans is due to start work on Hughes House early next year. 

The Audley House proposals, designed by Keith Davidson Partnership, will see the London Road façade of the building retained and a three-storey rooftop extension constructed. 

The revamped and extended building would feature 28 studio apartments, 182 one-bedroom apartments and a further 56 with two bedrooms. 

All of the properties would be available for private rent, and the scheme would also have a gym in the basement. 

Audley House 3, Liverpool, P.planning Docs

Plans for the redevelopment of Hughes House (left) were approved last year. Credit: via planning documents

The project has gone through several different iterations since pre-application work began four years ago.  

In 2017, a proposal for a 14-storey development comprising a 293-room hotel and 277 PRS units was put to the council.  

The following year, a revised plan featuring 149 apartments, 334 key worker flats and 156 student apartments was mooted. This version of the scheme reached 15 storeys and would have seen the whole of Audley House demolished. 

This prompted a request to Historic England for the building to be listed, however, this did not materialise. 

The current scheme “is considered to be the most sympathetic scheme in heritage terms that is capable of being delivered practically and because it is viable”, according to a planning statement by consultancy Zerum. 

Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture also advised on the proposals.

Audley House 2, Liverpool, P.planning Docs

All of the apartments will be available for private rent. Credit: via planning documents

Your Comments

Read our comments policy

If some of the building can be saved then it gets my support, though I would have preferred the shop to remain viable.

By Anonymous

This isn’t too unsympathetic to Audley House. Some ground floor retail/commercial should be viable here though. As the residential population increases here, which it is, an active frontage on Monument Place should be easy to achieve. You’ve also got the possibility of office windows, like you get in the Baltic Triangle! As the Fabric District moves on this should be more than achievable.

By Pool of Life

At least they could leave the ground floor for public use and not kill totally the buildings interaction with the street.

By Mikes mate

Great stuff

By Anonymous

That would be brilliant, it’s such a beautiful building and going to rack and ruin.

By AJ

The new build element is hideous but seems compulsory in The North West at the moment; sad!

By 1981

There is room for a ‘department store’ on London Road/in the Fabric District – I think a little more effort is required from TJ Hughes owners – there doesnt appear to even be any lights on in there some days – sad to see! Is this just another development being done in silo in the London Road area? It’s never going to get the recognition from LCC if that’s the case. Just a place to pass through to get to town and hope you don’t get mugged.

By Bob Dawson

Even if there is no department store then maybe one of the big supermarkets, Tesco, Sainsbury`s , could open one of their larger stores which also sells clothing and household goods as well as foodstuffs.
Anyway as for the poster who said you might get mugged, that`s a bit extreme and unnecessarily negative.

By Anonymous

This is a globally important building and should be treated as such.

By Liverpool global

My Mum worked in T js decades ago and there was sleeping quarters for the staff who worked late and couldn’t get home. Imagine !

By Diane

This is great news for this stunning building that desperately needs major renovation.

By Anonymous

I have just searched companies house and come up with the following regarding so called developer.
can you explain, (EQUANS LTD
08750666 – Dissolved on 12 January 2016
69 Bridgwater Road, Ipswich, IP2 9QG)

By Frank Hurley

Liverpool may be going to rack and ruin but the occasional good news from buildings like this is at least a small beacon of light in another shocking year for the city.

By BoatymcBoatface

Related Articles

Sign up to receive the Place Daily Briefing

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Join more than 13,000 property professionals and sign up to receive your free daily round-up of built environment news direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you are agreeing to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

"*" indicates required fields

Your Job Field*
Other regional Publications - select below