PLANNING | Paddington Village projects head Liverpool agenda

Proposals for a diagnostics centre and a multi-storey car park at Paddington Village in the Knowledge Quarter will go in front of Liverpool’s committee next week, while Copperas Hill is once again recommended for approval.

Both Paddington Village projects are also recommended for approval, as the development at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter gathers pace. Also set for a green light is a multi-storey car park at Monarchs Quay on Kings Dock, where the council has a pressing need to replace the parking spaces lost to the waterfront area in the fire on New Years Eve 2017.

The application at Copperas Hill is for a Student Life centre for Liverpool John Moores University on the former Royal Mail sorting office site and adjacent land. The plans were deferred for a site visit in August, at which point an objection was lodged by the Riverside Group, which holds a restrictive covenant on a section of the site – plans have now been revised and objectors and consultees informed of the changes.

Recommended for approval

Copperas Hill

Developer: Liverpool John Moores University

Architect: Sheppard Robson

Planner: Barton Willmore

Scheme: In its second attempt at the site, LJMU proposes a five-storey Student Life building and a two-storey sports building, with a “significant corridor” of public realm linking Brownlow Hill to Copperas Hill. The plans represent phase one of two at the site.

Paddington Village car park and CHP centre

Developer: Liverpool City Council

Architect: KKA

Height: Nine levels

Scheme: The car park site is bounded by Elm Grove, Albert Street, Smithdown Lane and the mainline railway cutting, and is currently occupied by a 1950s housing development, Smithdown Court, which houses 36 flats. The proposed car park will house 1,088 parking spaces. The officers’ report said: “The proposals will result in the creation of two high quality contemporary buildings which will provide important facilities for Paddington Village, in accordance with the wider aspirations of the Paddington Village Regeneration Framework.”

Former Archbishop Blanch School, Paddington Village

Developer: Liverpool City Council

Architect: Ryder Architecture

Height: Six storeys

Scheme: The proposal is for a 46,000 sq ft centre over six floors, and will be a diagnostics centre directly supporting the Proton Partners cancer treatment centre. The site is known as Plot 5 and comprises a cleared and vacant plot, its western boundary fronting a vacant area that will become a landscaped central plaza for Paddington Village. The cleared Plot 8 and St Mary’s Walk, a future pedestrian boulevard, are directly to the north, withtwo sites currently under construction, the main Proton beam therapy centre to the east and the Kaplan live/learn facility, to the south.

Merseyside Police Station

Developer: Merseyside Police

Architect: Ryder Architecture

Office space: 137,000 sq ft

Scheme: The proposal for a Merseyside Police Headquarters to bring together the service’s key corporate departments under one roof, replacing facilities at Canning Place. The proposal would include a new HQ with an associated annex building and parking for 515. The proposal went before committee in April, but a late submission from the Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service regarding bats on the site caused the applicant to adjust the scheme, and the new submission proposes changes in siting, so that the building is shifted towards Scotland Road.  The site was mostly cleared in 2009, but in one part houses buildings including a nursery and solicitors.

Monarchs Quay car park

Developer: Liverpool City Council

Architect: Leach Rhodes Walker

Planner: Turley

Height: Nine levels

Scheme: The 1,640-space car park is to be delivered by Willmott Dixon and is severely needed at the Kings Dock, where the main car park is awaiting demolition following the fire on New Years Eve last year. Amenities in the area include the Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, Exhibition Centre Liverpool, Pullman Hotel, Jurys Inn and Staybridge Suites Hotels and The Block apartments. The site is currently used for surface car parking and coach waiting space.