Ropewalks aparthotel in line for green light

Liverpool City Council is expected to approve the conversion of 62 Duke Street, once home to Le Bateau nightclub, into a 25-unit aparthotel.

The scheme has been designed by Keith Davidson Partnership on behalf of applicant Rockmount PS. Liath Heritage and planning consultant Edward Landor Associates are also on the professional team.

A three-storey late 1700s townhouse extended over time, the building is already in use as serviced apartments following its conversion from the nightclub and basement bar Down the Hatch. Le Bateau closed in 2012.

The building is located centrally within a large block bounded by Duke Street, York Street, Henry Street and Suffolk Street. The applicant is proposing to reconfigure the internal layout into 25 self-contained studio apartments, and said it will invest in both the existing central courtyard and reinstate a historic courtyard space.

Part of the scheme involves the reorganisation of timber floor heights in the larger rear annexe building. KDP said in addition that the project will reinstate closed-up windows and “reshape apertures poorly altered through unqualified changes”.

Following consultation with neighbours, seven objections have been received, including one claiming it would have a detrimental impact on residents of Henry Street, especially those in the Arts Village complex.

Two aparthotels have been approved in the last three years nearby, including a 36-unit scheme next door at 60 Duke Street, also designed by KDP. A further aparthotel sits further up Duke Street, on the other side of Rude Liverpool.

In the latest editio of The Subplot, David Thame examines the performance of aparthotels across the region this year and the prospects for further development.

Officers suggest that approval would mean the efficient re-use of two attractive buildings within the Duke Street conservation area in a project that “will contribute positively”.

Liverpool’s planning committee meets on 31 August.