University puts Mossley Hill site up for sale
The University of Liverpool has brought its Carnatic Halls of Residence site in Mossley Hill to market.
The facility opened in 1964 and was operational through to June 2019, when it was closed as part of the university’s long-term residences strategy, which has seen the opening of new accommodation sites on campus and refurbishment of Greenbank Student Village, collectively bringing more than 4,000 new student beds to the university’s estate.
The Carnatic site covers approximately 22.2 acres, representing a significant development opportunity in the popular suburb.
The former accommodation buildings are still in situ, and will remain as part of the sale. The rest of the site comprises of open grassland and a small wooded area.
Offers are being invited for the site by informal tender and are to be conditional on the outcome of a successful planning application – a pre-application report was issued by Liverpool City Council in November 2018, which stated that redevelopment of the site for residential purposes would be acceptable in principle. A development framework has also been produced and agreed through consultation with the council.
As to what the site might be expected to bring in, the university has made it explicitly clear that it does not want to trigger any speculation around value or pricing. However, one professional involved in the market told Place North West that “broadly, you might expect something in the area of £800,000 per developable acre – but it might depend on how much any purchaser might have to deal with conservation area restrictions, Tree Preservation Orders and so on”. At that estimated price, a 22-acre site would be valued at £17.6m.
The university’s disposal follows the earlier sale of land for housing at the Mossley Hill site.
Chris Lewis, property manager at the University of Liverpool, said: “We are bringing the Carnatic Residences site to market. It represents a significant residential development opportunity and we anticipate a high level of interest.
“Public consultations will occur through the planning process once a developer has been chosen to acquire the site, however the university intends to keep closely associated throughout the process.” Lewis’s team is managing the sale.
more rubbish houses anticipated then
By jh
Beautiful site near Sudley Art Gallery, gifted to the city by Emma Holt (the last in line of this merchant family), along with its art collection.
By Roscoe
A wonderful site in a lovely part of the city. Cracking views to north Wales, but the planners will have their hands full containing developers’ desires to maximise density with large numbers of apartments.
The traffic consultants will have their hands full on this one: the junction of Nth Mossley Hill Rd and Rose Lane is already murder and traffic turning right out of the site on to Elmswood Road may as well book in slots. I predict a planning punch-up…
By Sceptical
Meanwhile Manchester University goes from strength to strength. Sigh.
By Michael McDonut
I don’t think its a matter of going from strength to strength – University of Liverpool is doing very well. Its just that it is a commercial organisation – a developer and makes money at all costs. I understand that UoL sold a large playing field to Tesco (Mather Ave) that was donated by a student’s parents after he passed away. There were no restrictions to UoL selling – as I imagine there isn’t on Carnatic? Many universities especially have massive art collections and land. People were paying to have meeting rooms named after them. Selling the family silver – and the families who donated land and artefacts never intended this to happen.
By Mr Dawson
Yes there will be some tat put on there most likely Redrow – or Elan homes
By Anon
It’s a worry as to the volume of building that could take place on this site. The small Elan scheme facing causes disruption already, but nothing to the the scale of what Carnatic could bring. The roads around the site were built for smaller Victorian and 1920’s developments. They could not take a massive increase caused by hundreds of homes being built on this site.
By Mark Gilbertson
Does anyone know who’s acquired the plot and when building works will commence?
By Mr Smith
Looks like Bellway
By Will