Wolstenholme Square £40m revamp approved

Liverpool City Council has granted planning consent to Elliot Group’s £40m redevelopment of Wolstenholme Square, with a start on site scheduled for March 2016.

Elliot Lawless’s development company Elliot Group submitted a planning application in June, seeking to demolish the existing low-rise 1950s warehouse buildings on the one-acre site and erect four new blocks of between three- and 10-storeys.

The proposals include 445 studio and one-bedroom apartments, alongside a new venue for club Cream and a performance space managed by collaborators from The Kazimier.

The project, designed by Liverpool architect Falconer Chester Hall, will also see the creation of a passageway through from Wolstenholme Square to Seel Street to improve the area’s permeability.

The plans also include ground floor commercial space for cafes, restaurants and shops.

Work is expected to start on the scheme in March 2016, with completion for phase one due in September 2017. Tender documents will now be prepared for the professional and construction team needed to deliver the project.

Lawless said: “The development will deliver a huge improvement to what is a tatty and unappealing corner of Ropewalks, animating the streets and bringing new businesses into the area. Liverpool council provided clear guidance throughout the process which helped us improve our proposals. They have a very investor-friendly approach which possibly explains why there are so many tower cranes on the skyline right now.

“We can now announce that we will be working with world-renowned sculptor Jorge Pardo to refurbish his popular Penelope installation in the square. We’ve also asked him to work with us on elements of our wider landscape design, much as Gaudi did in Barcelona’s Plaça Reial. He can bring something fresh and quirky to things like the street lamps and seating and I’m looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. Perhaps it’ll feature in a future Liverpool Biennial.”