YPG set to secure consent for Magistrates Court hotel
The developer’s proposals to convert the listed court and fire station on Dale Street into a four-star, 90-bedroom boutique hotel will go before Liverpool’s planning committee next week.
The five-storey grade two-listed building is set to be comprehensively overhauled to feature suites in the former magistrates’ and judges’ offices, as well as themed rooms in the former cells.
There will also be a public bar and restaurant fronting on to Dale Street, a residents’ gym, a landscaped courtyard garden, and a series of function rooms on the first floor taking in the former courtrooms. Possible uses include a wedding venue, a conference facility, a lecture theatre, and space for networking events.
The designs put forward by YPG, which is acting as architect and developer for the scheme, will see some of the one and two-storey outriggers demolished to free up space in the building, which is described as “exceedingly complex and dense” and “disorientating and awkward to navigate” in its present state.
A large glazed entrance and reception will run through to the central garden, using the former carriageway to the courtyard.
Liverpool City Council planning officers have recommended the project for approval at next week’s committee, praising the proposals as “an efficient re-use of an important listed building to provide complementary and sustainable use”.
“The development will meet a specific and identified demand for visitor accommodation and enhance the city centre leisure offer, contributing positively to vitality, viability and vibrancy of this locality and the city centre,” said the planners’ report.
Also on next week’s committee are plans by Great Places Housing Group to convert a listed building on Rodney Street into 34 student apartments
The existing building provides studio apartments for supported living for women in need; a planning application has been put forward by Great Places and the building’s prospective buyer, developer Mansford, for the conversion.
These proposals, too, have been recommended for approval, with planning officers stating: “The proposed use of the building for student accommodation will contribute to the development of Liverpool’s ‘knowledge sector’ by providing modern student accommodation in close proximity to both the main university sites and key facilities of Liverpool city centre.”
That’s another one I forgot about, all good for the visitor economy.
By Boom boom, book a room
Great news, a ground floor bar and restaurant will do very well and bring a nice vibe back to this end of Dale Street, particularly when the Churchill flyover is demolished.
By Liverpolitan
Where will the women in need go? Or do they have alternative place to go?
By Russell Bolton