Over-55s proposal in line for approval

Plans for 33 pre-retirement apartments at the junction of Menlove Avenue and Vale Road in Woolton are to go before Liverpool’s planning committee next week.

The proposal is for a prominent car sales and car wash site that sits in the V of the junction between Vale Road and the dual carriageway, within the Woolton Village conservation area.

On the opposite side of the road is the Derby Arms pub, with Woolton Manor close by.

The proposal comes from Park Lea Developments, with housing group Plus Dane also named on the application form.

Planner Cass Associates and architect Halsall Lloyd Partnership lead the professional team.

All structures will be removed from the site with the exception of the lodge building, a white two-storey structure along Vale Road, which is to be retained and will house two apartments. The mature lime tree next to the lodge will also remain.

The main part of the development is a part three- and part four-storey building that will include a further 31 apartments. The scheme will include apartments of one to three bedrooms, with 10% of them being wheelchair-accessible.

Concersn have ben raised by three ward councillors that, although they each acknowledge the brownfield nature of the site and would like to see it developed, they believe the scale of the proposals to be too large, adding that they see a rise in on-street parking as an issue. The scheme has just 15 off-street car parking spaces.

A petition of 41 residents from nearby Reynolds Court has also been submitted, along with 12 individual letters of objection.

Of the council’s internal consultees, the urban deign specialist believes the scale is acceptable, while the conservation specialist also raises no objection. Officers conclude that the proposal represents sustaiable development, with good public transport links.