Packaged Living’s twin-tower Liverpool resi set to progress
Three years after acquiring land on Leeds Street and almost two since lodging plans for 19- and 25-storey buildings, the developer and funding partner Affinius Capital will find out next week if their scheme can progress.
Liverpool City Council’s planning committee will consider Packaged Living’s proposal next Tuesday. Officers have recommended the project, which features 434 private rented apartments, for approval.
Resident amenities within the development would include lounges, co-working areas, a gym and entertaining spaces. The scheme would strive for best-in-class energy efficiency, according to the developer.
The site, located at the junction of Old Hall Street and Leeds Street, has long been earmarked for development and was most famously the subject of proposals for a much taller and denser scheme known as Ovatus.
- BOOK NOW: Liverpool City Region Development Update 2025 on 11 Nov
That development, designed by Hodder + Partners, was the brainchild of Prospect Capital and featured 27- and 48-storey buildings.
The taller of the two buildings would have been Liverpool’s tallest but plans were never formally submitted for this element of the project.
Packaged and Affinius acquired the site in summer 2022 and, together with a fresh project team led by architect Falconer Chester Hall, submitted plans for a significantly scaled back project.
In the 23 months since Packaged and Affinius tabled their proposals with Liverpool City Council, work has been ongoing to refine the design and get the project ready for determination by the committee.
Improvements made as a consequence of public feedback include:
- Increased active frontage at ground floor through increased glazing to elevations, improving natural surveillance within the area as a result
- Upgrade to existing city cycle route through the introduction of a designated cycle and pedestrian route to the north of the site
- Further articulation to elevation treatment through high-quality material application
- Enhanced planting and lighting strategy to public realm
Edwina Coward, development manager at Packaged Living, said: “The scheme introduces a landmark development at this prominent northern gateway site and introduces much-needed homes within walking distance from the waterfront and the city centre.
“The public consultation response was overwhelmingly in favour and we made a number of changes in light of people’s constructive suggestions. It’s a better scheme as a result”.
Adam Hall, co-founder of architect Falconer Chester Hall said the development’s materials take their inspiration from the predominant use of white Portland stone across the business district.
“This is a confident piece of modern design and it shows respect to Liverpool’s commercial heritage through its use of white stone, which we see all around Old Hall Street and the other key routes in the city’s business district.”
Re-Form is the landscape architect and Turley is advising Packaged and Affinius on planning.
To learn more about plans for Old Hall Place, scheme, search for reference number 23F/3073 on Liverpool City Council’s planning portal.
Once again the wheeltappers,bottle washers and chimney sweeps have delayed a great investment in the future of Liverpool City Centre. However those local Liverpool Councillors can invest hundreds of thousands of pounds inlaying out cycle lanes.
This area in my 1950’s childhood was a bombsiite. It deserves the proposed development . For over two hundred years the area was known as Maiden Green, perhaps this title could be adopted once again. The site of where the local gentry and merchant enjoyed this weekend leisure overlooking the River Mersey….
By Anonymous
Great to see this going ahead, the views of the Mersey will be amazing! This area is going to be transformed in the next few years with king Edward site talks to come.
By Sue Denim
This area was zoned for much taller buildings and the plan for lower levels of development are disappointing considering the proposed project for the King Edward site across the road.
It is rumoured that LCC wanted them to build higher, thus providing more homes on the site.
Maybe they should have built one taller block and sold the other site to someone who could build high too?
By Liverpool4Progess
Taken 3 years to come to committee, don’t think I’ve ever known the Liverpool Planners be happy with any sizeable application. Of course let’s not get too excited because even if this gets accepted it will still have to be scrutinised by the Building Safety people and this will take many months. It’s good however that we have some progress here so maybe soon we’ll hear something about the Carpenter scheme at King’s Dock, or the student scheme at Mulberry St, both of which have planning permission but seem to have got lost on the road to commencement on site.
By Anonymous
I really hope that this development is given the go ahead as it should really kick start work on the gateway to the city that is Leeds Street. All we need then is for all the issues around the Infinity Towers site to be resolved so that work can begin on that site and then the city and the waterfront will have a great gateway which will hopefully be ‘book ended’ by the Davos/Beetham KEIE towers site. We can but live in hope that we get the great gateway that our amazing waterfront and city deserves.
By Brendan R
God help Liverpool, its takes years and years for anything to progress .
By Anonymous
Every member of Liverpool City Council’s planning committee should be knighted for services to Manchester.
By Jack
How can it take so long for a relatively basic application? The design looks interesting, but need each tower should have at least another ten storeys on it. The Ovatus designs were amazing.
By GetItBuilt!
Delighted to see this moving forward and local talent such as FC involved its great and positive. Hugely frustrated with the delay and usual suspects LCC . The obsession with forcing cycle lanes is a concern , look at the dock road near Bramley Moore Stadium they are completely empty. Trams should be the priority like in every other major UK city except us !
By Paul - Woolton
Ignore what Manchester do architecturally …fair coat and all that. That riverfront is world class as are the multitude of grade 1 and 2 listed buildings.
By Anonymous
A good looking scheme. All credit to Packaged Living and Affinius for sticking with it. Once again Liverpool council proving sub-optimal in their performance. Do they not care about the city’s economy? Or their own rates receipts?
By Anonymous
Why does planning take so long in Liverpool can sometimes explain, developers end up going to Manchester just get on with it
By Larry
As long as the “usual suspects” are as far away from it as possible this has got to be fantastic news for the city if approved
By Sam B
Everyone is quick to point at LCC in relation to delays. None of you know the quality of the submission or the response to changes from the developers. Just hope this gets built sooner rather than later as this corner is looking a mess. It’s a shame Legacie didn’t get the Elliott development as it would be built by now. The investors who have the site seem to be sitting on it to the detriment of Liverpool! Get your fingers out!!
By Anonymous
We waited years for this redevelopment, and this is the result, another bland, uninspired design.
In fifty years’ time, it will likely be viewed the same way we now see the watered-down brutalist blocks that still scar our cities from decades past.
It’s disheartening that architecture today so rarely aspires to inspire.
By Anonymous
Not a bad looking building, certainly better than earlier iterations. It’s how it lands that counts though.
Interesting that the client chose not to go higher, which potentially bodes well that it gets built but highlights that the market in Liverpool isn’t the same as Manchester.
Perhaps the delays weren’t entirely down to the planners this time though – regulations around fire have moved on drastically in the last couple of years, so I’d image this scheme required a major redesign at some stage.
By Mike
Modern architects are dullest least capable artistic professionals of any on earth.. one slab concrete one pane glass offset and pat yourself on the back.. dull, anywhere design .. why can’t they be inspired by a city with such vistas and history.. boring
By Anonymous
How has it taken this long?
By Dr Ian Buildings
This scheme is a good height for the location and in relation tto the cluster of tall buildings around it. The new choice of materials I. E. White tto mirror the portland stone of older large buildings I the cbd is also good. Tthos will provide a bit of variety in the skyline and not repeat the boring grre/grey checkerboard pattern. Yes it’s taken a stupid amount of time at 3 years, alongside the lack of progress from the previous scheme, but it seems like it’s now happening so stop moaning those who are. As pointed out, how do you know it’s the planners at fault for the delay? Interesting looking scheme, right height, god materials, great addition.
By Anonymous