PLANNING | Liverpool approves three hotels

Three hotels with a combined 754 bedrooms have been granted planning approval by Liverpool City Council, including developments  from Elliot Group and Crossfield Exclusive.

All three were recommended for approval by planning officers, and were given the go-ahead by the city council on 19 November.

APPROVED

Aura (pictured above)

Bedrooms: 274

Developer: Elliot Group

Architect: Falconer Chester Hall

Planner: Zerum

Storeys: Three to nine

The hotel at the wider £100m Aura development replaces a previously-proposed residential block and will feature nearly 300 bedrooms. Targeted at a budget operator, the building tops out at nine storeys and sits on a plot bounded by Prescot Street and Low Hill.

The hotel is to include a bar, lounge, and restaurant along with a 1,350 sq ft commercial unit at ground floor level.

Elliot Group announced it would be bringing forward the hotel at the site in August, replacing a previously-proposed 142-apartment block at the £100m scheme, which also includes more than 1,000 flats for students and key workers.

“We know from the competition among operators to secure the hotel at Paddington Village that there is unmet demand for quality accommodation in the Knowledge Quarter,” said Elliot Lawless of Elliot Group.  “Our proposals will enable operators keen to service the area’s growing business, medical and academic sectors to secure a prominent site in the heart of the area.”

Norfolk Street

Bedrooms: 202

Developer: Crossfield Exclusive

Architect: Brock Carmichael

Storeys: Nine

The proposals by Crossfield Exclusive are for a vacant plot at Norfolk Street and will include a gym, bar, restaurant, and outdoor roof terrace.

The scheme is part of a wider phased development by Crossfield; the first phase of 129 apartments is currently being built. The hotel will sit on the former Liver Grease, Oil & Chemicals buildings, which will all be knocked down to make way for the scheme.

The site sits within Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage Site buffer zone, and the project is expected to have a development value of £20m.

Phil Malthouse, associate at Brock Carmichael said: “The design of the new hotel development will really complement the vibrant Baltic Triangle district. Historically the buildings in this area are of an industrial and warehouse nature from which our design proposal has taken a lead.

“The brick and metal design provides a visual link to the location’s heritage whilst providing the style and function of a four-star hotel.”

Gostins Building

Bedrooms: 278

Developer: Niboco

Architect: Studio RBA

Storeys: 12

The £30m scheme was been rejigged from an earlier planning application, which was put forward in 2018. The latest scheme by developer Niboco is for a four-star-plus offering, although an operator is yet to be secured.

There will be a four-storey rooftop extension while the lower eight floors will be converted into hotel use. A rooftop terrace is also proposed.