PLANNING | Melwood homes approved but 109 apartments rejected

Proposals by YPG and Liverpool Football Club were granted consent at Liverpool City Council’s planning committee yesterday, but a 109-home scheme opposite Liverpool Women’s Hospital was rejected.

APPROVED

Melwood training ground

Developer: Liverpool FC

Planner: Turley

Homes: Up to 160

The outline planning application is for a full redevelopment of Liverpool FC’s training ground, which is due to become vacant following the club’s move to a purpose-built facility in Kirkby. The 12-acre site off Melwood Drive between Croxteth Park and West Derby Golf Club will be cleared of existing buildings to make way for a mix of homes and associated infrastructure.

Peter Moore, LFC’s chief executive officer, said: “The approval today by Liverpool City Council is another step forward on our journey to create world-class training facilities for our first team and academy players together on one site at Kirkby.

“Melwood has played a significant role in the club’s history and will always be engrained in our rich tapestry; however, the site is limited in terms of space and is unable to accommodate the club’s ambitions for a new combined training facility. This latest planning approval for the Melwood site is a key part of the wider project.”

Gildart Street

Developer: YPG

Architect: YPG Architectural

Storeys: Seven to 10

Apartments: 488 apartments

The development on a 1.4-acre site at 33 Gildart Street in Islington was also approved by council planning officers. The project includes three residential blocks ranging between seven and 10 storeys in height, with the largest block housing 236 apartments and a 7,400 sq ft ground floor retail unit, as well as a gym. The project was subject to a Section 106 agreement of £1.3m, which includes a £900,000 contribution to public realm improvements.

Hughes House

Developer: Town Square Developments

Architect: KDP Architects

Storeys: Six and eight

Apartments: 182 student flats

The student accommodation development on the site of Hughes House on London Road was given the green light, subject to a legal agreement. The developer plans to demolish the three-storey TJ Hughes store and replace it with a mixed six-and-eight storey building which will provide a mix of student apartments, including cluster apartments, studio flats, and one and two-bed apartments. It also includes 15,700 sq ft of retail, restaurant and café space at ground floor level.

REJECTED

Upper Parliament Street

Developer: FBM UK

Architect: WD Architects

Storeys: Five and six

Apartments: 109

The 109-apartment development by FBM UK, set up by the Flanagan family, on previously-developed land opposite the Liverpool Women’s Hospital was recommended for approval by planning officers before yesterday’s meeting. It includes 68 two-bed and 41-one bed apartments alongside 56 car parking spaces along the site’s eastern end. The project has been altered since its original planning submission, with the building moved closer towards Upper Parliament Street to reduce its visual impact and the overlooking of neighbouring properties.

However, the project was rejected, with objections from Cllrs Alan Dean and Tim Moore, who both argued the number of apartments was “inappropriate for the area”, that the scheme would be “overbearing and oppressive to existing occupiers”, and that it would remove a green buffer in the area.

The original planning application had also received four objections from neighbours.