Soller eyes Liverpool start as planning clock winds down 

The London-based developer has asked to discharge several pre-commencement conditions pertaining to its 227-apartment scheme in Everton so it can get spades in the ground before the planning consent expires in May. 

Liverpool City Council granted Soller Group permission in 2017 to redevelop a 1.1-acre site on Great Homer Street into flats, but work has yet to start on site. 

Falconer Chester Hall is the architect for the project, which comprises a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments across a trio of three-storey blocks. 

Under Soller’s proposals, there will be 178 one-bedroom and 99 two-bedroom units, alongside roof terraces, a garden room and communal facilities.

Planning consent for the project is due to expire in May, after it was already extended as a result of Covid-19. The fast-approaching deadline has prompted the developer to adjust certain conditions to facilitate a start on site. 

For example, through its planning consultant Zerum, Soller has asked for permission to alter the wording around the details on the type of materials it proposes to use in construction, to allow it to start groundwork. This would delay the need to discharge such conditions until work above ground is ready to start.

Meanwhile in Manchester, Soller is refurbishing 137 Oxford Road, a former bank opposite All Saints Park. The developer has lodged plans to add a two-storey extension to the building, which will provide student apartments and a restaurant on the ground floor. 

That scheme was designed by 21st Architecture and the planning consultant is Avison Young.