TJ Morris swaps hotel for resi on Liverpool’s Duke Street

Having acquired numbers 118 to 126 on the Ropewalks road last year, the discount retailer’s property vehicle is progressing plans for an 83-apartment scheme that features both refurbished and new-build elements. 

Davos Property Developments, which is owned by billionaire TJ Morris founder Thomas Morris and the firm’s head of property David Little, has submitted plans to revamp a chunk of Duke Street into apartments in response to city centre demand. 

The site already benefits from planning consent for a 185-bedroom hotel. Plans for this scheme were put forward by the site’s former owner Henry Space Development.   

However, TJ Morris is proposing a shift to residential to meet the growing demand for apartments in the city centre, according to a planning statement prepared by Turley. 

As part of the scheme, a row of Georgian townhouses will be restored, while a vacant plot on the corner of Duke Street and Kent Street will be the location of the L-shaped new-build element. 

This part of the scheme, reaching seven storeys at its tallest point, would front Henry Street, which runs parallel to Duke Street. 

Falconer Chester Hall is leading on the scheme’s design and Turley is the planning consultant. 

To learn more, search for application reference number 23F/2220 on Liverpool City Council’s planning portal. 

The site has been the subject of redevelopment proposals on and off since 2016. Prior to Henry Space’s hotel plans, approved in 2018, the developer also won consent for a 151-apartment residential scheme on the plot.