Torus seeks planning tweak to let Liverpool commercial space
Six units totalling 7,700 sq ft remain unoccupied a year after the developer’s 195-home Hartley Docks scheme on Lightbody Street completed. Now, Torus has requested to make a change it hopes will secure some deals.
Torus has applied to Liverpool City Council for permission to amend the proposed opening hours of the commercial units to make the space more attractive to prospective tenants.
Under the current planning consent, the units must close at 6pm Monday to Friday, 5:30pm on Saturdays, and all day on Sundays and bank holidays.
This has put off several companies – including convenience stores, health and wellness operators, an escape room operator, cafés, and arts and crafts businesses – that have viewed the space, according to consultant Fisher German, which is advising Torus on planning matters.
A planning statement prepared by Fisher German states: “Feedback from viewings consistently mentioned the opening hours for the commercial units are too restrictive and therefore withdrew interest.”
As a result, Torus wants to extend opening hours so that units could operate until 11pm Monday to Saturday and open on Sundays and bank holidays until 9pm.
The original opening hours were stipulated so as to ensure that nearby occupiers are not adversely affected by the development. In this spirit, additional acoustic testing has taken place to better understand the impact of later opening times on residential amenity.
Fisher German’s planning statement says the findings of Nova Acoustics’ work “demonstrate that the proposed extension of opening hours can be accommodated without resulting in material harm to the residential amenity of Hartley Locks or surrounding occupiers”.
Typical Liverpool planning department, they are in a world of their own.
By Liverpolitis
Some of these locals need to get with the times, closing at 6pm or 5.30pm, and not opening on Sundays, such antiquated thinking . Imagine say a small Gym being forced to close at 6pm and not opening on a Sunday, or a restaurant too.
Once more a parochial type mindset in a big city.
By Anonymous
11pm seems awfully late for some types of commercial units to still be open.
Couldn’t the council specify different hours of opening for different propositions or is level of complexity beyond them!
By Anonymous
The planning department will be salivating over this one, a nice long drawn out issue to occupy the team, with lots of organised complaints from nimbys supported by local councillors. Then to-ing and fro-ing with the planning officers before some amended opening times are put before committee. Then committee will convene and defer the matter, after that a site visit will be arranged so the committee members can view for themselves what chaos and havoc opening a small business might or might not cause in this locality. Then it’s back to committee for a fudged outcome that would practically rule out a restaurant, bar, or local convenience store,being successful there.
Good luck on that one Torus.
By Anonymous
Do Liverpool planning department live in the 1950s?
By Anonymous
This should be rubber stamped in an afternoon
By Anonymous
This is a classic example from LCC of the incompetence and total detachment to the real world , its no surprise developers are avoiding our city its time for a clear out and fresh approach.
By Paul - Woolton
Embarrassing. Any other local authority would have attached a condition stating that prior to occupation of the commercial units, proposed operating hours would be submitted for approval in writing. That way a common sense approach could be taken depending on the suggested occupier. The lack of commercial acumen in LCC’s planning department is staggering. It’s hardly surprising though – what half-decent person from the private sector would ever dream of joining that circus.
By Anonymous
Nothing incompetent or detached from the real world. In fact probably a very sensible precautionary approach. Developers rarely give any thought to the physical relationship of commercial units to residential properties for example in terms of additional noise insulation, routing of fumes extraction flues etc. Restriciting hours of operation allows for such matters to be considered at a later date if necessary. Conditions are usually shared with developers before any permission issued so this will hardly come as a surprise to Torus.
Simple really. Well done Liverpool planners!
By Anonymous
Not too far away, along Love Lane, Chin-Zano is an Italian inspired restaurant run by Liverpool girl and BBC chef. She is open on Sundays and some nights till 11pm,hours more in keeping with modern Britain, she too is in a converted railway arch.
By Anonymous
Those original opening hours are ridiculous! What operator would ever be able to work around them. Liverpool is a city, not a rural hamlet!
11pm is no different to the vast majority of commercial businesses (restaurants, gyms, entertainment spaces) that would want to operate in these sort of spaces
By Anonymous
Anon,Aug 6th, 1.40pm…so why did the council insist on putting these restrictive opening hours in place anyway, it’s obvious that the local complainers and weak councillors had to be complied with. Here we have a very good looking development, bringing life to a dreary area with new residents and businesses, yet all they can think of doing is stifling progress in this location. Surely it’s obvious that any business or enterprise starting up would need planning permission and therefore opening hours would be considered then, however all these negative types can think of is imposing restrictions before any proposals have come forward, and as has been stated earlier eg what restaurant would be expected to close at 6pm and not open on a Sunday, just unbelievable.
By Anonymous