Unanimous approval for 70 Liverpool flats

Duke Developments’ application to construct two apartment blocks on Kempston Street Car Park sailed through the city council’s planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

The project comprises one five-storey building and one seven-storey building, with a 4,750 sq ft shared courtyard in between. The ground floor of each block will have several commercial units, totalling 3,615 sq ft. Soaring upwards, there is a 10,000 sq ft roof garden in the works as well.

The 70 flats break down to 30 one-bedroom apartments and 40 two-bedroom ones. The plans have 14 set aside as affordable housing.

Studio RBA designed the 63,600 sq ft scheme for Duke Developments, an SPV for Liver Property and Merco Developments. Pegasus Group is the planning consultant.

Studio RBA architect director Adam Morgan said he was “thrilled” with the city council’s decision.

“This scheme shows what can be achieved when embracing the quality design standards of the new local plan, which demands a thoughtful and aspirational approach to development,” he said.

“The success of this project is down to close collaboration with the planning department and attention to detail from the whole design team. We look forward to seeing it start on site.”

Pegasus director of planning Darren Muir echoed Morgan’s words. “We had an excellent experience working with Liverpool City Council’s new Major Projects Team on this application,” he said.

“The unanimous resolution to approve planning permission was down to a well-designed scheme by the guys at Studio RBA, that was articulated clearly in planning terms by Pegasus Group,” Muir continued. “Demonstrating compliance with the local plan as a whole, rather than focussing on individual policies, was key. Our involvement also included working closely with the council’s ‘Liverpool in Work’ team to produce an exemplar employment and skills strategy – a new validation requirement for major projects in the city.

“The applicant now looks forward to Liverpool City Council completing on the sale of the land to allow the development to proceed,” Muir concluded.

In addition to Pegasus and Studio RBA, the project team includes Hepworth Acoustics, Highways Advice, and AWK Engineers.

Learn more about this application by searching reference number 23F/0666 on Liverpool City Council’s planning portal.

Also approved at the planning committee meeting was Veolia Environment Services’ controversial application to expand its hazardous waste processing plant in Garston. You can learn more about that application by searching application reference number 23F/0408.