A proposed redevelopment of land formerly home to a Liverpool community centre has caused anger in the community.
Plans have been submitted to build 39 houses and a four-storey apartment building comprising 29 flats at the former Elaine Norris centre on Vauxhall Road. A proposal was put to Liverpool Council for 75 new homes to be constructed in March last year before being withdrawn by applicant Kersh Worral Commercial.
On this occasion, the firm is hoping to get permission for 26 one-bed units alongside three two-bed flats with associated parking and 39 houses, comprising two two-bedroom, 36 three-bedroom and one four-bedroom home. The plans have been met with short shrift by the Eldonian Residents Association.
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Maureen Price, chair of the group, said she would be calling a public meeting ahead of Tuesday’s Liverpool Council planning committee and would be in the Town Hall to witness proceedings. She said: “We’ll be attending with as many residents as possible.
“It’s not for the benefit of the community, it’s got nothing to do with the Eldonians. The land wasn’t of use to the community and wasn’t a community asset, if it was being given back to the community, we wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
Ms Price added that the decision to apply for private housing on the site represented a continued change in how the community was being treated. She said: “We live in a deprived area here, these are going to be private accommodation.
“People aren’t happy, we’ve been stripped of community assets.” Situated near to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and bounded by a bowling green connected to the vacant former leisure centre, a report to members of the Liverpool Council planning committee said the formal recreational function of the green space is not open to the public and is within private ownership along with the rest of the site.
It said there are no outstanding features of landscape value associated with the site or significant areas of trees or landscaping to add visual value to the vacant land. The location is generally flat across its Vauxhall Road frontage but with a substantial level difference as the site drops down to the towpath adjacent to the canal.
Officers said currently, the key frontage to Vauxhall Road is “unwelcoming and not appealing,” while the redevelopment of the site ensures the effective re-use of previously developed land. The former leisure centre is currently in a poor state and there have been previous attempts to develop the site.
Recommending the plans for approval, council chiefs said building on the former leisure centre would “contribute to create an attractive environment that would support the regeneration of the city while improving the quality of the environment for the local community.” Approval, should it be granted by the planning committee when it meets next week, would be subject to a number of conditions.
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