A historic former school building in West Derby which has been targeted by anti-social behaviour, is to be transformed into a series of new flats and houses.
Liverpool Council has signed off on proposals to convert the Grade II listed former Margaret Beavan School on Almonds Green into 11 apartments. The adjacent coach house will be extended and amended to become three dwellings while the remaining derelict science block on the site will be demolished to become 18 further properties - one down from initial plans submitted last year.
The former school, which closed for good in 2004, was named after Margaret Beavan, who became the first female Lord Mayor of Liverpool in 1927. She also stood to be a Member of Parliament in the general election two years later.
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The site has fallen into disrepair since Liverpool Council sanctioned that the building be closed 18 years ago. As a former special educational needs school, it was deemed surplus to requirements after pupils were integrated into mainstream education.
Conservationists claimed the Grade II listed building is an important example of Victorian architecture and should be preserved. Its historic features meant that it was used as a film set for one series of the popular CBBC show Young Dracula, after the school had been closed down.
Flames ripped through the building during a blaze at the site in May 2018. When the proposals were submitted in April 2022, the West Derby Society (WDS) praised the move, saying the development was “much-needed” at the site which has “blighted the West Derby Village conservation area.”
Representatives from applicant Hassett Homes told a meeting of Liverpool Council’s planning committee the plans were a “unique opportunity” for the site and no changes would be made externally to the existing school buildings. Cllr Lila Bennett said the school was an “absolutely beautiful building” and she would welcome a “sympathetic conversion” of the site which had been subject to anti-social behaviour.
A dozen representations have been made to the city council opposing the scheme, with concerns around trees, access and road use. Committee chair, Cllr Tony Concepcion, said the site was a “really historic building in West Derby that has been derelict for far too long.”
Members voted unanimously in favour to back the proposals.
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