Changes to a planning application in Liverpool City Centre could increase the number of student beds built at a major development.
Amendments to a major project on Norton Street, Islington, will be considered by Liverpool Council ’s planning committee next week that could lead to 574 student beds being provided on the site of a former coach station. Planning permission was granted in August 2017 for the construction of two student accommodation blocks of 10 and 16 storeys providing 566 student bed spaces.
Changes are now being made to the existing proposals that would increase the number of beds to 574. The 35,000 sqft site was used as a National Express coach station before it was vacated in 2015 and the buildings on it were demolished.
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It is now occupied by the largely built out frames for two student residence blocks of the approved scheme with changes to be made including reduction of the footprint of both blocks and changing two cluster corridor into one.
As a result, there will be a change to the layout of some of the units and the scheme now comprises 127 units, providing a total of 574 bed spaces - including 51 studios and 493 bedrooms with en-suites in clusters of 10 or 12. A total of 30 units will be wheelchair accessible.
Alongside the hundreds of student bedrooms, the site will comprise ground floor communal facilities, including a gym, dining area, games room, laundry and office/reception area. Currently, a 12m x 3m digital commercial advertisement screen is situated within the site, with part of the dis-used Waterloo tunnel lying underneath which requires a 2.5m exclusion zone on both sides.
A Grade II listed vent shaft associated with the tunnel lies to the south of the site. A report to go before councillors said: “It is considered that the proposed development, as revised, will continue to support the regeneration of this prominent vacant site in a highly accessible location, benefiting the local economy, providing enhanced employment prospects and assisting in the regeneration of the area.
“The new buildings are of an appropriate scale, height and massing and will cause no harm to nearby heritage assets or other adjoining buildings. The proposed parking, servicing and access arrangements will enable access for all, whilst protecting highway and pedestrian safety.”
The report added the wider local area is characterised by “low density warehousing, wholesale retail, vacant buildings, surface car parking and underutilised sites. The quality of the surrounding environment is generally poor.”
As a result, the area is seen as an “ideal location for expansion as a mixed use quarter providing residential and leisure uses which will complement the adjoining Knowledge Quarter.” Councillors are expected to sign off on the plans when they meet at Liverpool Town Hall next week.
