A fresh bid has been made to build a new city centre hotel despite concerns over its impact on a listed building.
Proposals have been submitted to Liverpool Council ’s planning committee seeking sign off for a new 274-room hotel building, up to nine storeys high, on land around Prescot Street and Low Hill. It is the second time the plans have been considered by councillors after a previous application was signed off in November 2019.
That plan was subject to conditions, including a legal agreement, which eventually was not signed. As a result and the time elapsed, the application has now been relisted for assessment by local authority decision makers.
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Applicants Equity Group Ltd and Elliot Group International have proposed the 274-bed venue, consisting of 254 standard rooms, 20 wheelchair accessible bedrooms, a bar and lounge, restaurant, secure cycle storage and refuse store. Main access points for pedestrians would be from Prescot Street, with a secondary entrance from Harper Street to the rear.
The proposed hotel building’s eastern elevation front onto Low Hill and Prescot Street would be nine storeys in height. However, scale would lower on part of its Prescot Street elevation, reducing down to six and then three storeys at the building’s western end, which would house a ground floor commercial unit.
Vehicle access hotel servicing and taxi drop-off would be provided from Harper Street to the rear, via Prospect Street and Manfred Street. While objections have been limited in scale, concerns have been raised regarding the impact on the grade II listed building opposite, currently home of Bridewell Studios.
The report issued as part of the application stated that the development will “have an overbearing impact upon the listed structure, having a harmful (less than substantial) impact upon its setting and subsequently its significance.” It added: “Although it is acknowledged that the applicant has tried to mitigate the impact of the development by stepping down the height of the proposal along Prescot Street to better respect the proportions of the listed building, this does not fully address the impact of the proposal, and how the applicant seeks to construct a building of substantially greater size and scale directly adjacent to the listed building.”
However, the document said it is “agreed that this proposal would provide the wider public benefits highlighted by the applicant, which are material considerations in the determination of this application. On balance then, the limited harm to the grade II listed Bridewell Studios is justified for these non-conservation reasons, given the wider public benefits.”
Council officers have recommended the hotel be approved subject to the applicants entering into a Section 106 agreement. The plans will be heard at Liverpool Town Hall next week.
