A former Knowsley fire station could become retirement flats under new plans.
A planning application was submitted to Knowsley Council by developer McCarthy Stone to convert the site on Huyton Lane, which used to be home to an ambulance and fire station, into 53 retirement flats.
According to documents submitted as part of the application, the flats would be “low maintenance private apartments” catering to the “middle market.” Plans involve the construction of a four-storey L-shaped building at the site, housing a combination of one and two-bedroom apartments, and would include 22 parking spaces and an outdoor communal area.
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The developer said the original plans for a three-storey building had been changed to four storeys following pre-application consultation with Knowsley Council planning officers.
The building’s design includes a red and grey brick exterior, with Juliette balconies fitted to all upper-floor living rooms. The majority – 37 – of the units are proposed to be one-bedroom, with 16 to be two-bedroomed self-contained flats. Both internal and external communal areas are also included in the plans.
The applicant claimed this is an “under-supplied sector of the market” with “considerable need” and is targeted at people who currently own homes in the average price range.
The applicant states that the viability of the scheme is only “marginal” and as a result, there is “no financial headroom available for statutory planning obligations” or modifications to the design.
In an affordable housing statement submitted as part of the application, it is claimed the scheme should therefore contain no affordable housing elements and proceed as “private only” market-rate housing or risk not being financially viable for the developer to proceed.
The plans can be viewed online and are currently open for comments before planning officers decide the next steps.
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