A plan to bring student accommodation and new apartments to a former church site in L8 have been rejected.
During an often tense and heated Liverpool Council planning committee meeting, councillors refused to sign off on proposals for two six storey buildings comprising more than 180 student bedrooms and 105 apartments on Falkner Street. The move was loudly welcomed by campaigners from L8 Matters Community Land Trust and residents who made their voices heard outside the Town Hall with placards ahead of the committee meeting.
Council officer Fergal McEvoy told the chamber the site was in a purely residential area and as a result, the application had the support of officers. It was said the site occupies two buildings which would be demolished; a former probation centre built in the 1990s, and a former church built in the early 2000s, together with surface car parking.
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The probation centre’s services were transferred to another location while the church was closed in 2014 - 12 years after it opened. Planning approval had previously been secured at the site in December 2019 subject to a section 106 agreement being entered into.
The legal agreement was not completed and as a result of the time elapsed since the original application was lodged, it went before the committee for a second time. Cllr Lucille Harvey, speaking in opposition to the plans, said the location needed “good quality housing, not more student housing” and the removal of trees from the site did not match Liverpool Council’s declaration of a climate emergency.
It was also claimed there is a “saturation” of student accommodation in the area. Alastair Shepherd, planning agent on behalf of the applicant Falkner Street Developments, said the original scheme had been “well received at the time” and the site would be sold as the current owner had “no further interest” in it, subject to planning permission.
Objections also included a claim the area had been "gentrified" for the benefit of students and to the detriment of residents. Mr McEvoy said the location represented a brownfield site and officers were satisfied it was an appropriate location, given its proximity to the main campus of the University of Liverpool.
This was met with hostility by members of the public who shouted “shame on you” from across the chamber. As chair Cllr Tony Concepcion moved the recommendation be approved, residents called on him to “remember his roots”.
An amendment was put forward by councillors, calling for the rejection of the proposals, which was accepted after a vote and met with a standing ovation. One member of the public shouted “thank you councillors for supporting your communities.”
Speaking after the meeting, Sonia Bassey MBE, of L8 Matters CLT, said: “We are delighted with the decision. L8 Matters CLT represented community opinion today and there is strong opposition to more student accommodation in this area and further gentrification of our community.
“We expect more due diligence from the planning committee but appreciate the support of councillors who rejected the application.”
