Liverpool is a city that is always growing and changing.
The city council is continually deciding on whether or not to allow new projects and developments to be created. The larger, most controversial or most complex applications come before the council's elected planning committee.
On Tuesday the committee will meet again. They will rule over a number of high profile plans and decide how the city will be shaped in certain areas. Here we take a close look at the major plans set to come before the committee for a decision this week.
READ MORE: Sainsbury's vs Lidl as supermarkets clash over new Everton site
Hundreds of new homes
The biggest plan that will come before the committee on Tuesday is from housing association Regenda. Regenda has submitted plans to create a major new housing complex on the site of the Grove Street Estate in the Toxteth area, close to Liverpool Women's Hospital and the parts of the University of Liverpool campus.
The Grove Street Estate is a purpose built estate of mainly socially rented properties, owned by Liverpool Council, but leased to The Regenda Group. Under its new plans, Regenda intends to demolish the existing homes on the estate and build six new buildings, ranging from three to nine storeys that will contain 304 new residential units. There are also plans for 368sq m of 'flexible commercial space' as well as parking and landscaping. Planning officers are recommending that the plans are approved by the committee.
Sainsbury's vs Lidl
Another plan up for debate at Tuesday's planning committee meeting involves something of a battle between two supermarket chains. A plan has been lodged for a new Lidl supermarket and drive through coffee shop in Everton to the objection of Sainsbury's.
An application has been submitted to build a new Lidl, and a Tim Horton’s coffee shop, on land around Great Homer Street, Skirving Street and Jennifer Avenue. A 1,400sqm retail store would be constructed on the plot, with 113 car parking spaces, including electric vehicle, accessible and parent and child spaces.
The Tim Horton’s cafe will be situated on the north west corner of the site, with an ancillary drive through and 24 car parking spaces. However the plans have been opposed by Sainsbury’s, which has a store nearby as well as Derwent Group, operators of the Liverpool Shopping Park on Edge Lane Drive.
A document presented to Liverpool Council ’s planning committee said Sainsbury’s have “serious concerns” that a new Lidl would impact its own store, would be “in direct competition” with it and would be “drawing significant and essential trade/turnover from it.”
Despite objections, council officers have recommended the application be approved, subject to Lidl entering into a legal agreement. The report by officers said that “it has been proven and accepted that there are no sequentially preferable sites within centres to accommodate the proposal, and that the retail impact is not considered significantly adverse.”
Prisoner workshop
The committee will also run the rule over plans for a new workshop that could be built on the site of a Liverpool prison to aid the rehabilitation of inmates. An application has been lodged with Liverpool Council ’s planning committee on behalf of the Ministry of Justice for a new building to be constructed on the site of HMP Liverpool - known locally as Walton Prison. The development will be used f or “vocational and educational work streams to help promote prisoner rehabilitation.”
The proposal would be for a 30m x 54m building to be put on the Hornby Road site to comprise four small workshop rooms with separate plant rooms and storage. Each internal workshop would have main access with external security gates and service doors will be located to the rear for vehicle access and goods delivery.
No objections have been lodged in relation to the application, which will go before the local authority committee next Tuesday. According to a document submitted to Liverpool Council ahead of the meeting, the proposed workshop would be at least 30m from dwellings on Lynwood Gardens and 70m away from properties on Broomfield Gardens to the north of the site.
33 city centre apartments
Another major application up for discussion on Tuesday concerns the creation of 33 new city centre apartments. Applicant Prosperity Castle Street Development Ltd wants to change the use of vacant office space in the trendy Castle Street area and crate a new aparthotel, with 33 serviced apartments.
The plans were first brought to the committee in 2019 and were given permission, but there have been ongoing discussion about legal agreements and other matters, which means the permission has lapsed and needs to be reconsidered.
The building, at 19 Castle Street, comprises a basement, four upper floors and two retail units to the ground floor at either side of the central entrance door in Castle Street. The ground floor retail units and the basement do not form part of the site. The building has been vacant since2016 with its established use as offices.
