Liverpool’s recent St Patrick’s Day parades have seen hundreds begin the procession from the former Irish Centre on Mount Pleasant, but for another year the doors to the striking building have remained shut.
The Wellington Rooms, situated on the corner of Great Orford Street and under the shadow of the Metropolitan Cathedral, was built in the early 1800s and was formerly operated as Liverpool Irish Centre from 1965 to 1997. It was once a place that staged dance events and operated as a function room, but closed down in the late 1990s and has not been in use since.
Since the closure, the Grade II* listed building has fallen into a significant state of disrepair, with the centre featuring as part of the ECHO’s Stop The Rot campaign. In 2018 urgent works were carried out on the neoclassical building in a bid to plug gaps in the roof and slow down the decay of the structure.
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According to Liverpool City Council, which owns the freehold to the building, plans were initially approved for the Wellington Rooms to become a function suite in 2002, however they never came to fruition. Planning applications for the former Irish Centre to become a hotel were subsequently submitted in 2006 and 2007 but both proposals were rejected because of the the impact of a three storey extension.
In 2017 it was reported that the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University had teamed up with Merseyside Building Preservation Trust and Liverpool City Council in a bid to develop a business and innovation hub. This partnership led to the emergency works being carried out on the building, with a consultation on its future use also carried out, but progress on a full refurbishment was not realised.
When urgent repairs were carried out in 2018 the ECHO was given a look inside the ageing structure which still bears many of its old fittings. Its grand dancehalls and stage areas are still standing but remain in a poor condition after decades of neglect.
While the Wellington Rooms is not the subject of any active development plans, the ECHO understands that Liverpool City Council is looking at all possible ways to progress a potential scheme. Liverpool Science Park, which neighbours the building within the Knowledge Quarter, also confirmed to the ECHO that it is “keen to see this special building brought back to life for an appropriate use that benefits all stakeholders and residents of the KQ Liverpool community.”
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