Approval tipped for more than 500 Liverpool apartments

Plans to build a mixed-use residential development in Liverpool, which would comprise more than 500 apartments and would bring vacant railway arches back into use, look set for approval.Love Lane (Liverpool) Ltd is behind the scheme, which is planned for land at Love lane and Pall Mall, on the northern edge of the city centre.The site has been divided into four plots, and is expected to be built in a phased approach, starting with plot one.The residential element of the development includes 507-apartments across four blocks, ranging from seven storeys to 11 storeys.Of the homes, 147 will be one-bedroom, with 330-two bedroom and 30 three-bedroom.Apartments within plots one, two and three will be released for private sale or rent, while plot four will accommodate 145 affordable homes.As part of the project, a number of redundant and vacant buildings will be demolished, but the disused railway arches on the northmost plots will be retained and repurposed, primarily for commercial uses.Existing arches beneath the live railway viaduct will also be used as commercial floorspace.In total, the commercial element of the development will span 30,849 sq ft – 12,475 sq ft of which will be within the redeveloped railway arches.The application will go before Liverpool City Council’s Planning Committee on Tuesday 23 April with the recommendation for approval.A report which will be scrutinised by committee said that the scheme “maximises the redevelopment potential of the site, which is within a priority regeneration area of the city centre’s extension”.”The proposal would complement the residential development approved on the adjacent plots. The proposal would create a positive street frontage to a large section of Pall Mall and Love Lane and improve the pedestrian environment linking the city centre to areas further north. The application takes account of the sensitivities of neighbours in its layout and environmental considerations”, it added.