The revised plans to demolish the Copperas Hill Police Station and build a huge student accommodation instead look set to be approved. The vacant property – which has been dubbed a “wasteful economic resource” – was constructed in the 1970s and occupies a frontage along Copperas Hill and Moor Place.
An application to redevelop the site for a similar purpose – as well as two other such developments – has been approved but not implemented. The most recent is considered to be unviable, with Liverpool Edge Ltd having drawn together a scheme which it believes would work in its place.
Submitted in February, the plans consisted of a nine-storey building, of which eight would be presented to the Copperas Hill, Moor Place and Marquis Street frontages, and the top two storeys would be set-back from the frontage of the six storeys below.
The plans would comprise 34 cluster apartments providing 280 bed-spaces, revised from 35 and 294 respectively. Each would have a dedicated access door leading to a shared lounge and kitchen facilities.
Also put forward are plans for a public realm courtyard space, which would be centred on the area extending from Marquis Street.
A planning statement submitted to Liverpool City Council noted that there is a “clear demand for the student bedspaces within Liverpool”. It added that the proposed development would provide a “much-needed multimillion-pound investment into the city” and help create more than 100 construction jobs.
The application is now set to go before the authority’s planning committee on 17 September.
A report drawn up ahead of the meeting said: “It is considered that the proposed student residential use of the site is acceptable in this location and will not result in an undue loss of amenity for neighbouring occupiers.
“The proposed building will bring a vacant site back into beneficial use ensuring it contributes positively to the area. In addition, it is considered that the proposals are satisfactory from a traffic and highway safety viewpoint.”
Approval has been recommended.
