A planning application has been submitted to Liverpool City Council for a 327-bed student accommodation complex on a car park site next to the Liverpool Olympia, one of the city's most historic music venues. The proposal, filed on behalf of real estate firm Grantham WDR Ltd (GWL), includes a five-to-nine storey building with a ground floor commercial unit on West Derby Road, on the outskirts of the city centre.
Development details and consultation
Documents uploaded to the council's planning portal confirm the pre-application process began in 2020, with a consultation held earlier this year. Initial plans explored a building of up to 15 storeys, but the current proposal has been scaled down to a maximum of nine storeys.
Feedback from the consultation, according to the developer's community engagement report, focused on the size and scale of the development and "associated impacts on the setting of the adjacent listed buildings." The site is currently designated as a car park and was formerly used by visitors to a nearby casino.
Design and heritage considerations
In its affordable housing statement, GWL proposes 118 bedspaces and 209 studios. The document details potential financial contributions required by the council, equating to £224,000 in s.106 contributions and £179,200 for trees.
The planning statement, submitted by the developer's planning agent The Planning Studio, said: "The designer's brief, working with the client and [planning agent] is to balance the competing design influences, the heritage/visual impact and create a modern high quality piece of architecture that will stand in its own shadow as a building of high quality within this part of the West Derby Road corridor."
The statement added: "The design team have been most diligent to avoid any conflicts with the setting of the nearby listed buildings and to present a massing and scale that sits comfortably when viewed across the near vicinity and importantly when approaching West Derby Road as one comes from the City Centre via Islington."
Context and demand
The listed building reference relates to the Liverpool Olympia, also known as The Locarno Ballroom, a premier dance hall from 1948 to 1964. The property later became a bingo hall before being restored as a live events venue. Designed by Frank Matcham, the building included a purpose-built indoor circus and variety theatre, an "elephant pit" for animals, and a massive water tank. It achieved listed status in 1975 and celebrated its 120th birthday last year.
This is not the only student accommodation plan in the area. Just over six months ago, a planning application was reported for St Anne Street, less than a mile from West Derby Road, proposing more than 100 new studio apartments opposite the new Merseyside Police HQ. Liverpool is forecast to have thousands of extra students by 2031, with analysis published earlier this year ranking the city as the most-in-demand location for student housing.
