The Caledonia, one of Liverpool's most celebrated pubs, could reopen as a public house after fresh plans were lodged with the city council. The venue has been boarded up since it ceased trading in March 2025.
Previous scheme failed
On 16 June 2025, Liverpool City Council granted INM & MC Properties Ltd planning permission for an extension and conversion of the building. That plan sought to provide a smaller commercial unit on the ground floor along with an 11-bedroom hotel on part of the ground floor and upper floors. It has not proved possible to secure an operator for those intended uses, leaving the premises vacant.
New proposal for the whole building
A new application from the same applicant now seeks to secure the whole premises. The applicant says this will see the building reinstated to productive use as soon as possible. The ground floor is intended to reopen as a public house through the day and evening. The existing residential apartment on the second floor would be refurbished and enlarged by the rear extension to create a four-bedroom apartment.
Building history
The building first appeared on the Ordnance Survey map of 1890. It is named after Caledonia Street, which in turn was named after The Caledonia, one of the first three ships commissioned by Cunard. The ships were launched in 1837 as Post Ships with accommodation, sailing between Liverpool, New York and Boston.
Closure announced in March 2025
Since the pub closed its doors in March 2025, its ground floor windows have been boarded up. Announcing the closure in an Instagram post, licensee Laura King said: "I have made the incredibly difficult decision to close The Caledonia permanently."
She said: "I have fought hard since the pandemic and particularly over the last 12 months to keep the venue going. Despite incredible support and help, and with a huge amount of work having begun to restructure and build great new connections and events, it has become clear that in the current economic climate this current challenge is just one too far for me to fight through."
She described her time running the pub. "I have been at the helm of The Caledonia for almost 15 years. I’ve watched the venue blossom into a true community hub for music and arts in Liverpool. I am privileged to know and am proud of all of you have been a part of that journey," she said.
She also celebrated the venue's role. "We have hosted 1000s of musicians from all over the world, watched talented locals grow and develop professional careers, been home to theatre groups, community groups and clubs, and seen people build friendships and meet future partners," she continued.
King added: "I am very proud of the thousands of hours of free access to music we’ve been able to provide for our community and the employment we were able to create for local Grassroots performers."
She ended her post with thanks: "I’d like to say thank you to all of you. To our customers, and staff over the years, the performers, everyone who used our space, bought a pint and all the people who have supported me. In the perfect words of one of our supporters, “The Caledonia is not just a pub."
She also highlighted the wider pressures on venues: "The cost-of-living crisis is crippling Community Venues, we are seeing compounding rising costs in utilities, stock, rent, rates and more all of which, and more, are set to rise again in April. That is coupled with a loss of customers because our community is struggling too. We are not the first to go and, without change, we won’t be the last."
