A derelict building near Hamilton Square could soon be brought back to life after plans were submitted to Wirral Council. The former Rocky's gym on Argyle Street, Birkenhead, will become a large house in multiple occupation (HMO) if plans are approved.
A planning application has been submitted to Wirral Council for the four-storey building to be converted into a large, 24-bed HMO. Sixty-three Argyle Street, which sits on the corner of Hinson Street, is visibly run-down with many of its windows missing and graffiti on its walls.
According to plans, the proposed conversion would 'seek to enhance the building’s appearance,' while creating new homes. Part of the building's enhancement would include replacing the 'badly corroded steel windows' with new aluminium ones which, the plans explain, would be consistent with the mid 20th century style of the building itself.
The site sits beside a large car park, part of which consists of the site of the former Savoy cinema and Rileys snooker hall.
The plans stress that the target market of the development 'needs to be taken into account.' It is said: 'The rooms will be marketed to young professionals who are developing their careers and have not yet put down roots.
'It is very common for young professionals to spend no more than five years in one place before moving on to another area to develop their career. All they need when moving around like this is a place to rest their head, a good range of services nearby and a very fast broadband connection. It is to be hoped that the regeneration of Birkenhead will attract a large number of such young professionals who will need this sort of accommodation.'
The submission of this application follows a similar set of proposals for the site. A previous application for a HMO on the site was refused at appeal after the council did not decide upon the fate of the proposals within the prescribed time period. Although the planning inspector, who dealt with the appeal, claimed: 'The council would have refused planning permission, had it made a decision on the proposal.'
The inspector found a number of the proposed HMO rooms would result in poor living conditions for occupants. The inspector raised concerns over the views that a number of the rooms on the first and second floors - which face a void - and all the rooms on the ground floor would have.
Documents submitted within the new application say the concerns regarding the first and second floors have been addressed. However, the ground floor concerns 'would be very much more difficult to address.'
