Aintree Fire Station, a 100-year-old building in north Liverpool, has been put up for sale after the care company that bought it for housing said its plans had become unaffordable. The site on Longmoor Lane is now listed with a guide price of £750,000.
Best Care Liverpool Ltd had hoped to convert the former fire station into offices and housing. The building, constructed in 1926 and located in Fazakerley, was closed in May 2024 after Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) opened its new £40m super station on Long Lane.
Planning setbacks and sale decision
After a housing plan was rejected, the scheme was resubmitted to focus solely on new offices, which Liverpool Council accepted in October last year. Director Nora Darwin told the ECHO last month she wanted to sell up as “we now have a property that we cannot afford to develop.”
The property currently stands vacant after Best Care Liverpool’s plans stalled. Jason Foley-Doherty, strategic partnership director at Rutter Green, who are overseeing the sale, said: “The former Aintree Fire Station is one of the most distinctive and unique commercial properties to come to market in the Liverpool area in recent years. Buildings with this level of heritage, visibility and character are exceptionally rare, particularly when they are offered with vacant possession and planning permission already in place for a commercial conversion.
“We expect significant interest from a range of buyers, including owner-occupiers, investors and developers looking to secure a truly unique asset.”
Background of the sale
Documents released by the MFRS authority policy and resources committee confirmed an offer of £650,000 was made by Best Care. Eddisons estate agents were appointed to market and sell the fire station, with the listing published in September 2023.
Around 170 parties expressed an interest in taking on the station when its closure was first announced. A total of 44 parties took part, leading to 11 bids. The highest offer was unconditional and made by Best Care Liverpool Ltd. According to its website, the firm is a “family owned company, originally established in September 2018 by qualified nurses” across the Liverpool City Region.
Company's disappointment
Speaking to the ECHO in August to explain the decision to sell, Mrs Darwin, 71, said: “We purchased the property with the intention of developing it into a worthwhile community and business project. Our plans included providing accommodation, offices and employment, as well as providing care services and creating jobs for local people.
“Unfortunately, our experience with the planning department has been so difficult, time-consuming and costly that we have now reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue with the project and are looking to sell the property.” The director added how the company was disappointed to not receive planning permission for its housing proposals given the shortage in the city.
She added: “Our experience, however, has left us feeling that the process became unnecessarily difficult and costly. The consequence is that we now have a property that we cannot afford to develop.
“We are trying to sell it, but we have been told that having planning permission only for offices, together with the attached conditions, could make the property considerably harder to sell. This has potentially cost our company a great deal of money.
“We also believe that the wider community has lost out. We wanted to create jobs, provide care services for local people and make productive use of a former fire station that is currently not delivering the benefits we originally intended.”
