A car sales and scooter centre that has stood in North Liverpool for decades is to make way for new homes.
Fazakerley Garage on Longmoor Lane, which is also home to the Scooter Centre, is to be demolished in favour of 31 new properties after securing planning permission from Liverpool Council. A meeting of the local authority’s planning committee was told that 13 one bed flats, 13 two bed flats and five three-bed townhouses are to be constructed on the site that has operated for around 60 years.
Agents on behalf of applicant Brack Group told councillors that the scheme was first mooted back in 2018 but “couldn’t stack up”. It was said that the owner of the site was looking to retire and as the covid-19 pandemic took hold, the prospects of a sale began to diminish.
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On this occasion, Torus and Homes England, who will manage the scheme “found some money down the back of the sofa,” agents claimed, and the application was in a position to go-ahead. The flats will be arranged within a V shaped block facing onto Longmoor Lane at the front and the railway cutting to the rear and would be three storeys in height with undercroft car parking.
The five townhouses would be located to the side of the rear section of the apartment block to the west of the site in a three-storey terraced block. The meeting was told the project would provide “100% affordable” housing on a “very rapid delivery” schedule.
Councillors also gave the go-ahead for a £10m investment into the Baltic Market area of the city, to rework land bounded by Jamaica Street, Greenland Street and New Bird Street to build a single block upto seven storeys high. The existing building on site will be knocked down to make way for a car park of more than 200 spaces, 2,000sqm of creative office space and installation of a bar and/or hot food takeaway.
The site is currently occupied by Childwall Table and Chair Hire within a relatively modern 1-1.5 storey industrial building with pitched roof, constructed in brick and steel cladding. Cllr Tom Cardwell said where the scheme would be located looks “really good” while chair Cllr Tony Concepcion added it was a “welcome investment in the Baltic triangle and addresses the issue of on-street parking.” Fergal McEvoy, team leader for the city centre, said the project had been deemed an “appropriate use” for the location.
Despite concerns raised about anti-social behaviour, councillors paved the way for a 10-bed house of multiple occupancy on Scotland Road. Cllr Jane Corbett addressed issues around disruption near to the former Eagle Vaults pub that is spreading into the community, causing it to go “downhill rather than uphill.”
Graham Trewhella, on behalf of project architect Cass Associates, said the scheme would be consistent with the character of the area and provide necessary housing for an area of the city in need. Mr Trewhella said the building was currently not fit for single occupancy and as a result was ideal for this purpose.
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