A protest is expected to be held in opposition to more student accommodation being built near Toxteth.
Proposals will be heard by Liverpool Council tomorrow for two six storey buildings on land occupied by a church and Liverpool Community Probation Centre on Falkner Street. More than 180 student bedrooms and 105 apartments would be installed if the plans are signed off by the local authority planning committee.
L8 Matters Community Land Trust have told the ECHO that they will seek to make their voices heard outside the Town Hall ahead of tomorrow’s decision making meeting of councillors. A spokesperson said they would be joined by local residents, including representatives from the community Pakistan Centre.
READ MORE: Live updates as murder investigation launched after stabbing in Everton
They added that there was “no need for more student accommodation in the local community”, no affordable housing option included and a lack of adequate parking facilities proposed as part of the application. A report submitted as part of the application detailed how a church and probation centre are to be demolished to make way for the new accommodation.
Planning approval had previously been secured at the site in December 2019 subject to a section 106 agreement being entered into. The legal agreement was not completed and as a result of the time elapsed since the original application was lodged, it must now go before the committee for a second time.
The former probation centre was built in the 1990s, with the church constructed in the early 2000s, together with surface car parking. The probation centre’s services were transferred to another location, while the church was closed in 2014 - 12 years after it opened.
The report detailed how two emails/ letters of objection to the proposal were received on the grounds of loss of privacy, daylight, noise, construction phase disturbance, traffic/parking demand, loss of trees, crime, rubbish and vermin, provision of student housing over residential. The applicant, Falkner Street Developments, is required to produce a student management strategy for the duration of the operation as a result of the potential “adverse impacts in respect of noise, disturbance and anti-social behaviour” according to the documentation.
The application has been recommended for approval by council officers, subject to a Section 106 agreement being entered into.
