Plans to build apartments on one of Liverpool’s most ‘historic’ docklands are set to learn their fate in May when they go before an inquiry.
In January, Liverpool city council’s planning committee unanimously rejected Romal Capital’s proposals to build 330 homes at Waterloo Dock on the edge of the city centre. The plans for the major development within Liverpool waters were recommended for refusal by the council’s planning officers.
The development would have spread across three blocks of between four and nine storeys and would also require the partial infill of West Waterloo Dock as well as the creation of a floating timber jetty and dockside walkway. In the planning report, officers said the plans were recommended for refusal on the grounds that:
READ MORE: Developer 'disturbed' by plan to refuse 330 flats at dock
- Harm and adverse impact would be caused by infilling West Waterloo Dock
- The plans would impact on land earmarked for a public square in the Liverpool Waters development nearby
- That the development contains a greater proportion of one bedroom apartments and would therefore “fail to satisfy the City’s aim of providing a broader housing offer to encourage a more diverse residential population in the city centre.”
Romal Capital CEO, Greg Malouf reacted with disappointment to the recommendation for the plans which would follow the developer’s other projects at Quay Central and Park Central. Commenting in January, he said: “We are particularly disturbed given the three years of intense engagement with Liverpool City Council regarding this development, the significant adjustments we have made to our proposals, and the subsequent assurances we have been given during this long and very costly process.”
Following the rejection by the planning committee, an appeal was lodged to the planning inspectorate. The inquiry centring on the Waterloo Dock plans will begin on May 10 and could see the decision changed.
The initial decision in January was a significant victory for Save Waterloo Dock campaigners. The group, predominantly made of up of residents living in the nearby Waterloo Warehouse which would overlook the new development, claim the “historic” significance of the dock needs to be protected.
Waterloo Dock was designed by celebrated engineer Jesse Hartley. Speaking at the committee in January, one of the group’s members, Paul Burnell, said the development had “cast a shadow” over Waterloo Dock and its current residents for the last three years.
The plans submitted by Romal Capital have been subsequently downsized after an earlier application sought to build over 600 apartments on the same site. Commenting in January, Greg Malouf added: “We believe in this city, and despite this set back, will continue to invest and support Liverpool’s growth.
“We firmly believe Liverpool rightly deserves to sit alongside the UK’s other great cities, and that this is only possible with the right investment and belief in it."
Romal Capital appealed the decision on the basis of non determination which triggered the inquiry decided on by the Planning Inspectorate. The inquiry is set to begin on May 10.
A spokesperson for Romal Capital and Liverpool Waters said neither party will be commenting before a decision is reached.
