£100m Hope Street regeneration plan at risk after listing row

Mar 12 2008 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A MAJOR £100m development, in Liverpool’s historic Hope Street, was dealt a blow yesterday after the city’s planning committee said it was minded to refuse a key element.

Maghull Developments was seeking permission for four applications in the street, but had angered councillors by “hacking off the front” of Josephine Butler House last week after campaigners had requested it be listed.

Maghull wants to demolish Josephine Butler House, at the junction of Myrtle Street, to provide 263 basement car parking spaces, a high-class mini market, restaurants, and office space.

The Josephine Butler House development is essential to the other three planning applications as it would provide car parking for them.

Those developments are a 65-bedroom boutique hotel in the grade II-listed Hahnemann Building, and a combined 54 apartments in 68 Hope Street and 2 Blackburne Place, which are also Grade II-listed. The committee resolved that it was minded to refuse permission for Josephine Butler House, defer decisions into the Hahnemann Building and 2 Blackburne Place, and approve the plans to convert 68 Hope Street into apartments.

Maghull Developments caused controversy when it started work to the facade of Josephine Butler House last week, which it claimed was “specialist restoration work”.

Heritage campaigners had requested it be listed.

Yesterday, the planning committee was told that English Heritage had established that the building was never of listable quality.

Committee member Cllr Anna Rothery said the developers should not be “rewarded for defacing our buildings and our heritage.”

She said developers needed to be “sent a message”.

The committee then voted that it was minded to refuse permission for the development on the site of Josephine Butler House on the grounds it would increase traffic and road safety problems, as well as impacting on residential amenity.

A further report will be brought to the committee before a final decision is made.

A variety of opponents spoke out against different elements of the applications at yesterday’s meeting. The main complaint was the quality of developments in an historic street and conversion of grade II-listed buildings.

Richard Gee, speaking for Maghull at the meeting, said it was estimated all four schemes would create a total of 350 jobs.

The company had undertaken two years of consultation.

davidbartlett