ITS futuristic design has not won universal favour, either in Liverpool or wider afield. Since its opening by the Duke of Westminster in a blaze of publicity last December, the critics of One Park West have had a field day, crowned by its recent nomination for a “Carbuncle Cup” in a competition to find the country’s worst new building.
But now residents of the landmark residential complex, in the heart of Liverpool One, have begun their own fightback.
They say that, apart from its outstanding views, the Cesar Pelli-designed building forms a wonderful backdrop to the new five-acre Chavasse Park.
A Facebook group has also been set up by a PR firm for people to show their support of One Park West, culminating in a “group hug” of the building next week.
The 17-storey development comprises 326 studio, one, two and three bedroomed apartments.
Author and journalist Paul Du Noyer, whose book Liverpool – Wondrous Place: From the Cavern to the Capital of Culture, is regarded as the definitive guide to the city’s music scene, rents a one-bedroom flat in the development.
He said: “I’m no fan of several of the new buildings in town, but the Liverpool One development seems far superior.
“I’m not the only one who finds the sweep of that tapering block a wonderful backdrop to the new Chavasse Park.”
Mr Du Noyer, 54, said that nothing was lost by the development as the entire area had been devastated by bomb damage in World War Two, and the post-war replacements were “shoddy and unloved.”
He said: “The real tragedy was the bad decision to demolish the Customs House, but it’s too late to worry about that.
“The old Chavasse Park was no beauty, whereas the new one has become a glorious rendezvous for Liverpool’s young – these kids, effectively, are rendering the debate irrelevant.
“They're voting with their feet by flocking to those grassy slopes that overlook the best urban river scene in the world.
“Most importantly, the Grosvenor plan has re-opened Liverpool’s historic street pattern for the first time in a generation, and re-connected the Albert Dock area with the city centre.
“I just believe that here, for once, we’ve got something right.”
