On Wednesday and Thursday, July 25 and 26, Kier Property and CTP will be on hand to answer questions on the scheme in the atrium at Exchange Station. Tony McDonough reports
Developers behind the £200m plan to create an extra 400,000 sq ft of grade A office space in Liverpool’s commercial district will be holding public consultation events this week.
On Wednesday and Thursday, July 25 and 26, Kier Property and CTP will be on hand to answer questions on the Pall Mall scheme in the atrium at Exchange Station in Tithebarn Street.
The Pall Mall scheme is designed to address Liverpool’s chronic shortage of grade A space which is a bar to attracting new professional occupiers to the city centre.
However, one of the obstacles the developers face is Liverpool’s relatively low headline office rents which are seen as too low by most investors to encourage speculative development.
Kier Property and CTP have yet to reveal details of how Pall Mall will be funded other than to say they are confident it will go ahead. There has also been some opposition to the potential loss of green space. The location for the development is currently a small park and an NCP car park to the rear of Exchange Station.
Liverpool Greens, as well as local Labour councillor Nick Small, say it is vital any new development doesn’t see the amount of green space in the commercial district cut down.
Landscape architect, re-form, has been appointed by Kier Property and CTP to design the public realm element of the scheme.
Re-form will work alongside master planning architects Allies & Morrison to develop the landscape and public realm proposals, which will include a new public space comprising a 3,000 sq m ‘green square’ to promote health and wellbeing.
It will create an inspiring setting for businesses and provide much-needed urban green space for residents and visitors to enjoy.
The public consultation events will be held on Wednesday, July 25, between 12pm and 7pm, and Thursday, July 26, between 8am and 7pm. Representatives from Kier Property and CTP will present the current plans and gather feedback from the public, which will inform a formal planning application submission, planned for late summer.
Tom Gilman, managing director (North) for Kier Property, said: “It is important for the city that we deliver the office-element of this scheme and need to get the balance right by creating a high quality piece of public realm and a green space amenity which can be used by the whole community.
“Consulting with the people who are most likely to live and work in the space is absolutely the most effective way for us to do this.”
Kier Property and CTP were chosen as Liverpool City Council’s preferred development partner following a competitive selection process.