Liverpool councillors approve plans for £35m hotel in city’s world-famous Mathew Street and also give the go-ahead for the £70m Littlewoods film and TV complex. Tony McDonough reports
Councillors have given the go-ahead to a new £35m hotel at Cavern Walks in Liverpool and the £70m Littlewoods film and TV complex.
Greenwood Developments and JSM want to create the new hotel in Mathew Street above the world famous Cavern Club. They have already secured global brand Hilton to manage the hotel as a Motto by Hilton.
Designed by architects at Falconer Chester Hall (FCH), the hotel will offer 283 guest rooms, including connecting rooms with flexible layout options. This was an expansion of the original plans which comprised 149 rooms.
FCH helped to guide the project, which will be built by La Salle Construction, through the planning system at Liverpool City Council. Planning officers had recommended approval and councillors went along with that advice at the meeting on Tuesday.
Martin Haymes, associate director at FCH and lead architect for the hotel, said, “This scheme is an exciting opportunity to bring a new, dynamic hotel concept to Liverpool.
“The Motto brand’s innovative design ethos aligns perfectly with the city’s forward-thinking spirit, and we are thrilled to play a part in delivering this important project.”
The Cavern Club is known worldwide as ‘The birthplace of The Beatles’. It was at the popular 1960s music they were discovered by Brian Epstein who steered them to global fame.
In 1973 the original Cavern Club closed down and was partly demolished. In 1981, plans were unveiled to excavate the buried remains of the Cavern Club cellar.
This proved impossible but the club has been recreated and now sits at a 90 degree angle to the original and covers 70% of the original Cavern footprint.
In the early 2000s Cavern Walks became a thriving upmarket retail destination, housing leading designer fashion outlets such as Cricket and Vivienne Westwood. It was also home to two cafes and provided office space on its upper floors.
However, the opening of nearby Metquarter followed by the £1bn Liverpool ONE, sent Cavern Walks into a downward spiral from which it did not recover.
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Work will also now continue to progress on developer Capital&Centric’s £70m plan, backed by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, to create a TV and movie studios complex at the former Littlewoods site in Edge Lane.
In August, Manchester-based Capital&Centric announced it was seeking a main contractor for the project which will include two new 20,000 sq ft studios for big budget productions.
Officers had recommended approval and councillors voted in favour of the project which has been proposed for more than a decade.