Affordable housing provider and developer Torus secures consent for £48m housing scheme at former Liverpool FC Melwood training complex. Tony McDonough reports
Torus will build 162 new homes on the former Liverpool FC Melwood training complex in West Derby after securing planning approval.
On Tuesday, councillors on Liverpool City Council’s planning committee face the go-ahead for the £48m project. The affordable housing provider will build 59 houses and seven bungalows.
The development will also include an extra care scheme comprising 96 one and two-bedroom apartments. Torus says all the homes will be available via affordable rent and shared ownership.
Liverpool FC began using Melwood as its training base in the 1950s. When legendary Reds manager Bill Shankly arrived in 1959 he oversaw its transformation into a top class facility for the first team.
In 2020 Jurgen Klopp and his players used Melwood for the final time before relocating to a £50m purpose-built training facility at the Liverpool FC Academy in Kirkby.
Torus has secured £2.43m from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Brownfield Land Fund for the remediation of the site.
It is keeping the existing Melwood building as part of the scheme. It will be made available as a community centre.
Managing director of Torus Developments, Chris Bowen, said: “Having been working on the scheme for the past three years, the whole team is thrilled that our plans have now been approved and we can start creating a new future for this iconic site.
“We have worked hard to develop a scheme that will positively impact the local area and provide homes and facilities that will make Melwood even more of a community asset.
“The scheme meets a number of identified needs so will provide affordable homes for older people and those with care needs, those looking to get on the property ladder and even those looking to downsize.
“Our approach is a considered one, and one which will see both the history and the future of Melwood celebrated, creating a housing-led scheme that will transform not only the site, but West Derby and the wider Liverpool city region.”