Close to Brunswick Street and fronting onto The Strand, Beetham Plaza was developed in the late 1990s and includes apartments, offices, two restaurants and a car park. Tony McDonough reports

Liverpool’s Beetham Plaza could be the location of a new hotel after it was acquired in a multi-million pound deal by local developer Elliot Group.

Close to Brunswick Street and fronting onto The Strand, Beetham Plaza was developed in the late 1990s and was one of the first schemes in the city’s new era of regeneration. It comprises 42 luxury apartments, 4,500 sq ft of office space, an underground car park and two popular restaurants, Etsu and Silk Road.

Fountain move

They all surround a square which is home to Richard Huws’s Piazza Fountain, a hydraulic structure that uses kinetic energy to fill a series of buckets with water.  When full they pivot on their axis, sending a thunderous downpour in to the pool below.

Elliot Group, which is behind a number of current developments in Liverpool, is seeking permission to re-site the installation to enable the development of a new £10m boutique hotel on the east side of the plaza.

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“Beetham Plaza remains one of the most successful residential developments on Liverpool’s waterfront but the public square behind needs more animation and life to support its commercial tenants,” said Elliot Lawless of Elliot Group.

“If we re-site the fountain it will enable us to develop a new hotel and new ground floor restaurant and café space whilst investing in the public realm and a new lighting scheme.  Residents and businesses will share in the benefits of this investment and the extra footfall.

“We hope to be able to improve the car park, particularly its opening hours, and are in discussions with the council about this.  Local businesses and residents want the convenience of 24/7 access and that is our ambition.” 

Open to ideas

Mr Lawless says he’d welcome ideas from the public on where to site the fountain and confirmed that Elliot Group will meet all costs associated with its relocation.

He added: “It’s a great piece of engineering but it’s hidden in this part of the business district and deserves a more visible location so that more people can enjoy it. Just as our beloved Superlambanana had to find a new home, so it’s time for the buckets to go on a short journey.  The question is, to where? 

“We’re talking to the council about their own aspirations for the fountain but would very much welcome the public’s view.”

The proposed hotel development, if granted planning permission, would support 25 new jobs when operational and would be managed by Liverpool-based EPIC, who recently opened the new Seel Street Hotel that forms a centrepiece of Elliot Group’s £100m Wolstenholme Square project.

Elliot Group has briefed existing residents and business owners of Beetham Plaza about its proposals and assured them that he will work closely with them throughout the planning process. The developer was represented by Hill Dickinson in the acquisition of Beetham Plaza. The estate’s private vendor was represented by and Excello Law.