A PRESTIGIOUS Merseyside building could crumble if a row over whether it should become a boutique hotel or a dance studio is
not resolved, owners have warned.
The former Irish Centre, on Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, has lain empty for nine years and is currently on the English
Heritage Buildings At Risk register, with experts estimating repairs would cost £3m.
But it is the focus of a fierce debate between hotel developers and
Liverpool City Council, who could compulsorily purchase the building so it can be used by the North West National Dance Centre.
The Flanagan group, which
owns Liverpool's Sir Thomas Street Hotel, plans to convert the Grade II-listed property into a 48-bedroom hotel, which would be scheduled to open in summer,
2008.
Plans for the site, known as The Wellington Rooms, include restoring the main assembly room as a function suite for parties and weddings, and
introducing a restaurant and separate brasserie.
The bedrooms would be created in a four-storey extension, set above and behind the Mount Pleasant
frontage.
But experts say that, if restoration work does not start on the crumbling centre in the next 12 months, it could be beyond repair.
Owner
and entrepreneur Rauf Shaik bought the building in 2000 with a view to developing the site.
He said: "When we acquired the building it had no real roof
and we have already done a lot of work but we want to get going on the next stage of development.
"We need some decisions soon because the building is
infested with dry rot and within 12 months it will be beyond repair.
"Every season that goes by without a decision weathers the building, so we want to
start work straight away.
"If the dance studio want to take it over then there needs to be a proper appraisal of how they will be able to sustain a
building of this size over the next 20 years, which I doubt they would be able to raise enough funding to do."
Paul Flanagan, owner of Flanagan Group,
said there was a real gap in the market for boutique hotels. He said: "This would be a fantastic opportunity for our group and for Liverpool.
"We could
provide a secure future for the building which would be developed to the highest possible standards."
However, the council plan to save the centre by
making it the home of the North West National Dance Centre.
Liverpool City Council's executive board are now starting negotiations to see if it can
compulsorily purchase the building so it can be turned into a dance studio. It would have dance and theatre rehearsal space, studios and facilities for
dancers to meet and perform.
A council spokesman said: "We may consider issuing a compulsory purchase order on the building.
"We are at a stage where
a preliminary application was submitted, but changes need to be made because we need to be careful that any changes are in keeping with the character of the
building.
The dance studio was one of the ideas put forward for the centre but we need to look at a range of options."
The Wellington Rooms were
designed by Edmund Akin as assembly rooms for the Wellington Club in 1815-1816.
It was built with the purpose of providing a venue for balls and other
entertainment and was designed to attract Liverpool's most "respectable and fashionable" residents.
Merseyside business leaders last night backed the
developers' scheme for the property, which would involve alterations to the building, including an upwards extension to accommodate hotel guests.
Frank
div>
McKenna, chairman of private sector lobby group Downtown Liverpool In Business, said: "This building is in a key location, and is in urgent need of
redevelopment and restoration."
"A group of Liverpool companies with a track record of delivery have the ideas and the financial package to deliver a
truly fabulous project."
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