Central Village Liverpool City Center

[Kev]

A STUNNING £160m shopping, residential and leisure development that will change the face of Liverpool city centre was submitted to planners yesterday.

The scheme, behind Central Station, will include a residential tower rising from 22 storeys to 38 at its peak.

It will also include a three or four star hotel, shops and offices and 350 car parking spaces.

Joint developers Manchester-based Merepark and Irish firm Ballymore have handed plans for the 600,000 sq ft project to Liverpool City Council.

It will be bounded by Bold Street and Renshaw Street and encompasses Newington Street and Heathfield Street.

It will also include the £10m redevelopment of 9-19 Bold Street which has already been pre-let to clothing store Drome and Costa Coffee.

Both companies have held discussions with regeneration agencies Liverpool Vision and English Heritage, and the city council, and are confident the scheme will be approved. Work could begin early next summer.

English Heritage is believed to have some concerns about the height of the tower but it is not clear yet whether it will lodge an objection to the application.

Merepark director Richard Peel told the Daily Post: "This is a cutting-edge scheme which will further enhance Liverpool's appeal as a visitor destination and as a place to live.

"We have consulted extensively with Liverpool Vision, English Heritage, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the city council and our application has taken on board much constructive input from them."

It looks very nice: Source