TJ Morris, the owner of Home Bargains, is linked to plans to transform an area of the city centre
18:58, 30 Dec 2024Updated 06:13, 31 Dec 2024
Major plans have been submitted to redevelop buildings in Duke Street and create a development of nearly 90 apartments
A company run by Home Bargains billionaire Tom Morris is planning to redevelop a major site in Liverpool city centre and transform it into a complex of nearly 90 new apartments.
Liverpool City Council is set to make a decision on the major proposals that would see the partial demolition, repair and remodelling of four listed buildings at 118-124 Duke Street and the erection of a vast new development that will reach up to eight storeys at its highest point. The plans, which would create a total of 88 apartments, would also include a new commercial unit and drinking establishment.
The proposals have been submitted by applicant Dave Little of Davos Property Developments care of TJ Morris Ltd, the owners of Liverpool-based high street giant Home Bargains. TJ Morris’ billionaire owner Tom Morris, the richest Liverpudlian to have ever lived, is a director of Davos Property Developments along with Mr Little, and Mr Little is also group property director at TJ Morris.
The site in question is bounded by Duke Street, Henry Street and Kent Street and is currently made up of four, three-storey, Grade II listed Georgian town houses with basements. The houses are some of the earliest merchants’ residences in the city, thought to have been built around 1780, which originally doubled as warehouses.
The buildings are currently boarded up and dilapidated. The site also includes a vacant plot at 126 Duke Street, which is currently used as a car park. The developers wish to redevelop the entire site, including the partial demolition, repair and remodelling of the four listed buildings.
The plan is to create a development of 37 one-bed, 46 two-bed and five three-bed apartments. The planned commercial space would aim to offer a flexible unit with a combined area of 350 square metres at the ground floor of the Duke Street/Kent Street corner of the block.
There are plans for a central landscaped courtyard and an external roof terrace at the 5th floor level of the development. The full planning application is accompanied by a listed building applications, which covers the proposed demolition works, external alteration works and additional internal works planned as part of the refurbishment of the buildings.
Major plans have been submitted to redevelop buildings in Duke Street and create a development of nearly 90 apartments
A planning statement submitted as part of the application states: “The site currently consists of four Grade 2 listed Georgian townhouses fronting onto Duke Street that are to be remodelled and refurbished appropriately to form part of the wider development of the site.
“The rear of these properties, facing Henry Street, are to be demolished to make way for a newbuild part of the development. The proposal as a whole will see the redevelopment of the existing townhouses, including partial demolition, to provide high-quality residential apartments, duplexes and townhouses, as well as ground-level retail and community facilities, with an outdoor amenity courtyard and roof terrace.”
The proposals have not gone down well with everyone. The Historic Buildings and Places organisation, formerly known as the Ancient Monuments Society, has described the scheme as a ‘highly damaging proposal to the architectural and historic significance of these heritage assets.”
Two neighbours have also raised objections. A resident of the nearby Manhattan Place has suggested the planned building is out of character for the area and will increase existing issues around parking.
A resident of Henry Street claims the project will have a significant impact on the local community, raising concerns around the construction works – which could last three years and the height of the new building, claiming that the overall development ‘threatens to disrupt their lives.’
The plans were first submitted back in 2023 and have been amended since then. They will come before Liverpool City Council’s Planning Committee next Tuesday (January 7) where a decision on whether they can go ahead will be made. Planning officers are recommending that councillors approve the plans subject to a legal agreement.