Liverpool approves old Bank of England restaurant conversion

At the same meeting, Kersh Worral Commercial’s controversial plans to deliver 68 homes off Vauxhall Road did not share the same fate.

Liverpool City Council approved the conversion of the grade one-listed old Bank of England into a restaurant at its planning committee meeting yesterday. This decision was made in line with officer recommendations.

Meanwhile, Kersh Worral will persist at appeal with councillors minding to refuse its proposals due to a lack of affordable housing and open space.

Former Bank of England

Application number: 22F/0422

Situated at 31 Castle Street, the grade one-listed building is set for a new lease of life under JSM Company Group’s proposals to transform it into a restaurant.

Wroot Design is the architect behind the scheme, which will see the creation of a dining area and a central bar set across two floors.

Downstairs, the basement will house the kitchens and other back-of-house facilities, while storage and office space will be provided upstairs.

As the Bank of England building is a grade one-listed property, only certain alterations will be permitted. The property was built in 1845 and remains “architecturally in good order”, according to a heritage impact assessment submitted by Townscape.

Built in 1945, the property has been vacant since TSB Bank left in the 1990s.

Councillors approved the scheme despite concerns raised by councillors Nick Small and Christine Banks regarding the potential negative impact of the project on neighbouring residents.

The approval follows the withdrawal of plans to create a retractable glass section on the existing disused car park to be used as a bar in the summer.

The site has been derelict for some time. Credit: Google Earth

Vauxhall Road

Application number: 21F/0722

Liverpool City Council rejected Kersh Worral’s bid to redevelop the former Elaine Norris Centre site to deliver 29 flats within a four-storey block, as well as 39 houses, despite a recommendation by planning officers to approve.

Designed by DAY Architectural, the scheme is subject to a non-determination appeal due to delays in the process.

This means that the committee cannot make a decision on the proposals. However, at yesterday’s planning committee and following a site visit, councillors resolved that the application would be refused if it were to come before the committee.

A lack of affordable housing, open space, and biodiversity net gain were cited as the reasons for the proposed refusal.

The developer lodged plans for the project in March 2021, with officers recommending that the scheme be approved in December 2022. This decision was deferred so that a site visit could take place, however this never materialised.

Kersh Worral later lodged an appeal and asked that the city council cover the costs due to the “unacceptable, unnecessary, and unreasonable” delay, according to the applicant’s statement of case for the appeal.

The city council have said that the delay was down to the elections that happened earlier this year.

Kersh Worral had stated that it would halt these proceedings if the city council conducted a site visit and approved the project.

Broadgrove Planning and Development is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team also includes PGA landscape architects, 4C Engine, and ADS Structural.