Blackstock, Liverpool

Zerum prepared and submitted a planning application for a 10 storey residential block containing 452 apartments.

Highlights:

• The site consists of a rectangular shaped vacant plot of land located within the Pumpfields area of the city, a quickly evolving neighbourhood to the north east of Liverpool City Centre.
• Although the site was currently allocated for industrial use within the UDP, it was successfully argued that, since adoption of the current UDP in 2002 the aspirations for the area in which the Application Site sits has changed, and residential development of this sustainable brownfield site should be supported.   
• The apartments will contribute towards the mix of residential accommodation within a sustainable City Centre location enabling people to live and work in close proximity.
• The changing nature of the Pumpfields area also allowed the application to challenge historic ideas of scale within the area.  The stepped blocks with differing heights and degrees of setback create a more interesting and relaxed relationship with the street.
• Through the use of a varied material palette and vertical recessions the building is further subdivided into smaller blocks, reducing the overall visual impact of the form and avoiding the creation of a ‘wall’ of structure.
• The dense urban grain shown on the historic maps for the area inspired the development to look like a group of buildings rather than a single monolithic form.
• The scheme delivers a variety of much needed high quality, well designed housing that will encourage young professionals into the city.