Developers wanting to build luxury apartments overlooking the beach at Red Rocks in Hoylake have scaled back the scheme.
Blueoak Estates proposes demolishing ‘Wirral Point’ – a detached house on Stanley Road adjacent to the Royal Liverpool Golf Course – and replacing it with flats.
A previous application for a curved glass structure, which attracted 181 objections, was thrown out by council planners in December 2019.
The local authority’s decision was later backed by a planning inspector, who concluded it “would not be of a high-quality design nor a good precedent for other development”.
Following the submission of a more traditional scheme last August, the developer has now revised the application to reduce the number of apartments from nine to eight.
The height of the structure has been lowered, and what they describe as the ‘building volume’ is now 38 per cent smaller than the original curved glass scheme.
Other changes include the introduction of a series of dormers within the roof, the addition of traditional chimneys, a reduction in the property length and the planting of more trees on the boundary with the neighbouring Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
In a five page letter submitted with the amended proposal, planning consultants Zerum contend that Blueoak Estates have taken into account concerns raised by the golf club and Historic England.
The letter adds: “We have also asked [council] officers to take this application to [planning] committee so that [elected] members can consider the questions that it raises first-hand, and so that the final decision is covered by an accurate and fair analysis of the issues themselves. We feel that this is particularly warranted given that so much of the peripheral comment has focused upon a misinterpretation of the scheme, its impacts, and/or the claimed views of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.”
They write that they believe the development will be a “positive addition to the conservation area” and a “high-quality development which would not cause harm to heritage interests”.
Blueoak Estates told West Kirby Today: “Blueoak Estates has continued to liaise with a number of local stakeholders on a significantly reduced scheme for the residential development proposed at Wirral Point. Notably, this includes a reduction in massing by 33%.
“These changes have been achieved by a reduction in building height from three storeys to two-and-a-half to allow alignment with neighbouring roof heights, whilst also decreasing the number of apartments from nine to eight.
“The significant reduction in the building’s footprint is further complemented by the introduction of more traditional chimneys, the retention of all boundary trees and the addition of mature landscaping.”