A former hardware store left vacant near Anfield could be converted into a B&B to meet demand from Liverpool fans seeking matchday stays.
Plans have been lodged with Liverpool Council to bring a currently empty unit on Priory Road back into use as temporary lodgings for football fans travelling to the city. An application by Ryan McCormick seeks to transform the former store into a coffee bar and nine-bed bed and breakfast across the ground and upper floors.
The former AP Hennessey’s DIY shop previously had living facilities above the business which could now be converted.
In a design and access statement submitted as part of the application, it was said “the site has been vacant for a number of years now and has fallen into a state of disrepair.” The document added how the increasing number of travelling football fans hoping to watch Liverpool had been the driving force behind proposals to change the use of the building.
The statement said, “The application would add an appropriate use to the area, close to Liverpool football stadium, which has an increasingly growing demand for such accommodation due to the sheer volume of fans home and abroad and without causing any unacceptable nuisance. There is huge demand from Irish and Norwegian tourists, where it is virtually impossible to book a hotel room throughout Liverpool on match days.
“This would provide great economic value.”
The design, subject to Liverpool Council planning committee approval, would create a coffee bar at the ground floor of the site, which would serve both the B&B and general public. The first floor would be reimagined to consist of four en-suite double bedrooms, with the rear rooms on a split level to “give better headroom to the floor above.”
A further four bedrooms would be situated on the upper floor. Mr McCormick’s plans said the coffee bar on the ground floor would close daily to the general public at 5.30pm, with a site manager on location 24 hours a day.
Parking would not be provided, given its proximity to the football ground and access to public transport. The design statement said, “We feel that the proposals would meet with all relevant council proposals and policies and would be a great addition to the thriving area, while bringing back an empty shell of a building.”
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