Former Merseyside ambulance station to be transformed into flats

A former ambulance station in Huyton has been given the green light to be turned into flats.

Plans for the site, which also includes the former fire station on Huyton Lane, were submitted earlier this year with developer McCarthy & Stone hoping to build 53 retirement flats for home owners looking to downsize.

Including a combination of one and two bedroom apartments with 22 car parking spaces and an outdoor area, the applicant had described them in planning documents as “low maintenance private apartments” catering to the “middle market.”

According to a planning officer report, the applicant had initially intended to build a three-storey complex, although this was later increased to four storeys during the pre-application.

Officers said the applicant was then requested by the council to consider increasing the height of the building to include five or six storeys. A design and access statement included with the original plans stated the applicant was satisfied four storeys would “sit appropriately” within the surrounding area.

The report states a further email on behalf of the applicant cast doubts on the financial viability of producing a taller building at the site.

It recommended a number of conditions be attached to the planning application around drainage management, transport management, construction noise mitigation and the treatment of Japanese knotweed at the site but noted no objections had been received.

The applicant had stated any developer contributions, known as section 106 contributions, would affect the viability of the development, with the council agreeing not to seek contributions from McCarthy Stone  in relation to social value, open space or affordable housing provision.

Approving the plans, the report added the scheme would “bring forward an extremely prominent site within Huyton Town Centre for redevelopment and regeneration” and would help fulfil a growing need for retirement accommodation in the borough.