Grade II-listing delays plans for 800-home Liverpool redevelopment

Developers One Park Lane submitted two applications to Liverpool City Council in June, seeking permission for the mixed-use redevelopment of 1.1 hectares of land to the south of Liverpool city centre. The proposals included the demolition of a former rice mill and warehouse complex, known as Heap's Mill, and its replacement with five buildings between 10 and 25 storeys in height, to provide new apartments, office space and ground floor space for mixed commercial uses.

Campaign group Save Heap's Rice Mill applied to English Heritage to have the mill and warehouse complex listed to prevent its demolition under the plans, resulting in a Grade II-listing on 31 July. In the listing entry for the site, English Heritage said that the complex "remains as one of the earliest and last surviving warehouse complexes in this once thriving industrial area, acting as an important physical reminder of the area's rich trading links and mercantile history".

The listing means that the developers must apply to Liverpool City Council for listed building consent in order to make any changes to the mill or its associated warehouses.

One Park Lane director Elliot Lawless said in a statement that the developer had already been considering alterations to the scheme before the listing was confirmed but that a revised scheme retaining the buildings might prove economically unviable.

"We have been enjoying some productive discussions with the Council about how to incorporate the mill into our wider ambitions for the site and we are aiming to submit plans for a revised scheme by the end of August. The listing does not alter this," said Lawless.

"There is a ... risk that our funding partners will switch their focus to schemes that can offer a more immediate return, so I've got some work to do my end in that regard. They want to invest in Liverpool and like where the city is headed, so I'm hopeful we can keep them on board."