As reported in our November 2005 Newsletter 156, the original proposal to demolish the Welsh Presbyterian Church near Penny Lane, and build a four-storey apartment block (plus small replacement chapel) on the site, was refused planning permission by the City Council and also, on appeal, by a government planning inspector. Now a revised planning application has been submitted - ref. 06F/0422 - very similar to the previous one except that the flats are to be 'Category 2 Sheltered' apartments for elderly people, with communal facilities including a dining-room, kitchen and ground-floor lounge. Our main objection to the original application was that the new apartment block would be out of scale with its surroundings, and a poor substitute for the existing Chapel building - which is a prominent reminder of the Welsh community's importance in Liverpool's historic development. The new plans have not persuaded us to depart from this view.

We described the plans for an apartment block and 'mews' housing, next door to the Lamb pub, in our January 2006 Newsletter 157. At that time we were concerned about the scale of the proposed new building - which, we felt, would be too high both in relation to the adjacent listed building and the much smaller buildings lower down the High Street. We are pleased to report that revised drawings have now been submitted to the City Council by the applicant, showing an eaves line and mansard roof which will, in our view, be much better suited to the building's surroundings. The plans - application ref.05F/3925 - are currently available for inspection at Millennium House, Victoria Street, Liverpool L1 6JF, the new deadline for comments being 13th June.

The owners of the Coffee House pub have applied for planning permission to enclose the forecourt area with cast-iron bollards, lay out a new pathway to the existing front door, and install planters and 10 tables, complete with parasols, on the concrete paving. While we would welcome a scheme to improve the appearance of the Church Road North frontage, we feel that open-air drinking in this location will cause too much nuisance to nearby residents, so we have objected to the plans. The deadline for comments (application ref.06F/1502) is 14th June.