Our bid to turn former jail the Bridewell into accommodation for students has been approved by Liverpool planning committee.
The old Bridewell on Cheapside, Liverpool, will house more than 100 students, who will live in the old cells!
The building, which was built in 1857, has been empty for over 10 years, and previous attempts to bring it back to life were hampered by the fact that it is listed, making major changes to the exterior difficult.
Project director Adam Hall, notes that student accommodation is one of the few uses that are viable for the building.
“The windows are very small, given its former use as a jail, so it does not lend itself to any other use than the one proposed.”
Under planning law, student accommodation does not need the same amount of light that residential properties do, so the old jail could not have been turned into apartments.