A former town hall building will become a new creative catalyst under exciting proposals approved by Wirral Council this week.
The authority has green-lit plans from Hylgar Properties to turn the Hoylake Town Hall site into a home for a cinema, cafe, restaurant, creative offices and studio spaces. This will link via a glazed atrium/courtyard into a new five-story building which will house 40 apartments in its upper floors and provide space for 17/18 artisan/makers units on the ground floor with a total area of more than 6,000 sq ft. The apartments will be a mix of one, two and possible three-bedroom units.
Our design for the project (known as The Beacon) will see the historic Edwardian town hall in Hoylake refurbished and retained.
Adam Hall, Managing Director of Falconer Chester Hall said:
“This is a genuinely innovative and welcome scheme which reinvigorates a local landmark building into a variety of creative uses and helps meet the demand for good quality accommodation in the area. It will also bring new jobs and investment”
Chris Moore CBE, Secretary of the Hoylake Conservation Area, said:
“We are delighted to see such an imaginative and sympathetic scheme setting out to conserve and enhance these iconic buildings and bring them back into community use”
The scheme will create up to 60 new jobs in the development and the local supply chain as well as establishing a vibrant new destination in the heart of Hoylake town centre.
The project has been supported by a local group of committed volunteers known as the Beacon Steering Group who have helped facilitate public consultation and create a development that will work for the area.
The new build element of the project will be a complementary, high-quality addition to the existing red-brick town hall building which sits on a highly accessible site opposite Hoylake railway station.
The town hall is well regarded locally so it’s important the new building respects both this and other adjacent buildings with a design that references the historical context but with a modern, refreshing feel.