The dramatic tower plans for Central Station in Liverpool have been changed by the developer following concerns from various parties that the scale of the scheme had made it out of place and in particular it would interfere with the views of Liverpools two dominant icons - the Anglican and Roman Catholic Cathedrals.The new design sees about 13 floors lopped off the top of it reducing the "soar" of the scheme by shrinking it to 25 floors - so roughly 80 metres in height. A third shorter tower will now stand next to it with the lower tower coming in at only 20 floors placed to improve the composition of the overall skyline and compliment its taller neighbour, a formula that has already worked successfully with the Unity Development just down the road.
The ground level areas of the previous design will remain unchanged with the emphasis of the new revisions being on breaking up what was previously one tower.
Both buildings will be clad in blue glass with lighter vertical stripes providing contrast and an interesting roof detail that sees some of the corners of the building recessed giving the scheme a chipped and almost unfinished look.
They will be joined by a number of other buildings ranging from 9 to 5 floors creating what will with the towers be known as the Central Village scheme. All the blocks will be providing residential units apart from the lower floors that will accommodate retail outlets taking advantage of what is a prime site for passing trade thanks to the closeness to Liverpools Central Station.
The scheme is backed by the Central Development Consortium, a group that consists of main partners Ballymore and Merepark, it is their third design for this site since 2004. A planning application will be working its way through the system over the coming months and thanks to the consultations with the council and English Heritage approval looks a certainty this time around.
