Liverpool Fruit Exchange to get long-awaited reset
JSM Company Group’s application was granted approval to carry out internal and external alterations to the Fruit Exchange building.
The grade-two listed building, situated between Victoria Street and Mathew Street, previously received conversion approval in April 2020, but the pandemic caused the application to expire.
In a slight alteration to the previous application, there will now be a bar instead of several rooms on the first floor, which can also be accessed externally from Mathew Street.
The 41,300 sq ft hotel will also include a newly built restaurant.
The scheme is a “sensitive conversion” of the building, with the council’s heritage officer expressing her comfort in the plans during the meeting.
To improve accessibility, the addition of a track hoist in at least one hotel room was required before the application was approved.
The Fruit Exchange was originally built in 1888 as a railway goods depot, before converting to the ‘sweet-smelling’ market of its namesake in 1923.
Its convenient location in the middle of Liverpool City Centre is key for its transition to a hotel.
All new elements have been designed by Wroot Design, and Townscape is the heritage consultant.
To view the plans, search for application reference number 23F/1013 on Liverpool City Council’s website.