Scarisbrick Avenue, Southport
Seven Renew were appointed by Formby Hall Investments Ltd to prepare feasibility options for the redevelopment of a complete urban block which forms part of the original Victorian frontage to Lord Street in Southport. The block is made up of three very deep and narrow shop units facing Lord Street and a further two shops and a public house facing Scarisbrick Avenue. The buildings are Listed and fall within the Lord Street Conservation Area.
Our client's intention is to internally remodel / sub-divide the building to create viable business units that respond to the current economic climate, whilst providing flexibility to be linked in the future. Our challenge is to deliver this much needed flexibility whilst working with the historical layout and impacting in the least possible way on the original fabric of the building. Working closely with Sefton Council's Conservation Team and challenging them on interpretation of current Conservation Policy, Seven Renew has established a sensitive approach that ensures the building's economic viability for the future. A full historic analysis revealed the iterative evolution of the urban block and has identified all original structures / features. Within this historical framework, we have been able to take a balanced view on what is important, what should be retained and what can be removed / altered. We have done this in the context of preserving as much as possible of the original, whilst taking care to ensure responsive, long-term sustainability of the building.
Our solution has been to reduce the depth of the shop units facing Lord Street and to increase to units facing Scarisbrick Avenue. This means that each of the units is a more appropriate size and proportion for modern day retailers.
The first floor level has been vacant for several years, this is partially due to the nature of the space being originally designed for residential purposes and as such has limited opportunity for dedicated access provision other than via through the shop units. Another reason is that current demand for first floor accommodation in the town is almost nonexistent. The proposed scheme combines all of the first floor accommodation into a single unit which is accessed form one of the shops. This will give flexibility for a retail operator to trade off two floors with a meaningful ground floor area or, for a leisure operator to have a smaller bar / restaurant on the ground floor during quieter parts of the week and the flexibility to open up a larger trading area at first floor level at busier times.
The shop fronts and canopies will be reinstated and refurbished in line with the requirements of the Lord Street Conservation Area design guidance and detailed consultation with the Conservation Officer.
The scheme is currently being considered by Sefton Council and work is anticipated to commence on site during the spring of 2012.