One of the UK’s largest telecommunications companies, BT, is considering three location options for its new premises in Liverpool.
BT is looking for a 100,000 square foot office space in the centre of Liverpool and is now focusing its attention on Princes Dock, part of the huge Liverpool Waters regeneration project, as well as considering spaces in Pall Mall and the Knowledge Quarter.
The company is looking to consolidate its offices across the UK, and a decision on its new Liverpool location is expected to be made by the end of the year.
Opportunities at Liverpool Waters
Liverpool Waters is a £5bn regeneration scheme which will see the creation of five brand new neighbourhoods on the River Mersey waterfront, set within the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site of Liverpool Mercantile City. The project is expected to dramatically transform the historic docklands area of the city while maintaining its charm and character, with 9,000 new residential apartments creating a whole new community in the area.
BT’s offices within the development would likely be within a six-storey office block in the Princes Dock area of the project, which is the most immediate option with planning permission with property developer Peel having submitted a reserved matters application for this block earlier this year.
Increasing commercial space in Liverpool
The Knowledge Quarter, one of BT’s other shortlisted options, would offer premises at No5 Paddington Village, where the developer Sciontec is planning a 160,000 square foot space “aimed at the creative and scientific sectors”. The third option, Pall Mall under Kier Property and CTP, is part of a development that is expected to see construction begin next summer.
Liverpool city council has recently revealed plans to support the delivery of around two million square feet of commercial space over the next 10 years, with a large number of projects already being identified across the city.
A council report stated: “The city is now in desperate need of high quality offices to not only accommodate the growth of its existing occupier base but perhaps more importantly enable it to secure footloose occupier requirements and therefore grow as a commercial centre and become known as a national leader in office attractiveness.”
The plans are expected to be reviewed in autumn 2020 once the Liverpool Local Plan is adopted.
