Drawn up for Davos Property Developments, the application was voted through by a six to two majority in a Liverpool City Council planning committee on Tuesday (17 February), despite councillors objecting to the size and height of the 255-home tower.

Known as the Pathfinder Tower, the scheme forms part of the King Edward regeneration triangle, a proposed cluster of skyscrapers on a site next to the Princess Dock. This is part of the £5 billion Liverpool Waters project, which aims to revitalise more than 500,000m2 of the city’s dockland.

Car parking and a number of disused buildings currently occupy the plot and the Pathfinder Tower scheme will replace a previously consented plan by LAG Pritchard Architecture for a 16-storey residential block.

Liverpool City Council has called the consent a ‘catalyst’ for the development of the wider masterplan, and said that it will form a bridge between Liverpool Waters, Central Docks and the Commercial District.

The council voted to approve the application, in accordance with the planning officers recommendation, despite a counter-proposal to refuse. This was put forward by councillor Pat Moloney, objecting on the grounds of ‘aesthetics, mass, scale, lack of provision for children, inadequate parking, failure to meet local plan policies, too many single-bedroom flats and the building’s form, layout and façade’.

However, councillor Nick Small, cabinet member for growth and economy, said: ‘The King Edward Triangle is a once in a generation opportunity to reshape an underused part of the waterfront, and this pathfinder building is the first visible sign of that transformation.

‘It will bring new homes, new jobs and new activity into a part of the city that has long been primed for renewal – and it demonstrates the confidence investors and developers continue to place in Liverpool’s future.’

Brock Carmichael opted for a red terracotta material and colour palette, inspired by the red brick of surrounding warehouses, after the practice was advised to create a more visually ‘striking’ façade than earlier proposals.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, subject to signing of a planning legal agreement and site preparation works.