Liverpool developer Caro Developments submits planning application to convert an office block into 100 apartments in an £18m project. Tony McDonough reports

Caro Developments plans to convert a redundant town office building into an residential complex with 100 one-bed apartments.

Liverpool-based Caro has submitted a planning application to Warrington Council for the £18m project at Hilden House which is located opposite Warrington’s Georgian town hall and the 17-acre Bank Park.

This development will include a concierge, gym and wellness room, residents’ lounge and co-working area, as well as a dedicated secure parcel room. Neil Carlyle of Caro said he and his team are ready to start work as soon as consent is secured.

“This is a superb location that will allow us to provide high-specification homes that contribute towards the council’s strategy of boosting the number of town centre residents,” he added.

“We will set a new benchmark for quality and for rental levels and will begin work promptly on receipt of consent.”

Rising to five storeys, the 52,400 sq ft building has an exposed white concrete frame and dark brick cladding. Its position within the Town Hall Conservation Area means any façade modifications will have to be sympathetic to the surrounding area.

Robert Brym of scheme architect Falconer Chester Hall, explained: “The building offers us a pleasing urban aesthetic with scope to use updated fenestration to give it a very contemporary feel amidst the redbrick palette of the surrounding streets.

“It’s a very sustainable location and by utilising adaptive reuse we’ll reduce the environmental impact of the project through the generation of less waste and reduced demand for energy.”

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There will also be 58 car parking spaces and cycle and bin storage to the rear of the building, accessed via Winmarleigh Street. Savills advised on planning and heritage, with Clancy (structural engineers) also part of the project’s professional team.

Hilden House was previously used by the Department for Work and Pensions and was built in 1977. The building was acquired from Elite UK Real Estate Investment Trust in November 2024 for £3.3m, subject to planning.