This week saw plans submitted for one tower of the projectDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
14:33, 19 Jul 2025
How the King Edward project could look, including a new tallest building in Liverpool(Image: T. J. Morris Ltd and Beetham Limited)
A major step has been taken on a £1bn development which could transform Liverpool’s world-famous waterfront skyline. Huge proposals have been put forward to create a landmark high-rise development on the edge of the city centre which could deliver a new tallest building in Liverpool.
Developers KEIE Limited and Beetham last year joined forces to buy the former King Edward Triangle industrial estate on Gibraltar Row for the project. One of the neighbourhoods that make up Liverpool Waters, a long-term scheme from Peel Waters to revitalise the city’s post-industrial northern docklands, the King Edward project could see as many as 2,000 housing units created across a number of skyscrapers.
A number of businesses currently operate in the triangle but the land was sold after Liverpool City Council agreed to a £1.5m deal to lift a covenant on the Gibraltar Row site and enable the construction of skyscrapers. KEIE Limited, part of the TJ Morris group which owns Home Bargains, will work with Hugh Frost, whose Beetham Organisation built the 40-floor West Tower in the city centre, on the project.
Those behind the proposals have promised to include the city’s first five-star hotel as part of a 60-storey tower that is set to be Liverpool’s tallest building. Liverpool does not currently have a hotel rated as five-star by AA’s industry recognised ratings.
The 60-storey tower would be one of several making up the project. This week, plans were submitted for a 28-storey structure on the first plot.
The first plot
New images have been revealed for the first building to form part of a £1bn project to transform Liverpool’s waterfront skyline(Image: Brock Carmichael)
On July 14, the ECHO reported that a planning application has been submitted to the city council by Davos Property Developments Limited in conjunction with Beetham Davos Ltd to create a 28-storey residential tower on the first plot of their King Edward site.
The tower, designed by Brock Carmichael, comprises 255 one and two-bed apartments. The submission focuses on the plot which includes the former Bacchus Taverna at the junction of Waterloo Road and the now stopped-up Galton Street, at the northwest boundary of the seven-acre development site.
Chris Bolland, managing partner of Brock Carmichael said: “This is a bold expression that sets the design tone for the development going forward.
“We’ll animate the ground floor on two frontages with leisure occupiers for the public to enjoy, and our entrance canopy offers a confident statement that will make the building a key marker on the route to Everton’s new stadium.”
Darren Muir of Pegasus Group added: “The client’s aim is to set the benchmark for residents’ amenity, with almost fifty square feet of shared space per apartment. That’s almost double the current top figure in the city.”
The whole project
An earlier draft image of the vision for the King Edward Triangle skyscraper project.(Image: Liverpool Council / Beetham / KEIE Limited)
The King Edward Triangle is one of the five neighbourhoods of Liverpool Waters, alongside Central Docks, Clarence Docks, Princes Dock and Northern Docks. The full site stretches from the northern edge of Liverpool city centre to Bramley-Moore Dock, where Everton FC’s new stadium has been built.
A CGI of the £1bn development, viewed from the Wirral shoreline, was released in February. It showed a number of towers and illustrates the scale of the project team’s ambition, said Beetham’s Hugh Frost.
About that, Mr Frost said in February: “Our thinking will continue to evolve as we head towards a Q3 submission for our masterplan, but this image lets the market know that we are intent on delivering a scheme of international significance.”
The West Tower is currently the tallest building in Liverpool, standing at 40 storeys. However, project architect Chris Bolland of Brock Carmichael said in February the King Edward project could see buildings go beyond 50 storeys.
He explained: “What you see here shows our confidence that going beyond 50 storeys is achievable and desirable and our discussions to date with the city council have been highly constructive.”
At the MIPIM property fair in Cannes in March, KEIE and Beetham revealed plans for Liverpool’s first five-star hotel within a 60-storey tower, which would eclipse the West Tower.
They said the scheme will include two hotels, totalling 400 bedrooms, with the aim of targeting a global operator to provide a five-star brand which will also offer luxury branded residences within a single tower of up to 60-storeys or more.
The developers also said they wish to involve skyscraper designers Simpson Haugh in their first Liverpool building.
At the time, Mr Frost said: “We are creating a destination and a new district in the city centre and the mix and quality of uses and operators will be key to its success.”
He added: “A waterfront of Liverpool’s quality deserves only the best and we are here talking to hoteliers about how we can give them the setting to showcase their brand for the first time in the Liverpool market.
“The growth in the city’s high-end tourism market, particularly cruise passengers, gives us the confidence that this will succeed.”
Speaking about the King Edward plans to the ECHO last month, Cllr Nick Small, Liverpool Council’s cabinet member for Growth and Economy stressed just what an enormous project this could be for the city centre and the whole of Liverpool.
He said: “What we have got with the King Edward Triangle is a London-scale development in Liverpool. It is the first billion pound development scheme in Liverpool.
“It is residential-led, there is the potential to do about 2,000 housing units. This is about looking at how we get good quality, long-term investment in Liverpool.”
“You look at someone like TJ Morris, they are looking at putting their wealth back into Liverpool, they will have a long term perspective on this, they are not in it for short-term gain and that’s really important.
“It is similar to what happened with Liverpool One and Grosvenor which made Liverpool One as good as it was, it wasn’t about short termism.
“It is also about having a five star hotel in Liverpool and some of the operators looking are big names, serious players that we need in this city.”