If given the go-ahead, a two-storey rear and side extension containing music rehearsal and tuition spaces will be built at Future Yard in Birkenhead.
It will feature a new stage, seating, walls and semi-permanent canopy structure.
The planned first floor will consist of mainly music rehearsal studio rooms and tuition spaces. The extension will contain a further 15 flexible studios; the size and layout of which ‘will vary throughout but some will be larger in size that the current basement studios’. Studio 14 will give access to a large roof garden / terrace.
A new permanent bar will be created on the ground floor at the rear of the extension. Food will be able to order over the new bar but provided by the existing kitchen facilities.
In a design and access document submitted along with the planning documents to Wirral Council on behalf of applicant Craig Pennington, director of Future Yard CIC (Community Interest Company), it was stated ‘The project aims to expand to provide a greater amount and more varied musical experience’.
The venue on Argyle Street opened in late 2020 during the pandemic and currently features a live venue, five rehearsal spaces, café / bar, gallery walls, office / admin space and outdoor bar and performance area.
Explaining the reasons behind the planned extension, the design and access statement continued: “Future Yard are committed to creating a new venue to champion and support new music in Birkenhead.
“The Future Yard Festival, in 2019, proved that there is an audience for new music in Birkenhead.
“Building on this success, Future Yard want to create a place where they can present the best new artists all year round, not for just one weekend a year.”
The extension to Future Yard and the development is one of the key projects being funded by Wirral Council following the Borough’s successful Town Deal bid.
The statement concluded: “Future Yard currently offers a number of high-quality music rehearsal spaces where independent bands and artists can come together to practice and engage with each other.
“The demand for these facilities has been higher than first anticipated.
“Birkenhead – and Wirral – is a place with music in its DNA, but it’s been too long since it has had a dedicated live music venue in the town.
“Future Yard believe that music venues are the maternity wards of creative culture. They are always the trailblazers, the first cultural flagpole when it comes to thinking about a place differently.
“Through utilising the power of music, Future Yard is changing Birkenhead for the better, inspiring local people, creating life-changing opportunities and shaping a new music future.”
To read the plans in full, go to: https://online.wirral.gov.uk/planning/index.html?fa=getApplication&id=231465