Part 2 of a 4 part rant about Leeds street.
If you need any evidence that cars rule Liverpool then this junction is for you. The two eastern corners have car dealerships on them, while south-east is an enormous car park.
The remaining north-west corner is occupied by Rigo Construction who do at least keep the theme of the place gooing by having a big car park, previously this was the site of railway arches carrying trains to Liverpool Exchange, while beyond that was Great Howard Street Good. The building is a 70's or 80 corrugated design which is beginning to show its age.
The north east side of the road was concerned with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which had been cut back to here when exchange station was built, in the 60's it was cut even further back. The last of the warehouses is being redeveloped as North Point apartments, this has produced some interesting historic finds, some more welcome than others.
National Library of Scotland
comparison between old and new maps of the area.
The junctions itself does not look that bad, the remains of Exchange station rise above the south-west corner, hiding the car park, concealing its function. The car dealerships are modern branded, though the Pall Mall leading up to the south of the junction needs some development. The North Point development will advance away from the junction and give it height, with only another Car dealership filling in the gap to Chisenhale street.
It is only the north-west side that needs work, up until the 70s a bridge had crossed the road and then a raised section of arches had led away north. Unfortunately, those arches no longer exist, giving the section an empty look, further west, the North Hospital is also gone from Leeds street to Chisenhale street, the car park needs to be totally redeveloped.
It has always been a crossroads but since being dualed Leeds street has become a barrier, which the height provided by the remains of Exchange this could provide the start of a pedestrian bridge. Some have suggested that the area might be useful as an HS2 terminal bringing the line in via the North Liverpool Extension Line, this would take the entire area up to Chisenhale but while people are lobbying for an HS2 connection nothing is planned, but it is a site on the edge of the business district, which is apparently much in need of Grade A office space. While this would mean a move for Rigo I doubt their requirements are exacting.
If you need any evidence that cars rule Liverpool then this junction is for you. The two eastern corners have car dealerships on them, while south-east is an enormous car park.
The remaining north-west corner is occupied by Rigo Construction who do at least keep the theme of the place gooing by having a big car park, previously this was the site of railway arches carrying trains to Liverpool Exchange, while beyond that was Great Howard Street Good. The building is a 70's or 80 corrugated design which is beginning to show its age.
The north east side of the road was concerned with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, which had been cut back to here when exchange station was built, in the 60's it was cut even further back. The last of the warehouses is being redeveloped as North Point apartments, this has produced some interesting historic finds, some more welcome than others.
National Library of Scotland
comparison between old and new maps of the area.
 |
| Looking North |
 | |
| Looking South |
 |
| Looking West |
 |
| Warehouses being developed for North Point |
It is only the north-west side that needs work, up until the 70s a bridge had crossed the road and then a raised section of arches had led away north. Unfortunately, those arches no longer exist, giving the section an empty look, further west, the North Hospital is also gone from Leeds street to Chisenhale street, the car park needs to be totally redeveloped.
It has always been a crossroads but since being dualed Leeds street has become a barrier, which the height provided by the remains of Exchange this could provide the start of a pedestrian bridge. Some have suggested that the area might be useful as an HS2 terminal bringing the line in via the North Liverpool Extension Line, this would take the entire area up to Chisenhale but while people are lobbying for an HS2 connection nothing is planned, but it is a site on the edge of the business district, which is apparently much in need of Grade A office space. While this would mean a move for Rigo I doubt their requirements are exacting.
Update 22/06/2016
A mere 5 days after this item was published 34-Storey 'triple tower' could be coming to Liverpool
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