'Difficult' fire station care home plan dropped

A care company plans to sell a 100-year-old former fire station in north Liverpool after saying it can no longer afford to redevelop it.

Best Care Liverpool bought the former Aintree Fire Station, on Longmoor Lane in Fazakerley, in 2024 with plans to create four flats and offices.

The company's director, Nora Darwin, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that dealing with the council's planning department had been "difficult, time-consuming and costly".

Liverpool City Council said it had worked constructively with the company and had to assess proposals in line with planning policy and the wider public interest.

The station had served the area since 1926 but closed in May 2024 when crews moved to a new £40m site on Long Lane.

Fire authority members approved its £650,000 sale in December 2023, with Best Care completing the purchase the following year.

The company proposed offices on the ground floor and four flats above, while retaining the external façade.

Darwin said planning difficulties meant the company could no longer afford to continue with the project.

Liverpool City Council said it advised the company on a residential proposal first raised in 2023, including the need for accessible accommodation.

An office application submitted in 2024 was refused in June 2025, but amended plans were approved that October.

Darwin said the company had been told the office-only permission and attached conditions could make the building harder to sell.

Councillor Nick Small, the council's cabinet member for growth and economy, said requests for changes and planning conditions were not unusual and officers had to act in the wider public interest.

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