Old Hall Street in Liverpool has taken a further step towards a 434-apartment residential scheme after a Section 106 planning agreement was reported as signed on 13 November 2026. Property publication Place North West says the legal agreement has been completed between Liverpool City Council and the developer, Packaged Living. That is a new step beyond the committee’s November 2025 vote, but it should not be mistaken for a newly issued planning permission.
The proposed redevelopment at the junction of Old Hall Street and Leeds Street would replace a redundant former Littlewoods computer centre with two residential towers, the taller rising to 25 storeys. Packaged Living is bringing forward the build-to-rent development with Affinius Capital. The 434 homes form part of Liverpool’s northern city-centre redevelopment pipeline, rather than a fresh application lodged this week.
For developers, the distinction is more important than the headline number of flats. A planning committee’s resolution to approve usually leaves a legal agreement to be settled before a formal permission can be issued. The reported Old Hall Street agreement therefore addresses a potentially significant delivery step, although it is not evidence that construction has begun or that every condition and financial obligation has been satisfied.
Old Hall Street agreement follows last year’s vote
On 11 November 2025, Liverpool City Council’s planning committee backed Packaged Living’s scheme, according to the developer’s announcement issued that day. The developer described the project as 434 professionally managed private rented homes in a 19-storey and a 25-storey tower. It was a significant committee decision, but the further legal process remained relevant.
Place North West reported on 13 November 2026 that Packaged Living and the council have now concluded a Section 106 agreement. That report describes towers of 18 and 25 storeys, compared with the developer’s earlier 19 and 25. The latest signed drawings and any issued decision notice would be needed to resolve the lower building’s precise approved storey count. The difference between the reports should not be treated as proof of an amended scheme.
The Old Hall Street scheme was not suddenly approved for the first time this November. The new reported event is completion of a planning agreement roughly a year after the committee vote. The trade report does not reproduce the executed deed or a formal decision notice, so the precise obligations and permission-issue date remain separate points to establish from council records.
What the Section 106 agreement means for delivery
A Section 106 agreement is a legal mechanism for securing planning obligations that cannot simply be delivered by drawing an attractive development. Depending on a scheme’s effects, such obligations can cover contributions, management arrangements, highway measures or other specified requirements. They bind relevant interests in the land, and their detailed wording can affect finance and construction sequencing.
Planning Geek’s guide to Section 106 agreements explains how obligations are secured and why they need to be necessary, directly related to development and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind. An agreement being signed is not the same as every contribution being immediately payable, nor does it mean that every pre-commencement planning condition has been discharged.
At Old Hall Street, the available reporting confirms the claimed agreement milestone but does not provide the deed’s detailed schedules. It would therefore be premature to assign a particular affordable housing contribution, roadwork obligation or public-realm payment to this scheme. The critical next document for checking its enforceable scope is the signed agreement itself, read alongside the issued permission if and when one is available.
What is planned at the Liverpool waterfront gateway?
The former Littlewoods computer centre occupies a prominent brownfield location between the central business district and the northern waterfront. Packaged Living and Affinius Capital acquired the land in 2022. An earlier proposal known as Ovatus had envisaged considerably taller towers, but the current application is a separate, smaller development brought forward by a different development partnership.
Under the 434-home proposal, the taller building would contain 150 one-bedroom, 146 two-bedroom and six three-bedroom flats, with the shorter building providing 65 one-bedroom, 63 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom homes. These figures, reported by Place North West from the scheme details, total 434. They describe a managed rental development rather than 434 homes already delivered or available for occupation.
The design by Falconer Chester Hall includes shared lounges, work areas, a gym, entertainment rooms and rooftop terraces. The developer’s original statement also describes new ground-level public realm and improved walking and cycle links along Back Leeds Street. Those connections matter in a city-centre scheme where residents’ daily travel is intended to be less dependent on cars.
In November 2025, Packaged Living development manager Edwina Coward described the project as a landmark development at this prominent gateway site
. This was her statement after the committee vote last year, not a quotation about the newly reported legal agreement. The developer also highlighted electric heating, air-source heat pumps and heat-recovery systems, though those aspirations still need to be reflected in the finally approved documents and constructed scheme.
Why the legal stage matters for a 434-home project
Long gaps between committee support and the formal completion of an agreement are not unusual on major urban projects. Legal drafting can involve landowners, lenders and authorities, and the precise effect depends on what has been executed. A project may enjoy strong policy and political support while still needing the documentation that lets it proceed lawfully.
The Old Hall Street agreement is commercially meaningful because an unresolved Section 106 deed can prevent a planning permission from being formally issued after a resolution to approve. Even once a formal permission exists, its conditions, building safety requirements and separate construction approvals remain to be addressed. The reported legal completion should not be confused with a verified start on site.
The developer previously expressed an ambition to start construction in early 2027. That remains a programme indication from an earlier announcement, not a new confirmed construction contract or start date. An updated timetable will need to come from the developer or subsequent official project documents. A hoped-for start date is not a confirmed commencement of development.
What to watch next at Old Hall Street
The relevant Liverpool City Council application is 23F/3073. The council’s planning register guidance explains how readers can inspect an application by its reference. The appropriate next checks are the executed Section 106 deed, any formal decision notice, the stamped drawings and the conditions relating to demolition, construction, movement and public realm.
The Old Hall Street development is a substantial addition to the proposed residential supply at Liverpool’s northern city-centre gateway, but its stage must be described carefully. The November 2025 committee backing and the newly reported November 2026 agreement are two different events. Until the final notice and obligations can be checked, it is more accurate to say the scheme has progressed through its legal agreement than to proclaim a newly verified permission or construction start.
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