List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool
{{short description|none}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
File:Pier Head and Commercial District, Liverpool.jpg.]]
This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool ranks high-rise structures in Liverpool, England, by height (buildings in the wider Liverpool Urban Area are listed separately within the article). The tallest building in Liverpool is currently the 40-storey West Tower, which rises {{convert|140|m|ft|0}} on Liverpool's waterfront. It is also the tallest habitable building in the United Kingdom outside of London, Birmingham and Manchester.{{Cite web|title=Tallest High-rise Buildings in Countries: Europe: United Kingdom |url=http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/co/?id=100053 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617113634/http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/co/?id=100053 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=17 June 2004 |publisher=Emporis |access-date=11 October 2009}} Liverpool is a city undergoing mass regeneration, with older buildings being demolished to make way for new developments. During the mid-2000s, ten 1960s apartment blocks over {{convert|50|m|ft|0}} tall in the city were demolished.{{Cite web|title=Tallest buildings in Liverpool |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/bdbsearch.php?cs=0&convert=feet&city=Liverpool&so=roofheight |publisher=Skyscraper news |access-date=31 December 2009}}
The history of tall buildings and structures in Liverpool began in 1911, with the completion of the Royal Liver Building. Standing at {{convert|98|m|ft|0}} tall,{{Cite web|title= Royal Liver Building | publisher=skyscraper news|date=23 December 2008|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=369 |access-date=7 August 2009}} it was widely reported to be Britain's first skyscraper.{{Cite web|last=Hayes |first=Andy |title=Birthplace of the Skyscraper? – Liverpool Architecture |url=http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2010/08/27/liverpool-architecture-royal-liver-building/ |date=28 August 2010 |publisher=europealacarte.co.uk |access-date=5 January 2011}} This period marked the pinnacle of Liverpool's economic success, when it regarded itself as the "second city" of the British Empire.John Belchem (ed.), Liverpool 800: Culture, Character & History, 2006, {{ISBN|1-84631-035-0}}{{cite web|title=British Vision|url=http://www.britishvision.co.uk/liverpool.html|publisher=britishvision.co.uk|access-date=20 July 2011}} In 1965, its 54-year reign as the tallest building in Liverpool came to an end with the completion of the Radio City Tower. At {{convert|138|m|ft|0}}, it originally housed a revolving restaurant and then, since 2000, a radio station.{{Cite web|title=St John's Beacon |publisher=Liverpool Tour |year=2006 |url=http://www.liverpooltour.co.uk/st_johns_beacon_liverpool_england/ |access-date=11 August 2009}} In 2008, the Radio City Tower was topped by Beetham Organization's West Tower.{{Cite web|title=Beetham Tower West |publisher=skyscraper news |date=9 October 2008 |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=165 |access-date=7 August 2009}}
A masterplan, envisioned by Peel Holdings, to redevelop Liverpool's north docks, named Liverpool Waters, was launched in 2006 and received Government backing in 2013; it includes proposals for multiple high-rise buildings that will considerably change the city's skyline over the next few decades.{{Cite web |title=The Project|url=https://liverpoolwaters.co.uk/the-project/ |publisher=Liverpool Waters, The Peel Group |access-date=10 July 2020 }} The first building of the project began construction in 2018.{{Cite web|title=Forrest starts first building project at £5.5bn Liverpool Waters |date=11 January 2018 |publisher=Construction Enquirer|url=https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/01/11/first-project-kicks-off-at-5-5bn-liverpool-waters/|access-date=10 July 2020}}
By far the tallest building ever envisaged for Liverpool was Otterspool Tower at {{convert|305|m|ft|0}} and 79 storeys.{{Cite web|title=Otterspool Tower |publisher=Skyscrapernews |url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=428 |access-date=12 July 2010}} However, the 1998 proposal was never built. Other 50+ storey high designs that never materialised include the 2007 proposals of Shanghai Tower at {{convert|200|m|ft|0}}{{Cite web|title=Shanghai Tower |publisher=Emporis |url=http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=shanghaitower-liverpool-unitedkingdom |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130220043036/http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&lng=3&id=shanghaitower-liverpool-unitedkingdom |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 February 2013 |access-date=12 July 2010}} and King Edward Tower at {{convert|170|m|ft|0}} tall,{{Cite web|title=King Edward Tower|publisher=Emporis|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/310907/king-edward-tower-liverpool-united-kingdo |access-date=11 July 2020}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Brunswick Quay at {{convert|166|m|ft|0}}, proposed in 2005,{{Cite web|title=Brunswick Quay|date=15 April 2009|publisher=skyscrapernews|url=http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=176 |access-date=11 July 2020}} and the original 1925 design for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral at {{convert|158|m|ft|0}}.{{Cite web|title=Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King|date=1 September 2009|publisher=skyscrapernews|url=http://skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=4623 |access-date=11 July 2020}}
__TOC__
{{wide image|Wallasey, UK - panoramio.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of Liverpool seen from Wallasey, the Wirral in July 2016. The Three Graces, Anglican Cathedral and skyscrapers of the commercial district are all visible.}}
Tallest completed buildings and structures
{{Incomplete list|date=June 2020}}
This list ranks completed buildings and structures in Liverpool that are at least 49 m (160 ft) tall; under construction, proposed and cancelled buildings are excluded. Generic structures such as transmitters or wind turbines are also omitted.
Note this list is not comprehensive, as the heights of a number of candidate structures are unknown. Only those with known heights are included.
An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. Heights are rounded to the nearest whole metre. The "Year" column refers to the year when the building reached its current height; generally this is the year of construction but for some the height was reached following alterations and additions to the existing structure.
Tallest by type
{{multiple image|perrow=4
| align = right
| image1 = Wind Turbine, Canada Dock & Bankfield Street (geograph 2860394).jpg
| width1 = 90
| caption1 = Canada Dock turbine
| image2 = Wind Turbine, Liverpool docks - DSC00545.JPG
| width2 = 180
| caption2 = Huskisson Dock turbine
| image3 = John lennon airport tower.jpg
| width3 = 90
| caption3 = JLA control tower
| image4 = Wellington Column.jpg
| width4 = 101
| caption4 = Wellington's column
| image5 = Royal Liverpool University Hospital - 2013-05-04 (5).JPG
| width5 = 165
| caption5 = Royal Liverpool University Hospital
| image6 = LJMU Byrom Street.jpg
| width6 = 225
| caption6 = James Parsons Building
| image7 = Everton water tower 2018-5.jpg
| width7 = 70
| caption7 = Everton water tower
}}
- Air traffic control tower: Liverpool John Lennon Airport Control Tower – {{convert|43|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|last=Hughes |first=Lorna |title=This is what it's like to be an air traffic controller at Liverpool John Lennon Airport |work=Liverpool Echo|date=19 November 2017|url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/what-its-like-air-traffic-13923532|access-date=10 July 2020}}
- Chimney stack: Royal Liverpool University Hospital Boiler House – {{convert|67|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Church spire: Welsh Presbyterian Church – {{convert|61|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Commercial building: Royal Liver Building – {{convert|98|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Ferris wheel: Wheel of Liverpool – {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Government building: Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts – {{convert|58|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Hospital: Royal Liverpool University Hospital – {{convert|47|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title= Royal Liverpool Hospital|publisher=Skyscraper News|url= http://www.skyscrapernews.com/buildings.php?id=668|access-date=5 December 2009}}
- Hotel: Meliã Hotel Liverpool (Metropolitan House; repurposed) – {{convert|73|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Industrial building: Bankfield Grain Silo – {{convert|52|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Monument: Wellington's Column – {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Wellington Column |publisher=Emporis|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/296146/wellington-column-liverpool-united-kingdom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712212819/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/296146/wellington-column-liverpool-united-kingdom|url-status=usurped|archive-date=12 July 2020|access-date=10 July 2020}}
- Museum / gallery: Victoria Gallery & Museum – {{convert|53|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Power station: Port of Liverpool wind farm (Canada Dock & Huskisson Dock turbines) – {{convert|125|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Port of Liverpool, Wind Farm, Merseyside |publisher=Peel Holdings|url=http://www.peelenergy.co.uk/port-of-liverpool|access-date=10 July 2020}}
- Radio mast: Radio City Tower – {{convert|125|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Religious building: Liverpool Cathedral – {{convert|101|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Residential building: West Tower – {{convert|134|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Stadium: Anfield – {{convert|52|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- University building: James Parsons Building – {{convert|47|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Liverpool John Moores University, James Parson Building, Laboratory Refurbishment – North Elevation, Proposed Cladding including, Vents |publisher=Faithful+Gould|date=4 April 2019|url=http://northgate.liverpool.gov.uk/DocumentExplorer/Application/stream.aspx?target=http%3A%2F%2F10.8.20.205%2FNorthgate%2FDocumentExplorer%2FDocumentStream%2FDocumentStream.aspx%3Fname%3D5187568-T-024%2B-%2BExisting%2BNorth%2BElevation.pdf%26unique%3D1143120%26type%3DMVMPRD_DC_PLANAPP|access-date=3 July 2020}}
- Ventilation shaft: George's Dock & North John Street Ventilation Stations – {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}}
- Water tower: Everton water tower (decommissioned) – {{convert|26|m|ft|abbr=on}}{{Cite web|title=Everton Waterworks Tower |publisher=Emporis|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/327586/everton-waterworks-tower-liverpool-united-kingdom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710235939/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/327586/everton-waterworks-tower-liverpool-united-kingdom|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 July 2020|access-date=10 July 2020}}
Tallest under construction, approved and proposed
Below are sub-sections for the tallest under construction, approved and proposed buildings and structures in Liverpool. Cancelled projects are not included.
Height figures are rounded to the nearest metre.
=Under construction=
This lists buildings that are under construction in Liverpool (over 49 m).
=Approved=
This lists buildings that have been approved for, but are yet to start, construction in Liverpool (over 49 m).
=Proposed=
This lists buildings that have been proposed but are yet to receive approval to be built in Liverpool (over 49 m).
=Liverpool Waters=
{{main|Liverpool Waters}}
File:Liverpool Waters Model 3.jpg (2007).]]
Liverpool Waters is a large scale, £5.5bn regeneration project of the Vauxhall dockland areas of Liverpool that is currently under development by The Peel Group. A thirty year long project, the development is expected to create 21.5 million sq ft of new commercial and residential floor space and will consist of upwards of seventy buildings, with many classed as high-rise.{{Cite web |title=FIRST LOOK AT LIVERPOOL WATERS' VISION FOR THE FUTURE |url=https://liverpoolwaters.co.uk/first-look-liverpool-waters-vision-future/ |year=2018 |publisher=Liverpool Waters |access-date=23 July 2020}}
The project was revealed publicly in 2007.{{Cite web |title=City's £5.5bn waterfront unveiled |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6423393.stm |date=6 March 2007 |work=BBC News |access-date=23 July 2020}} The plans, submitted to Liverpool City Council in 2010,{{Cite web |title=Liverpool Waters development plans submitted |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-11462806 |date=4 October 2010 |work=BBC News |access-date=23 July 2020}} were approved in 2012; approval was reaffirmed by the UK Government in 2013.{{Cite web |last=Houghton |first=Alistair |title=What's actually happening at Liverpool Waters? |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/whats-actually-happening-liverpool-waters-12381596 |date=1 January 2017 |work=Liverpool Echo |access-date=23 July 2020}} Construction of the very first building of the scheme eventually commenced five years later in 2018; completion of the entire project is currently slated for 2041.{{Cite web |last=Bartlett |first=David |title=Liverpool Waters planning permission demands start on site within five years |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpool-waters-planning-permission-demands-3348758 |date=1 March 2012 |work=Liverpool Echo |access-date=23 July 2020}}
The original proposal included a large array of skyscrapers, compared with the likes of New York and Shanghai.{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Jonathan |title=Threat to Liverpool's World Heritage Site |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/threat-to-liverpools-world-heritage-site-2190167.html |date=21 January 2011 |work=The Independent |access-date=23 July 2020}} However, due to concerns from, primarily, Historic England and UNESCO, regarding the impact of tall buildings to Liverpool's World Heritage Status, the plans have been revised multiple times, resulting in building heights vastly scaled down.{{Cite web |title=Liverpool Waters plan 'may affect city heritage'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12240943 |date=20 January 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=23 July 2020}}{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Helen |title=Liverpool's world heritage waterfront faces 'irreversible damage', report says|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/24/liverpool-heritage-waterfront-damage |date=24 January 2012 |work=The Guardian |access-date=23 July 2020}}{{Cite web |title=First views of Peel's new £5bn plan for Liverpool regeneration and Everton stadium|url=https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/first-views-peels-new-5bn-plan-liverpool-regenerat/ |date=3 May 2018 |publisher=Global Construction Review |access-date=23 July 2020}} Extensive redesigns notwithstanding, the current version of the master-plan still includes several plots of the site reserved for notable high-rises set to transform Liverpool's skyline in the next couple of decades.
Plots poised to be populated by a structure over 100 metres are listed in the table below: (Note the below heights do not refer to that of a currently proposed building. They are the maximum permitted height for any future building designed for that plot, as agreed with planning officers.){{Cite web |title=Parameter Plan 006 Liverpool Waters Building Heights|url=http://northgate.liverpool.gov.uk/DocumentExplorer/Application/stream.aspx?target=http%3A%2F%2F10.8.20.205%2FNorthgate%2FDocumentExplorer%2FDocumentStream%2FDocumentStream.aspx%3Fname%3D1868-03-VW-009-09-Parameter%2B006%2BHeights.pdf%26unique%3D1141721%26type%3DMVMPRD_DC_PLANAPP |date=25 April 2019 |publisher=Peel Holdings; Planit I.E. Limited |access-date=23 July 2020}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Plot ! colspan=2 | Height ! Year ! Realised as... | |||
| align="center" | B–04 | {{convert|174|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2029 | TBA |
| align="center" | B–05 | {{convert|170|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2029 | TBA |
| align="center" | B–01 | {{convert|147|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2029 | TBA |
| align="center" | C–07 (a) | {{convert|141|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2036 | TBA |
| align="center" | C–11 | {{convert|119|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2036 | TBA |
| align="center" | C–07 (b) | {{convert|117|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2036 | TBA |
| align="center" | A–04 | {{convert|113|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2024 | {{colorbull|skyblue}} The Lexington (113m; 2021) |
| align="center" | C–10 | {{convert|109|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2036 | TBA |
| align="center" | A–06 | {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=table|sortable=on}} | align="center"|2024 | {{colorbull|lightgreen}} Patagonia Place (95m; 202x) |
| style="font-size: 85%;" |
| Key:
|{{colorbull|skyblue}} |Completed / |{{colorbull|lightgreen}} |Under construction / |{{colorbull|yellow}} |Approved / |{{colorbull|darkorange}} |Proposed |
Timeline of tallest buildings and structures
Liverpool's skyline has been built up mostly in the last 20 years. The Royal Liver Building held the title of tallest structure in Liverpool for 54 years until Radio City Tower was completed in 1965. Radio City Tower was finally beaten in 2008 by West Tower.
Tallest buildings in the Liverpool Urban Area
File:The Triad Building, Bootle 2019.jpg
The list below contains the tallest buildings in the Liverpool Urban Area and the Wirral. This term is used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to denote the urban area around Liverpool.{{cite web|title=National Statistics Online – Census 2001|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/liverpool_urban_area.asp|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=20 July 2011}} Structures are not included in the below list although the tallest free-standing structures are the multiple ship-to-shore cranes of the Liverpool2 container port in Seaforth which measure 92m in height and 132m when raised.
Gallery
File:Liverpool city centre.jpg|Liverpool city centre in late-2008 viewed from Liverpool Cathedral; the financial district and historic waterfront can be seen to the left, whilst the most prominent structure to the right is St. John's Beacon
File:Liverpool skyline.jpg|Liverpool's historic cityscape viewed from across the Mersey
File:Liverpool city centre skyline.jpg|Liverpool's ever changing skyline can be seen most obviously in the city's new financial district
References
{{Reflist|30em}}