Most of the buildings in the ‘Office Quarter’ date from the 1960s and the area is dominated by a number of tall buildings, including Merton House
The skyline in one part of Merseyside is dominated by a series of high-rise tower blocks, built during the 1960s and mostly located in the town’s ‘Office Quarter’. Some of these buildings have been demolished, while still some remain standing empty and abandoned, waiting for a developer with the next big idea.
For Merton House in Bootle, it appears that spark of inspiration has finally arrived, after plans were approved to completely transform the site, and create more than a hundred new homes for the local area.
The building on Stanley Road has a long history, and is best-known as a purpo…
Most of the buildings in the ‘Office Quarter’ date from the 1960s and the area is dominated by a number of tall buildings, including Merton House
The skyline in one part of Merseyside is dominated by a series of high-rise tower blocks, built during the 1960s and mostly located in the town’s ‘Office Quarter’. Some of these buildings have been demolished, while still some remain standing empty and abandoned, waiting for a developer with the next big idea.
For Merton House in Bootle, it appears that spark of inspiration has finally arrived, after plans were approved to completely transform the site, and create more than a hundred new homes for the local area.
The building on Stanley Road has a long history, and is best-known as a purpose-built nine-storey office space, with records showing it housed departments such as Sefton Council services. While there has been speculation about the demolition of nearby office buildings, such as St John’s House, Merton House itself has been slated for redevelopment into housing.
According to the latest documents uploaded to Sefton Council’s planning portal, the Merton House development would comprise of 50 two-bed apartments and 90 one-beds. Whether these are to be affordable housing is yet to be confirmed, but it would still constitute a significant addition to Bootle’s housing portfolio.
Merton House in Bootle (left)(Image: LDRS)
According to Sefton Council’s 2021 ‘area action plan’ for Bootle, Merton House forms part of the ‘Office Quarter’ and lies directly to the south of Bootle town centre, broadly between Park Street and Balliol Road and centred around Stanley, Merton, St. Albans, Trinity and Balliol Roads.
Most of the buildings in the ‘Office Quarter’ date from the 1960s and the area is dominated by a number of tall buildings, including Merton House, Magdalen House, St Anne’s and St Peter’s House. It also contains the more recently built Redgrave Court, which accommodates the Health and Safety Executive, St John’s House and the South Sefton Magistrates’ Court.
In 2023, Sefton’s local authority revealed a draft action plan for Bootle which detailed some key objectives for the future of the town. The document lists 14 key objectives for Bootle focused on improving access to affordable, secure and efficient housing while reducing the amount of poor quality conversions in the town centre.
Merton House in Bootle(Image: LDRS)
Other objectives relate to making best use of vacant land, homes and buildings while protecting and enhancing green spaces, with the aims of making Bootle a healthier place to live.