Why Liverpool needs to raise its sights on tall buildings

Written by Planning Director; Darren Muir, first published on Place North West

Liverpool’s uneasy relationship with tall buildings is nothing new, with debates reginiting every few years over whether they enrich or erode the city’s character.

From the Royal Liver Building – once the tallest in Europe yet dismissed as “ugly” and “out of scale” – to today’s skyline debates, the conversation too often gets reduced to binaries of skyscrapers versus skylines, preservation versus progress.

In reality, cities that fail to embrace ambitious vertical growth risk stagnation. Tall buildings are not a novelty. In the right location, they are a necessity. They bring density where land is tight, unlock investment in housing and offices, and provide the kind of iconic statements that global investors and occupiers look for. Manchester’s skyline is proof that height, when handled well, can define a city’s ambition and show it’s open for business. The question is whether Liverpool, and indeed the wider North West, can afford to sit on the sidelines.

Of course, it’s not as simple as “build tall everywhere.” Height needs context, a planning framework, and a robust design conversation that is relevant to that specific location. That’s where too many projects fall down – they spark controversy because there is no shared vision, no agreed rules of engagement between developers, planners, local authorities and the public. At Pegasus Group, we’ve seen both sides – the resistance that comes from uncertainty, and the momentum that emerges when stakeholders are brought together early, with a clear evidence base on design, viability, heritage, and the development’s impact and value on the ground.

Liverpool is at a turning point. The groundwork has already been laid through the Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document, providing a framework for where height can be supported in the city. If an applicant chooses to veer from this guidance, then robust justification is needed. The next step is ensuring that the upcoming Local Plan update and future planning guidance strike the right balance – they must demand quality but not box the city into a corner with unviable, rigid requirements. Policy should enable design ambition and creativity rather than constrain it, otherwise Liverpool risks missing the opportunity to capture the benefits that tall buildings can deliver.

There are encouraging signs in Liverpool. The city council has publicly backed the proposed King Edward Triangle skyscraper cluster – a bold statement of intent that could transform perceptions of the city’s ambition on the international stage. They have also agreed to accept Brownfield Infrastructure Land grant funding from Homes England and act as the accountable body on behalf of Peel Waters for Central Park and its supporting infrastructure to help deliver more than 2,000 homes in another tall building cluster. This support provides clarity to the market, signalling that Liverpool is serious about high-quality tall buildings as a driver of regeneration. The challenge now is to maintain momentum, turning this early commitment into deliverable projects that attract direct investment and give developers the confidence to follow suit.

It’s time for a grown-up conversation. We need to move past debates about whether tall buildings are inherently “good” or “bad” and instead focus on deliverability and long-term value. The number of storeys should not be the obsession. What matters is if a scheme can be built, will last, and benefit the city’s future. This is where such projects can really leave their legacy, helping to attract much-needed investment into North Liverpool. The debate should be evidence-led, not emotive. Planning consultancies, local authorities, and investors must collaborate to get this right – because the cost of standing still is too high.

Bringing tall buildings forward is tougher than ever. The Building Safety Act has rightly raised the bar on accountability but also added time and complexity to approvals, while rising construction costs and shifting market demand make viability harder to prove. That’s why flexible phasing and meanwhile uses, whether cultural, community or commercial, are so valuable, keeping sites active and income flowing while long-term plans take shape. They can also help shape the communities that will be here to stay.

To help unlock delivery, it’s vital that local authorities get behind the vision of a masterplan early, giving developers confidence and reducing risk. Close collaboration, through proactive pre-app engagement, flexible phasing, and forward-thinking ambition, can speed up the process and give tall buildings the best chance of becoming a reality.

At Pegasus Group, our team is working across the North West to unlock tall building projects – helping developers navigate planning policy and legislation, heritage sensitivities, environmental impact assessments, economic business cases, design review, and public perception. We’ve learned that with the right strategy, tall buildings can respect heritage, strengthen skylines, and catalyse regeneration. But it requires courage – from developers to propose them, and from decision-makers to back them. Liverpool’s new Local Plan presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the tone for growth. Get it right, and it can drive investment, attract global capital, and position the city as a genuine competitor on the international stage. Get it wrong – by insisting on unviable requirements that box developers in – and investors will look elsewhere, leaving Liverpool at risk of stagnation while other cities move forward.

The question is whether Liverpool has the confidence to seize this moment. With the right policy framework and positive thinking, height can be a catalyst for growth, investment, and pride. But hesitation, over-regulation, or an obsession with the wrong details could see opportunity slip away. This is the time for ambition, and the city cannot afford to look down when the world is looking up.

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