Pier Head and Commercial District, Liverpool

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool ranks high-rise

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, by height (buildings in the wider

Liverpool Urban Area The Liverpool Built-up Area (previously Liverpool Urban Area in 2001 and prior) is a term used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to denote the urban area around Liverpool in England, to the east of the River Mersey. The contiguous bu ...

are listed separately within the article). The tallest building in Liverpool is currently the 40-storey

West Tower West Tower is a 40-storey tall skyscraper in Liverpool, England. It is the tallest building in Liverpool. The building was the second tower to be built by Carillion in Liverpool for property developers Beetham, who now use the building as th ...

, which rises on Liverpool's waterfront. It is also the tallest habitable building in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

outside of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. 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 tall in the city were demolished. The history of tall buildings and structures in Liverpool began in 1911, with the completion of the

Royal Liver Building The Royal Liver Building is a Grade I listed building in Liverpool, England. It is located at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's '' Three Graces'', which line the ...

. Standing at tall, it was widely reported to be Britain's first skyscraper. This period marked the pinnacle of Liverpool's economic success, when it regarded itself as the "second city" of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

.John Belchem (ed.), ''Liverpool 800: Culture, Character & History'', 2006, In 1965, its 54-year reign as the tallest building in Liverpool came to an end with the completion of the

Radio City Tower Radio City Tower (also known as St. John's Beacon) is a Radio masts and towers, radio and observation tower in Liverpool, England, built in 1969 and opened by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed by James A. Roberts Associates in B ...

. At , it originally housed a

revolving restaurant A revolving restaurant or rotating restaurant is usually a tower restaurant eating space designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on ...

and then, since 2000, a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

. In 2008, the Radio City Tower was topped by

Beetham Organization The Beetham Organisation is a privately owned property development and investment company based in Liverpool, UK. It was founded by Hugh Frost as Oastdren Investments in 1985. Its primary focus is city-centre real estate, specialising in hotel, ...

's West Tower. A masterplan, envisioned by

Peel Holdings The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former ports ...

, to redevelop Liverpool's north docks, named

Liverpool Waters Liverpool Waters is a large scale £5.5bn development that has been proposed by the Peel Group in the Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The development will make use of a series of presently derelict dock sp ...

, 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. The first building of the project began construction in 2018. By far the tallest building ever envisaged for Liverpool was Otterspool Tower at and 79 storeys. However, the 1998 proposal was never built. Other 50+ storey high designs that never materialised include the 2007 proposals of

Shanghai Tower Shanghai Tower () is a 128-story, megatall skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai.

at and

King Edward Tower King Edward Tower was a proposed skyscraper to be constructed on junction of Great Howard Street and Leeds Street in Liverpool, England. The tower was first proposed in 2007, received funding in 2008 and was altered pending approval in 2010. The ...

at tall, Brunswick Quay at , proposed in 2005, and the original 1925 design for

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and locally nicknamed "Paddy's Wigwam", is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Li ...

at . __TOC__

Tallest completed buildings and structures

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 In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to th ...

wind turbines A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. Wi ...

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. Liverpool tallest buildings

Tallest by type

*Air traffic control tower:

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated ...

Control Tower – *Chimney stack: Royal Liverpool University Hospital Boiler House – *Church spire: Welsh Presbyterian Church – *Commercial building:

– *Ferris wheel:

Wheel of Liverpool The Wheel of Liverpool is a transportable Ferris wheel installation on the Keel Wharf waterfront of the River Mersey in Liverpool. The wheel is near to M&S Bank Arena Liverpool, and was originally opened on 25 March 2010. It was dismantled for ...

– *Government building: Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts – *Hospital:

Royal Liverpool University Hospital The Royal Liverpool University Hospital (RLUH) is a major teaching and research hospital located in the city of Liverpool, England. It is the largest and busiest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire, and has the largest emergency department of i ...

– *Hotel: Meliã Hotel Liverpool (

Metropolitan House Metropolitan House, also known as 1 Hagley Road, is a commercial building that has been developed into apartments in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the A456 Hagley Road at Five Ways. It was designed by John Madin. Radio transmitters Th ...

; repurposed) – *Industrial building: Bankfield Grain Silo – *Monument:

Wellington's Column Wellington's Column, or the Waterloo Memorial, is a monument to the Duke of Wellington standing on the corner of William Brown Street and Lime Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England ...

– *Museum / gallery:

Victoria Gallery & Museum The Victoria Gallery & Museum (VG&M) is an art gallery and museum run by the University of Liverpool in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

– *Power station:

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed Dock (maritime), dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Great Float, Birkenhead Docks between ...

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

(

Canada Dock Canada Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Canada Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall with three branch docks and a graving ...

Huskisson Dock Huskisson Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, which forms part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Huskisson Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall and two branch docks to th ...

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

) – *Radio mast:

– *Religious building:

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

– *Residential building:

– *Stadium:

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

– *University building: James Parsons Building – *Ventilation shaft: George's Dock & North John Street Ventilation Stations – *Water tower:

Everton water tower Everton Water Tower is a water tower situated on Margaret Street in Everton, Liverpool. Now surrounded by a modern housing estate it is a Grade II listed building. The water tower is a well-known landmark dating from 1857 and can be seen from m ...

(decommissioned) –

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

is a large scale, £5.5bn regeneration project of the

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

dockland areas of Liverpool that is currently under development by

The Peel Group The Peel Group is a British infrastructure and property investment business, based in Manchester. In 2022, its Peel Land and Property estate extends to of buildings, and over of land and water. Peel retains minority stakes in its former ports ...

. 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. The project was revealed publicly in 2007. The plans, submitted to

Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...

in 2010, were approved in 2012; approval was reaffirmed by the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

in 2013. 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. The original proposal included a large array of skyscrapers, compared with the likes of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. However, due to concerns from, primarily,

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, 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. 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.)

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

Liverpool's skyline has been built up mostly in the last 20 years. The

held the title of tallest structure in

for 54 years until

was completed in 1965. Radio City Tower was finally beaten in 2008 by

Tallest buildings in the Liverpool Urban Area

The list below contains the tallest buildings in the

and the Wirral. This term is used by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

(ONS) to denote the

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

around

. Structures are not included in the below list although the tallest free-standing structures are the multiple ship-to-shore cranes of the

Liverpool2 Liverpool2 is a container terminal extension adjoining the River Mersey in Seaforth, Merseyside. The extension, built by Peel Ports, officially opened on 4 November 2016 and is an expansion of the Seaforth Dock container terminal. Developmen ...

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

; 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

External links

SkyscraperNews: Liverpool
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Tallest Buildings And Structures In Liverpool

Buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

Tallest