An urban, vertical farm in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle has been given the go-ahead from Liverpool City Council’s planning committee.
The community farming initiative, called the Baltic Farm, will be operated by a joint venture between Great George Street Developments and Farm Urban.
The “educational, vertical farm” will include soil-based edible produce. The joint venture said it will also work with members of neighbouring communities to strengthen community ties through food growing.
It will form part of the Great George Street Project, a mixed-use regeneration project covering 3.5ha. The wider scheme will be developed over the next two years.
Paul Myers, co-founder of Farm Urban, said: “Our vision is to create a socially transformative, community-embedded urban farm and cultural events space that connects our local community, builds a local food network, fills homes with fresh, local food and creates engaging and meaningful jobs.
“The Baltic Farm has the potential to be such a special project. It will allow us to share the work we are doing with all members of our local community.”
A spokesperson for Great George Street Developments said: “We are building a long-term, joint venture partnership to enable the Baltic Farm to use the site for two years as a pop-up community farm working with sustainable growing technologies.
“We are committed to the long-term success of this and have plans for embedding urban farming into our public realm and urban park, in addition to ensuring that the Baltic Farm creates a real legacy within our development, inspired by places like Brooklyn Grange, for the long-term benefit of our new and existing local communities.”
The Great George Street Project aims to revitalise the area with mixed-use residential apartments and family homes, alongside commercial, A3 and creative workspaces for independent businesses.
This will include 45,000 sq ft of new office space, largely targeting businesses in the digital, tech and creative sectors.
There will be more than seven buildings comprising 466 flats and 37 townhouses, ranging in height from two to 18 storeys.
Leisure and hospitality facilities will also feature within the new neighbourhood, including a 144-bedroom hotel.
Farm Urban operates its main commercial vertical farm underground in the Victorian tunnels at the nearby Liverpool Life Sciences UTC school.
Unit3 Design Studio is the architect for the Baltic Farm.
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