Cavern Walks seeks new life

JSM Company Group and Greenwood Developments have changed course at Cavern Walks in Liverpool, filing new plans to turn the upper floors of the Mathew Street building into 85 serviced apartments instead of a 283-room Motto by Hilton hotel. The shift follows several years of changing proposals for the site above the Cavern Club, from earlier hotel consents to a larger Hilton-backed scheme approved by Liverpool councillors in October 2024. Cavern Walks, a retail and office complex on the site of the original Cavern Club, has also been marketed in recent years as a revived shopping destination, with its owners saying in July 2024 that all ground-floor units were occupied. The latest planning move suggests the long-discussed hotel is no longer the immediate plan for the building. ### Why has Cavern Walks been back in the news? Place North West reported on April 24, 2026, that JSM and Greenwood Developments had submitted revised proposals for Cavern Walks that would supersede plans for the 283-bed Motto by Hilton. The trade publication said the new application covers 85 serviced apartments on floors one to seven, with a gym and spa area also proposed. (placenorthwest.co.uk) Yahoo News, citing Liverpool Echo reporting, said in late April that plans for the Hilton hotel looked to have been scrapped. That report said Liverpool City Council’s planning committee had signed off on the expanded 283-room hotel in October 2024, after earlier approvals for a smaller scheme. ### What was supposed to happen above the Cavern Club? Liverpool City Council approved a hotel conversion at Cavern Walks in April 2023 under application 22F/1399, according to Place North West. (placenorthwest.co.uk) That consent covered 150 suites on the upper floors of the building. Place North West reported on February 2, 2024, that Greenwood Developments and JSM had struck a franchise agreement with Hilton to bring the Motto by Hilton brand to the site. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The publication said the revised scheme would create a 283-bedroom hotel and was due to open in 2025. Liverpool Echo reported on January 2, 2026, that the target opening had moved to 2026. The newspaper said the proposed Cavern Walks Hotel would have 283 guest rooms, reception space, food and beverage areas, entertainment space and function rooms, with Beatles references in the design. (placenorthwest.co.uk) ### Who owns Cavern Walks and what have they said about the retail space? (placenorthwest.co.uk) JSM Company Group and Greenwood Developments bought Cavern Walks for £7 million in 2022, according to Place North West. The purchase followed the collapse of earlier plans linked to Signature Living. Liverpool BID Company said on July 2, 2024, that Cavern Walks’ ground-floor spaces were fully occupied after refurbishment. (liverpoolecho.co.uk) In the same item, Matt Crebbin, property and assets manager for JSM Company Group, said the owners anticipated a “significant increase in footfall” in the following weeks and months. Completely Retail, a commercial property listing site, showed at least one Cavern Walks unit, 9/9A Cavern Walks, as “currently unavailable” in a listing crawled in 2026. (placenorthwest.co.uk) That listing does not establish the current occupancy of the whole scheme, but it does show the site has continued to appear in commercial letting databases. ### How long has the upper part of the building been in limbo? (liverpoolbidcompany.com) Place North West reported in 2021 that Cavern Walks was being marketed with seven floors of vacant office space and consent for hotel or residential conversion. That description matched the building’s long-running split use: active retail at ground level and largely unused upper floors. Place North West also reported in 2018 and 2019 on Signature Living’s attempt to convert the largely vacant retail precinct into a hotel and events space. (completelyretail.co.uk) Those plans did not deliver a completed project, and the asset later changed hands. ### What does the latest application actually propose? Application 26F/0862, as described in recent coverage aggregated from Liverpool City Council planning records, proposes a change of use to 85 serviced apartments on the first to seventh floors, with a gym and spa on the mezzanine floor and retail units on the lower and upper ground floors. (placenorthwest.co.uk) Place North West said Wroot Design is advising JSM and Greenwood on the proposal. (placenorthwest.co.uk) Liverpool City Council’s planning portal remains the next formal checkpoint for the scheme. The council’s planning search page allows users to track the Cavern Walks application and any decision notices tied to JSM Company Group, Greenwood Developments and their advisers. (liverpool.gov.uk) (skyscrapercity.com)