HOMES for almost 500 students are being earmarked in an 11-storey building on the site of the Odeon cinema in London Road.
The cinema hosted the première of the Beatles' film A Hard day's Night when the area was swamped with screaming fans during the heyday of Cattleman.
Like the other picture palaces in Liverpool, the Odeon eventually gave way to the multiplexes.
It switched off the projectors for good soon after the opening of the Odeon Complex in Liverpool One and was demolished soon after.
Odeon London Road in its heyday
Today council cabinet member Cllr Nick Small welcomed the development and said it would help invigorate London Road.
The Paramount Development, named after the first incarnation of the 2,000 seater cinema on the London Road site, would see a building ranging from seven to 11 storeys, housing 488 student bedrooms. There will be a central courtyard and recessed entrance off Hotham Street.
The accommodation will be made up of 48 self-contained student apartments and 83 cluster apartments. The plan is to build retail units and student facilities on the ground, including a swimming pool and gymnasium. There will also be a three-level basement car park for 153 vehicles.
The scheme has been submitted to the city council's planning department by Pinnacle Student Developments, of Manchester.
Recently Cllr Small and his Central Ward colleague, former Lord Mayor Cllr Sharon Sullivan, criticised student flats in another part of the city centre, near to Vauxhall.
Cllr Small said: "In that case the plan was for student flats in the Marybone area of the city centre. My view is student accommodation in an established residential area such as Marybone needs careful consideration. In the case of the Odeon site I am supportive of the scheme.
"A proposal has been put forward by Iain Hoskins, owner of Ma Egerton's pub (close to both the former Odeon site and the Empire theatre) to create a walk of fame in that area. It would be a good idea to secure some funding from schemes such as the Odeon development to help towards the cost of the walk of fame. It will be good for that part of London Road.
"Names such as Frank Sinatra, Houdini, Laurel and Hardy and of course the Beatles, are just a few of the great names who visited this area."
The student flats scheme is now being assessed before submission to the city council's planning committee in the near future.
