Apartment block honouring Queens Hall site's musical heritage completed in Widnes

Construction of an apartment block on the site of the Queens Hall in Widnes has been completed.

Denovo Design architects called it one of its most challenging housing projects to date.

Queens Court comprises 13 two-bed and four one-bed flats and was built by Forrest on behalf of Halton Housing Trust.

Before it was demolished due to fire in 2012, the sites previous occupant the Queens Hall had hosted bands including The Beatles at least five times and the Stone Roses.

Denovo Design said the apartment project had to commemorate the sites musical heritage, while also dealing with noise from late night music venues in the vicinity.

There had been fears from musicians using the nearby The Studio venue that having a residential block close by could affect its ability to host music events.

A spokeswoman for the firm added that it also needed to avoid dominating the terraced houses opposite in Lacey Street and to compensate for a lack of green space in the area, and also to mitigate potential parking and security issues.

She said the building celebrates the sites musical history and features art displaying the names of acts who performed there.

It also has guitar string style designs built into its entrance.

Denovo Design said all the apartments have special acoustic double glazed aluminium framed windows to help to reduce any external noise, and also have their own ventilation system to boost air quality.

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Apartment block honouring Queens Hall site's musical heritage completed in Widnes