A Labour MP has praised a Liverpool-based property firm for its work to convert a Waterloo church into 10 luxury apartments.

Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle and Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, visited St John’s Church, which has been recently transformed by EW Developments.

EW has retained a number of original features including the pulpit, stained glass windows and a 130-year-old organ, which was expertly refurbished and now stands in the building’s communal area.

Built in 1865 on the island at the end of St John’s Road, the church was a focal point of the local community for more than 100 years before the congregation relocated to new premises on Picton Road in 2006.

Several of the new one and two-bedroom apartments feature stained glass windows overlooking the dining area, as well as en suite bathrooms and a secret mezzanine room especially designed by EW, which is owned by James Winters and Rob Edwards.

The mezzanine room is reached by entering a hidden doorway amongst the kitchen panels, with stairs leading to a spacious floor above. The complex also features car parking and a communal garden.

The St John’s project follows EW’s successful conversion of Our Lady of Good Help Church in Wavertree into 16 luxury apartments in 2023. In 2019 it transformed an abandoned Victorian building in Kirkdale into the popular Phoenix Hotel.

Peter Dowd, Labour MP for Bootle, says: “It is brilliant to see St John’s Church reinvigorated by James and Rob at EW Developments, rescuing a vacant site and bringing a historic building back to life in such an imaginative and productive way after almost two decades of decay.

“I am thrilled that such a lovely heritage building is being developed constructively, allowing new memories to be made in the Waterloo area, especially at a site which obviously holds a lot of history for so many families in the area.

“I am especially pleased by EW Developments’ commitment to restoring original features of the church – such as the organ and stained glass windows – which makes this site a stand-out development in North Liverpool.

“I am excited to follow the progress of James and Rob, who are both from Bootle, as they continue to breathe fresh life into the city through their unique and exciting developments.”

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