The long-running saga of a controversial development site alongside Liverpool’s Lime Street Station has finally been resolved.

Irish developer Chieftain saw ambitious plans for a skyscraper hit the buffers when it faced opposition from city planners.

Now a revised scheme that will see a stunning 13-storey building on the Skelhorne Street site has been approved by the council’s planning committee.

Councillors backed a recommendation from officers who supported the scaled-down development.

Chieftain will now construct a new landmark building on the sloping site. It will include a 151-bed four-star hotel, 88 apartments and a 39-space basement car park. The area around the building will also be landscaped

The developers took their previous project to a government planning appeal, but the Secretary of State dis- missed the appeal, bringing to an end hopes of a 32-storey tower. Liverpool architects Falconer ChesterHall devised a modified scheme for the triangular shaped block.

Council planning manager Nigel Lee said the revised plans overcome concerns about the potential impact of the skyscraper building.

“It will provide an attractive and impressive development at the entrance to the city from Lime Street Station,” said Mr Lee.

PLANNERS also gave the go ahead to a multi-million pound local centre on the site of the old Silver Blades Ice Rink in Liverpool’s Kensington.

The development, at the junction of Kensington, Beech Street, Prescot Road and Sheil Road, will be up to four storeys high with three floors set aside for offices and will include space for retailers, health care services and a new community fire station.