Calls to protect a former Liverpool skating rink that could be demolished for student accommodation have been dismissed by consultants working on the plans.

Agents behind the scheme say the heritage value of the Ritz Roller Rink, in the Georgian Quarter, has already been assessed as part of their bid for planning permission.

Their comments come after residents’ group, Love Canning, said they would apply for the building to be listed in an attempt to halt plans to raze it.

Plans have been submitted to demolish the former skating rink, on the corner of Mulberry Street and Myrtle Street, to make way for a 276-studio room student block.

Built in 1932, the building’s first floor roller rink remains largely intact, though it has not been used for its original purpose since the building became a youth centre in the 1960s.

Those behind the project insist the wooden rink is in a derelict condition and say it is blighted with problems. A balcony that used to overlook the rink has previously been removed because of structural issues.

Disputing calls for the building to be protected, Tony Ogden, who has worked on the scheme as director at Day Architectural, said: “This is a great site for student accommodation. We have had a heritage report done and a report from Historic England and both said that the building, architecturally, doesn’t have any significance to the area and the proposed scheme is in keeping with the surrounding area.”

As well as expressing concern the scheme was controversial because of a wider issue about student accommodation, he added: “The whole balcony has long gone, the floor is ripped up in places. It is not something you could ever bring to its former glory unless somebody is willing to spend a hell of a lot of money turning it into a roller rink. I’m sure if there was an appetite for that, people would be doing that already.”

Mr Ogden pointed to studies already compiled on the building to back up his claims the student accommodation plan was suitable.

Among those is a heritage report compiled by consultants Turley. Offering an extensive overview of the site’s merits, the report accepts it has “some heritage significance” but argues it is “unlikely to be a strong candidate for listing”.