THE massive construction projects in full swing in Liverpool city centre have resulted in a major urban regeneration conference coming to the city at the end of this month.

The British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) will hold its two-day annual event at the city’s FACT centre on January 30/31.

Key speakers will include Liverpool City Council chief executive Warren Bradley, Northwest Development Agency chairman Bryan Gray, Liverpool One project director Rodney Holmes and Jim Gill, chief executive of Liverpool Vision.

BURA is an independent organisation which aims to “facilitate the exchange of ideas, experience and solutions within regeneration”.

Liverpool’s regeneration programme is now in full swing with the city home to a number of large-scale projects.

These include the Echo Arena, Liverpool and BT Convention Centre on the waterfront and Grosvenor’s mammoth Liverpool One scheme – the biggest new retail development in Europe, comprising 1.5m sq ft of commercial space.

It was because of these and other projects that BURA felt Liverpool was the ideal place to talk about issues around urban regeneration.

A spokesman for BURA said: “The regeneration challenge in Liverpool resonates with everyone delivering and managing change.

“It is a city in transition – an ideal period to witness regeneration at its most challenging phase as the city reshapes the way the regeneration process is managed and governed. It is recreating its sense of place, attracting investment and employment, delivering the largest post-war city centre building programme in Europe (while keeping business as usual);

all the while managing expectations of residents and business.”

On day one of the conference, sponsored by commercial property agency CB Richard Ellis, Mr Gray will speak about Liverpool’s place in the regional economy. Later, Mr Holmes will talk about the benefits of an effective public/private partnership.

CBRE’s head of regeneration and chair of BURA, Jackie Sadek, said: “Liverpool has always been of huge importance to the urban regeneration sector and our delegates will conduct tours of Liverpool One, Radio City, Edge Lane and the knowledge and science quarters.”

tonymcdonough