LIVERPOOL will get its own dedicated creative quarter in the Baltic Triangle with the launch of a new £5.2m investment plan.
The Baltic Creative scheme, which its creators say gives the city a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to develop its creative sector, will see four buildings off Jamaica Street refurbished to house creative and digital businesses.
Regeneration officials say the creative sector will be vital to Liverpool’s economy in the future and hope the new centre, funded by the Northwest Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund, will house more than 60 businesses.
The Baltic Triangle has been mooted for years as a creative quarter for the city and several businesses have already moved or been launched there.
If the new Baltic Creative scheme proves a success, it could also help breathe new life into the wider Baltic Triangle area, which has long been seen as ripe for regeneration.
Kevin McManus, director of Liverpool Vision’s creative support body Merseyside ACME, says Baltic Creative will be a home for growing creative firms in the same way that Liverpool Science Park is for hi-tech companies.
He said: "We want a mixture of sole traders and small and large companies. We want to see a lot of collaboration and innovation, that puts Liverpool on the cutting edge of the industry.
"Liverpool’s future is creative and digital. We want to have some of Liverpool’s great creative and digital firms in there – maybe visual artists, designers or musicians. This will be a space where people can spark off each other and collaborate – all the things they should be doing at the moment.
"We have to support businesses that are going to grow and bring money and jobs to the city."
Mr McManus said there has already been "a lot of interest" from firms wanting to move into the buildings. The industrial units include the one used by the New Picket music venue.
They will be run by a newly-formed "community interest company" called Baltic Creative.
The funding includes £3m from the NWDA and another £2.2m from the European Regional Development Fund. It covers the cost of leasing the buildings from the NWDA on a long lease and refurbishing them, as well as running costs for at least three years until Baltic Creative can stand on its own two feet financially through rents it brings in.
