BUSINESSES in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle have launched a manifesto to help transform the area into a creative “biosphere” that could be Liverpool’s answer to MediaCity.

The city’s regeneration bodies have long wanted to see the area transformed into a creative quarter. Several creative enterprises have already set up in the area, many of them based in the renovated Elevator Studios complex, in Parliament Street.

Now some of those firms have come together to create their own vision for the area – which they believe can become a Merseyside equivalent to London’s Shoreditch or New York’s Meatpacking District. Their manifesto was showcased at an event in the district last night.

The Baltic Triangle stretches from Wapping to Parliament Street, Park Road and St James Street, has many derelict or unused buildings, and sits isolated from the city centre.

But the team behind the latest manifesto believes that, if shops and eateries can be persuaded to open there, then it will become a popular place to visit.

And, as a self-contained creative cluster with lots of small firms working together, it could become a Liverpool alternative to the soon-to-open MediaCity UK complex, in Salford.

The vision for the Baltic Triangle has been put together by businesspeople including Tim and Paul Speed, of Elevator Studios, Chris Lee, of Slazenger Heritage owner Microbrands, and Miles Falkingham, of Union North architects.

Mr Lee said: “Hopefully the Baltic Triangle can become a biosphere in its own right – a place that attracts new start-ups, incubators and creative businesses into the area.

“We need to offer work, rest and play facilities – we need to attract more visible businesses like cafes, bars, restaurants, workshops, hotels and retail.