Big Dig is a headache, but there’s no gain without pain if city is to be competitive

Jan 22 2008 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

On the second day of our special feature, David Higgerson hears the views of business people on the impact of the work

FOR more than three years, the Big Dig has dominated Liverpool. With a brief to transform Liverpool into a 21st century city, few have objected to its aims.

Many, however, are concerned at the way the £73m roadworks scheme attached to the Big Dig is being delivered.

As the Liverpool Daily Post revealed yesterday, 80% of city centre users think business has suffered as a result, 40% think tourism has suffered, 45% of people believe the completed projects so far don't justify the problems caused and 85% think the roadworks could have been better planned.

Today, we publish some of the comments made by business people in the city who wanted to have their say on the impact of the Big Dig:

“IN MY opinion, major development cannot take place without an element of disruption, and people need to bear this in mind and make the necessary travel time allowances.

This disruption is just part of the process of improving the infrastructure, and people need to be more accommodating.

There is no gain without pain and when the majority of the redevelopment work and infrastructure has been completed, the city will have been changed for the better. The project is far from putting off investment in the area and in the long term it will only add benefit.”

Chris Hennessy, Director of Office Agency, CB Richard Ellis.

YOU ask for views regarding the multi-million pound roads revamp. In a nutshell, it is worse now than ever, The Strand should be renamed Stranded.

The problem is not the Big Dig, but the amount of traffic lights – the council have created new sets by moving the pelican crossings to different locations on The Strand, away from the normal traffic lights, where they were before!

We read and see in the press, due to climate change, the ice caps are melting, polar bears could become extinct, lightbulbs are being phased out for new eco- friendly ones.

And what does Liverpool City Council do to help the climate? Nothing, they do the opposite, use more electric day and night on more traffic lights, they create more traffic jams, more cars standing idle, more emissions from standing vehicles.

They should be increasing, not decreasing traffic flow.

I cannot understand how they are allowed to get away with it; when the population are being told to save energy.

In this hi-tech, digital age, why can’t they switch the traffic lights off say between 1am and 5am each night and save energy.

Example: in Chester on racedays they switch all traffic lights off near the racecourse: result, increased traffic flow, less pollution, and there is NO increase in accidents when they do this.

Calvin Hughes

WHILE at times it has not been particularly pleasant to be living and working in Europe's largest building site, everyone with an interest in Liverpool has been crying out for so long for the city to have world class retail, leisure and business facilities and the infrastructure necessary to support them.

The only way that Liverpool could be transformed in a relatively short space of time after years – if not decades – of under investment was to do something huge. and we are fortunate that public and private money has been forthcoming.

Once finished, the Big Dig should firmly establish Liverpool as one of the world's great cities, although as always the test will be how we retain that position by sustaining and further increasing investment and confidence in the city.

Disruption to the business community has been minimal (although retailers within the city centre may have different experiences) and most professional firms will have picked up additional work as a result of all the regeneration going on.

In the long term, we should all benefit from Liverpool's improved facilities and reputation.

It really is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

Pamela Jones, joint head of property and construction, Hill Dickinson LLP

THE “Big Dig'” reflects the pains and benefits of Liverpool's current transformation. The city is reclaiming its former crown both nationally and internationally.

However, this does inevitably create issues in terms of diversions, congestion and appearance of some parts of the city while construction work is under way.

The important message is that having cranes in the skyline when people are visiting the city can be a real positive. This shows the strength of confidence in the city's future and depicts Liverpool as a progressive and dynamic international city. Of course, there's a balance to be struck between this and the disruption it causes. However, the real indicator for success will be how much inward investment is attracted by the Capital of Culture Year and wider regeneration of the city.

David Porter, Partner at Knight Frank in Liverpool

MY VIEW is that it’s excellent news for the city. It should leave a positive impression on the visitor and attract tourism. Liverpool is famous for its iconic buildings, the Three Graces, two cathedrals; this development should be strong enough to sit alongside the great buildings we already have. The building work needs to finish on time and other areas i.e. Church Street, mustn't become secondary/semi-derelict locations. The amount of private money in this project is an excellent testament that Liverpool's perception and stereotypical image is changing for the better.

Paula McGrath, corporate finance partner at PKF Accountants & business advisers in Liverpool

LIVERPOOL'S Big Dig is having a significant impact on the whole city and, with being the European Capital of Culture in 2008, the local economy is benefiting.

The immediate beneficiaries appear to be the property and construction sectors with the explosion of activity. However, this is having a cost impact on Šthe city's retailers and commuters while the building work continues but, once completed, there will be longer term benefits.

At Citi Quilter, we have and are continuing to witness the changing profile of the waterfront outside our office with the recent opening of the cruise liner facility and visit of the Queen Elizabeth 2.ŠInterestŠat the opening was enormous and the increasing usage of the terminal will further boost the local economy.

Richard Thorn, head of Liverpool office, Citi Quilter

THE Big Dig inevitably causes disruption in the short term but it is essential for cultural institutions in the city centre like the Bluecoat – where success depends on better public access in the long term.

Alastair Upton, Chief Executive of the Bluecoat Arts Centre

LIVERPOOL is looking to undertake the level of redevelopment in five years which it has taken other regional cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol 10-15 years to achieve. This means some short-term pain, but the long-term benefits for the city and region will be enormous.

What has impressed me most about the ongoing redevelopment of Merseyside is the balance and spread of investment.

The Paradise Street development plans are hugely impressive and will give the city a new point of focus in terms of retail and leisure. The residential renaissance across the city centre has been well documented.

This is all backed up by investment which should support the long-term economic future of the region, such as the ACC, the new cruise liner terminal and the new river container terminal at Mersey docks, which will vastly increase capacity.

Beyond this investment within the city itself, key access points are also being improved as can be seen at Edge Lane, and the expansion of routes into John Lennon Airport.

This investment across the board should give the city the economic base and infrastructure it needs to continue developing in the long-term.

Looking further forward, the proposed Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters developments offer a vision of the next wave of investment.

Myles Duckworth, tax director at Deloitte, Liverpool

SOMETIMES there is no alternative to wholesale road closures – for reasons of economy and, more importantly, public safety. Quite simply, it would be impossible to complete many of the schemes which are transforming this city without severe disruption.

However, on closer inspection during the day, diversion signs and cones easily outnumber visible Big Dig workers by a huge ratio. There is not much sign of urgent activity to be seen even in the middle of the working day – and of course none at all in the evening or during the night.

The city council may be saving money for itself (and thus, it would argue, for its ratepayers) by not engaging people to work at night but this may cost us all in the long run.

Jonathan Kennedy,Knight Frank LLP

ANYTHING which helps the ongoing regeneration of Liverpool has got to be a good thing. For too long, Liverpool has been the poor relation. It needs to become confident about itself, in order for others to feel confident about it.

Having said all that, I still feel that the quicker Liverpool and Manchester start working together, rather than in competition, given that we are now in a global economy, the better for the North West as a whole.

Mike Gardner, managing director of Claremont Group Interiors

THE completion of the exciting new developments in Liverpool city centre will attract shoppers back to the city and the massive disruption caused to the current users of the city centre will then be a distant memory.

The city council needs to ensure that the Big Dig is completed and the ugly barriers are cleared away as soon as possible, encouraging visitors to return not only to shop, but also to regularly visit the world-class facilities offered by Liverpool, including the waterfront, the museums and art galleries as well as the theatres and concert venues and now a great choice of world-class restaurants.

It is also essential, in my view, that the council give priority to ensuring that Liverpool returns to being the commuter-friendly city that attracts people to want to live and work here; then, the Big Dig, which has caused so much disruption to commuters, will be regarded as a worthwhile period of investment.

Jonathan Mounsey, senior partner at PKF Accountants & business advisers in Liverpool

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