Culture in Crisis?: Will Liverpool be ready for ’08?

Aug 16 2007 by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Culture Company is hoping to attract millions of tourists to Liverpool next year – but will Liverpool be ready for the influx? The Big Dig – the name given to the multi-billion pound transfor-mation of the city – has seen a forest of cranes rising above the skyline.

It has seen road closures, diver-sions, and constrictions adding chaos to the lives of people work-ing in the city centre or visiting the heart of Liverpool. Some of the work will continue into 2008, and some beyond culture year.

So what will be in store when the expected rush of visitors turns up in the next year. What exactly will be open for business?

It depends on what time of the year is chosen, but as the bulk of the visitors will head this way from early summer until late autumn will they need to bring hard hats and hob-nail boots?

No is the immediate answer from John Kelly, Liverpool city council’s executive director for regeneration.

He said: “Visitors to Liverpool in 2008 will be amazed at the transformation. We have been waiting two generations for this work to be done and it will con-tinue well beyond 2008.

“Other major cities are under-going change and we in Liverpool have spent billions of pounds. By the end of 2008 we will have com-pleted another 114 projects worth £2.5bn. Capital of Culture is cele-brating a regenerated city, but 2008 is not the finished product. We will go ahead with more schemes after 2008.”

Virtually all of the road and street works will have finished in time for 2008, and the next big road improvement programme – centred on Leeds Street and Islington – will not start until 2009, to give the city a breather after its culture year.

The Liverpool Arena and Con-vention Centre at Kings Dock opens in January. Its first big event will be to host the opening ceremony for culture year.

It will be up and running throughout the year and book-ings suggest it will be a busy attraction throughout 2008.

Across The Strand, Grosven- or’s £1bn Paradise Street Project – Liverpool One – will be let on target for a spring 2008 opening. Debenhams want to open in Feb-ruary with the shopping area around South John Street and Paradise Street following. Chav- asse Park will open around May.

At the Pier Head, work will finish around June on the new stretch of canal in front of the Three Graces, but boats will not be able to navigate the waterway until the link through the Central Dock system to the start of the Leeds-Liverpool canal is finished.

Visitors to Mann Island and the Maritime Museum will be able to watch the Museum of Liverpool emerge. It will be finished towards the end of 2008, though it will not open to the public until 2010. There may be some outdoor events in 2008 using the new museum as a backdrop.

The rest of Mann Island will be a building site with the construc-tion of the granite wedges that will house leisure, retail and residential elements.

Behind Central Station, work will have begun on Central Village, another mixed-use skyscraper development.

Lime Street road works will have long finished, but the Lime Street Gateway project – the replacement of eyesore Concourse House – will still be in its early stages.

The listed ABC Cinema building across the road will have only been spring-cleaned to improve its aesthetics.

All road improvements will have virtually finished by the start of 2008, including those on Church Street, Lord Street and Whitechapel.

Work along James Street will be the last to be completed in December but the City Centre Movement Strategy will continue well into 2008.

Phase 2 along The Strand starts next month, including improve-ments to the junction with James Street, the removal of the 1970s footbridge and new trees, and will last until March, 2008.

The only other street works in 2008 will start in the first three months of the year to ensure public transport access to Debenhams and other retail outlets in Liverpool One. It will make North John Street two-way and is expected to last for up to six months.

Perhaps the best place to see the transformation will be from Britain’s highest restaurant, perched on the 34th floor of Beetham West Tower.

larryneild@dailypost.co.uk