‘Put city trams back on agenda’

Aug 20 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

THE new chief executive of Grosvenor’s £1bn Liverpool One development last night called for the city’s doomed trams project to be resurrected.

Joanne Jennings, the woman in charge of running and marketing Liverpool One, said she had been in talks with the local transport authority Merseytravel about how best to move the 1m-plus extra shoppers expected to visit the city after the development opens its doors next year. Speaking during a podcast interview on the Daily Post’s business website, Ms Jennings, who moved to the region from a job marketing Belfast city centre two months ago, said: "We are working with local operators to make sure we get the best access into and out of the city centre.

"The tram question is a good one. It is something that should be put back on the agenda for Liverpool.

"If we are trying to be a modern, exciting city we need to look at these options."

A proposed three-line tram system, costing more than £1bn, was scrapped two years ago when the Government refused to hand over £170m towards Line One after refusing to accept local guarantees over possible cost overruns.

The trams were considered a vital part of carrying shoppers into Grosvenor with the route due to pass straight through the middle of Paradise Street.

Indeed, the planning case for the development said it was hoped the trams would carry two-thirds of the shoppers expected to visit Liverpool One. Facilities such as a ticket office had already been built as part of the Liverpool One scheme and the city’s road layout was altered to accommodate the tram scheme before it was called-off.

Despite what was a huge setback for the region, a tram system remains high on the list of priorities for Merseytravel, and it remains within the region’s five-year Local Transport Plan. Liver- pool One will be home to 160 retail outlets, restaurants, cinemas and hotels when it opens.

During the podcast interview, which can be heard in full at www. thebusinessweek.co.uk, Ms Jennings predicted the whole scheme would be close to fully let by the time it opens in the middle of next year.

Ms Jennings indicated that Grosvenor would have concerns if Liverpool City Council’s proposal for a new Everton ground near the entrance to the Wallasey tunnel included a significant retail element.

A ballot of Everton fans over a move to Kirkby, supported by the club’s hierarchy, will end at noon on Thursday.

She said: "Grosvenor hasn’t come out with a position on this development to date. Developments outside a city centre do attract trade away from the city centre.

"We have to have a look at what the outlets are before we would come out publicly with a position.”

FOR the full interview with Ms Jennings, click here