Lib-Dems choose city for party conference

Aug 30 2007 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

LIVERPOOL is to host the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference, in what it is hoped will be the first of many visits from the leading political parties.

The prestigious March, 2008, event will take place at the city’s new £146m Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) on King’s Waterfront, the Daily Post can reveal.

It could be the first of a string of such visits with negotiations already under way with other political parties to draw them to the ACC.

The Lib-Dems are already giving “very serious consideration” to using the venue for future party events, including their even larger autumn conference.

Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “I am delighted the Liberal Democrats will be holding our 2008 spring conference in Liverpool, in the year the city celebrates being European Capital of Culture.

Š“The Liberal Democrats have strong ties to Liverpool, having run the city council since 1998. We also have two MEPs from the area.”

There had been concern the Lib-Dem event might be lost when delays in the convention project were announced last week, meaning the upper level will not be finished until April.

But ACC officials have reassured party leaders and they are happy with the facilities on offer.

A considerable media presence will descend on Liverpool for the event, providing an invaluable high profile during Capital of Culture year, and bringing an estimated 1,500 delegates between March 7 and 9, with an attendant boom in hotel bookings.

Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley spoke of his pleasure at his party’s choice.

He said: “As a Liberal Democrat, I’m particularly proud that we have chosen ACC Liverpool to bring this conference to the city.

“The conference is a key calendar event for the party in which some of our most significant policies are debated and determined.

“Political party conferences are fantastic for a city in terms of raising its profile, and hopefully this will be the first of many more to come.”

The ACC has a convention centre featuring 1,350 seats, a 3,725 sq metre multi-purpose hall, 18 meeting rooms and total exhibition space is in excess of 7,000 sq metres.

The adjoining arena has 10,600 seats and is designed to attract high-profile entertainment and sporting events.

Martin King, director of tourism at The Mersey Partnership, thinks the event is good news for Liverpool’s image.

He said: “Party conferences are great business for any destination.

“For ACC Liverpool to secure one of the major events on the 2008 political calendar is fantastic news.

“We look forward to welcoming a very important and influential audience to our city next spring.

“Events like this also attract huge media interest and there will undoubtedly be some Westminster-based journalists who will be seeing the scale of Liverpool’s economic regeneration for themselves for the first time. I am sure they will be impressed by all they see at ACC Liverpool and elsewhere.”

The party has cited the ACC’s green credentials as a key reason for their attraction to it.

Architects working on the centre, Wilkinson Eyre, are aiming to make it the most environmentally-friendly venue in Europe, with its own wind farm and a design which will produce half the CO² emissions of a traditional building.

Rainwater collected on the roof will be used to flush toilets, and the building will use 20% less electricity than other buildings of its size.

A North West caterer, Heathcotes Outside, has also been chosen to keep “food miles” to a minimum.

Emma Harris, Liberal Democrat conference coordinator, said: “We chose ACC Liverpool because it is an incredibly impressive and state-of-the-art facility, but also manages to be so green. Liverpool is also a wonderful, dynamic city which is really developing itself.

“It is our intention to see how the spring conference goes and, if it all goes well, we will be giving very serious consideration to bringing the bigger autumn con- ference to Liverpool as well. It is such a fantastic centre, it would be shame not to make the most of it.”

Jacquie Rogers, ACC Liverpool’s Convention Centre general manager, added: “We’re absolutely delighted the Liberal Democrats have chosen the city for their spring conference, and are working hard to persuade other political parties to follow suit”.

lizawilliams