Cranes on the Liverpool Skyline _460
THE number of major planning applications in Liverpool has fallen by more than half, in the latest indication of the impact of the credit crunch on the city.
Between April and December, 2008, the city council only received 95 applications for large schemes – around 53% less than the 200 the council had been expecting, based on a five-year average.
In a sign that families are also tightening their belts and not extending their homes, smaller applications have also fallen by 21% over the same period.
Last night, economists and key city figures warned that the situation was not likely to improve until much-needed confidence had returned to the markets.
But Steve Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Development Agency, said there are “some examples of fragile seeds starting to grow”.
Economist Peter Stoney said he hoped confidence would return towards the end of the year, but that it could take until the General Election, expected for 2010, for that to happen.
A Liverpool Council financial planning report warns that: “The fall in property values has affected the affordability of capital programmes with the financing of schemes being reliant on the sales of council assets.
“These assets will have fallen in value, with the Land Registry reporting that the fall in property prices for the year to November, 2008, was 12.2%.”
The council has seen a 38% drop in income from planning applications in the first nine months of the financial year from £1.9m to £1.22m.
Last night, Mr Broomhead said: “I am not surprised about this, particularly in the commercial and housing sectors.”
He said he was hoping to bring forward £20m worth of financing from the agency’s 2011/12 budget to help with fiscal stimulus.
“I think there’s too much emphasis on doom and gloom at the moment.
“There are some examples of fragile seeds starting to grow in some of the new sectors like environmental technology and advanced manufacturing.
“I think it’s about time we tried to move on with realistic optimism.
“It is challenging out there, but there are growth opportunities.”
