He said his business support team was active in identifying businesses that could be at risk of failure and getting them expert advice.

“We need to make sure we continue to improve the physical fabric of the city so that it becomes a more attractive place to live, work or visit.

“We need to present ourselves to the world, not as a place that was somewhere, but a place that is going somewhere, and the sort of place people want to visit.

“The most useful thing we can do is contribute to that sense of confidence that there is in the city now.

“The way we do that is by helping other people do the things that they want to do.”

Mr Gill admitted that the agency faces the challenge of learning to do things differently as its key funders, the North West Development Agency and the Homes and Communities Agency, rein in spending during the downturn.

“We have to find new ways of making things happen, and that does not mean just throwing public money at it.”

Mr Stopforth said: “Someone once described Liverpool as a Size 8 lady in a Size 12 dress.

“We have the infrastructure to support a much greater population.

“Jim’s right, I think if we are going to see a step change in Liverpool’s economic performance, something like this is required.

“It’s a huge challenge, and I am not sure it has been done on a scale like this anywhere else.”

He said young people needed to be introduced to enterprise and business basics from an early age.

“It’s extraordinary generally how ignorant the general population is about business.

“There’s a kind of illiteracy about the way capitalism works, which needs to be addressed in schools and colleges.

“Shrinking the over-large public sector is another thing that would help.

“One of the ways to do that is by outsourcing as many public functions as possible. Delivery ought to be left to the market place where possible.”

Mike Parker, chairman of Liverpool Vision, said the business plan is about making the most of opportunities for growth and for continuing our renaissance.

“We need a larger critical mass of economic activity and closer partnership working.

“This city has defined an ambitious vision to achieve this and the business plan sets out investment priorities for our partners and a picture of the planned and on-going transformational changes in the city’s environment for business to maintain private sector confidence.”