Site Archive March 2004

Missing the Boat
DL Director Tony Siebenthaler appeared on BBC News Friday 12th March 18:30 GMT commenting on the news that Cunard have been forced to cancel their planned naming of the Queen Victoria at Liverpool.

Remnants of the great landing stage & liner terminal,
once home to the World's most famous Liners

Cunard cited uncertainty over the completion date for the new landing stage at the Pier Head for their decision, being as it is 6 months behind schedule. Liverpool City Council has blamed red tape at central government for the delay.

This is the second time Liverpool has failed to attract Cunard to name a ship at their spiritual home on the Mersey. In 2003 the world's largest passenger ship QM2 was forced to be named at Southampton for the same reason.

Is anybody listening in Whitehall?!

Visitor Numbers to Liverpool Soar
Check out the recent article by Helen Carter in the Guardian highlighting the increase of up to 40% in visitor numbers to Liverpool galleries and museums - bucking the UK trend. Concern however on possible effect of Capital of Culture win in 'sanitising' the city..


Marseilles fans in Liverpool for UEFA Cup

Creative assets make downtown wealth
When creative entrepreneurs are encouraged to congregate in already dynamic downtown neighbourhoods the mix becomes incredibly potent.


Coffee, books and a place of business for the new downtown entrepreneur?

A quick 5 min search of the internet unearths masses and masses of this stuff. Policy adjustments in Liverpool would see the same results here...lets go for it hey?
(nb: regen folk, see what the first piece says about biotech!!! article source)

On yer bike!
The newly revamped Liverpool Daily Post is offering all sorts of goodies for downtowners. Vendors will now be seen trundling downtown on their tricycles...stop them and buy one! Also free daily delivery service to downtown business (and residents?) is now offered. Called DP Direct, it guarantees your paper is delivered before 08.30. Contact 0151-472-2347.

Liverpool Echo's business news continues to get better also. Why not buy both!

On the Buses
Merseytravel have introduced a number of downtown circular bus routes. Should make getting round a little easier! download map here [407k pdf]

We hear though, that there may be plans for a THIRD bus terminal. If you add in Lime St Station, the Mann Island pull in and National Bus Station, it seems nobody really knows what they are doing. Talk about integrated transport! Bring back the Pierhead Terminus we say...makes sense!

Transatlantic Flights for LJLA
Liverpool City Council and the North West Development Agency look set to propose the use of European money to build an extension of LJLA's runway to facilitate regular transatlantic flights from Liverpool to NYC, Chicago and beyond. [LDP]

After 10 years and £2.5b of EU aid, such has been its success that we STILL qualify for Objective One funding...

But at last, we might see the capital investment in infrastructure, a strategy which transformed Lille into Euralille and Capital of Culture 2004 [info]

N.B.* To highlight this bold development in aviation strategy BBC North West on the same day had a profile of........Manchester Airport! 'Our' Region!

Light and Airy Please?
Our initial joy on seeing the excellent proposals for the 20 story + redevelopment of Central Station by Ballymore was somewhat tempered when we noticed the impact of the beautiful, light, tower is possibly to be deminished by the frontage onto Bold St. Are they really proposing terracotta tiles and 'honest' red brick........WHY? [link]

Who's trying to turn us into a northern milltown? The tradition in Liverpool is to build anything wishing to portray 'class' in white or light 'commercial' colours. 'Light' is the main palette on Bold St itself!

Liverpool Internationale please not Liverpolitan Provinciale..

Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Vision should otherwise be congratulated and supported as the scheme moves forward into detailed planning, to ensure the scale, height and massing of this scheme is maintained...or preferably, increased.

Put that ciggie out!
With total smoking bans in force or planned in places as varied as NYC, Ireland, Norway and Sweden, could it be downtown Liverpool's turn next?

Liverpool City Council wish to see in a ban in time for 2008. DL instinctively feel that this would be the right move (Director is a smoker), but what do you think? Let us know

Meanwhile: A new initiative was launched downtown this week that aims to give support to firms etc wishing to bring in non smoking policies amongst other initiatives. Go to the SmokeFreeLiverpool website for more details.

Canal Link Moves Ever Closer
The planning application for the extension of the canal from the Leeds/Liverpool canal basin terminus at Stanley Dock to the Albert Dock via.. the Pier Head has been submitted this week. [link]

British Waterways' £15m scheme favours a course running adjacent to the Mersey in front of the Liver Building, ferrying the tourists from the north to south docks in narrowboats.
e-mail us your views?

Whilst,

'..the design therefore reflects the maritime development of Liverpool as a major port'

can attention also be paid to the mere £80m required to enable deep water berthing at Royal Seaforth and thereby cement Liverpool's maritime pre-eminence into the 21st century.. [link]

New Manhattan or Olde York?
Related to the call to ensure that proposals for Central Station are not diminished is our wider concern that downtown is missing out on the level of investment it could have. Planners are continually cutting back the scale of proposals, or even worse refusing them all together.

DL have heard of a number of considerable proposals, by quality architects and developers, that have been dismissed at the pre-planning stage. Lobby your councillor and those charged with regenerating the city. It damages downtown.

Repopulation of downtown will need more substantial building than currently allowed (above, a nice, but diminutive Manoli's Yard)

Liverpool's environment and skyline could already have been considerably improved and the numbers of business and residents substantially increased except for the suffocating impact of those obsessed with the, fictitious, 'Sacred Skyline' and blind preservation.