Loads going on downtown - check it out
We get some strange requests with regards to providing info about downtown's undercurrent activity as well as the more usual tourism stuff.

We cannot and have no wish to provide a comprehensive listings service, others do that wonderfully well. We do have a small selection of them linked - so go and check out some of the fantastic things going on over this bank holiday weekend and further into the summer!

The beauty in culture
We know folks. Your Downtown site is not becoming an homage to football, but this piece isn't really 'just about about a match'. Take a look at these beautiful and powerful photographs.

Love, passion, intense pride in who you are, your roots, your city, your culture - manifest!

Film producer and long time downtown friend and supporter, Ian Wadkins, was at Istanbul and took these photos that, for us, perfectly express the cultural phenomenon manifest at events like Wednesdays, from a unique metropolitan culture that is Liverpool.

The relative value of titles for a commercial city!

World heritage Site - counter productive
Capital of Culture - negligible
One of your football teams, Liverpool, being European Champions - PRICELESS

fantastic show the Mighty Reds ...Kings Of Europe once again - Liverpool an International city on the rise once more - definitely!

Love your city
We would just suggest that you check out the Sunday press on the net for all the 'pro-scouse' cultural analyses.

Deeply satisfying, people are finally remembering that Liverpool is a great, vibrant city with a vital and creative culture - with downtown at the heart of it all.They all love us now
Even the editors of travel companion series 'Lonely Planet' have given up on peddling stereotypes of Liverpool.
Never accurate and verging on the racist, the castigation of a city that underwent decline unprecedented in the West was as rabid as the decline itself was savage!
The message now though is that the city has recovered and we should be shouting once again from the rooftops to remind all that Liverpool alwayswas, and still is one of the most interesting, refreshing and exciting cities in the world!
[footnote: would someone remind the (Manchester) Guardian of this!!]

Read all about it
Two excellent stories from today's Daily Post and Liverpool Echo, no links so check out Mondays icliverpool.

Sunday (29th May) sees the city's first downtown flower market since the closure of the original, permanent, flower market that used to be housed across the road in St Johns. Venue is Queens Sq, all day. Great stuff, lets hope it can become a regular feature as diverse as this one in London, where the emphasis is on entrepreneurs rather than the council seeing it as a passive service provision providing 'consumers' with 'retail offer'

The Port of Liverpool Bdg - fancy living here? it certainly WOULD be fancy

More intriguing are proposals by downtown based developers, Downing's, to build apartments at the top of the Port of Liverpool Building as part of a wider restoration programme (reported on this site last month, see Aprils archive) that would see a family history centre and a new row of much needed shops.

We will certainly be keeping an eye on these two in the future.

Oui or Non for downtown Liverpool?
The French nation votes this coming Sunday on whether to ratify the proposed European Constitution and we would like downtowners views on how they think that this vote should go, with regards to its impact on downtown development and metropolitan decision making?

Is it a step too far down the federal route of a 'Europe of the regions' that would establish a more regionalist-institutionalist approach of 'ordered development', leaving the organic potential of city-based, entrepreneurs, urban markets and metropolitan administration moribund, so cutting off any chance for Liverpool ever being able to decide its own fate?

Or would it be the best thing since sliced bread for Liverpool, downtown and taking away a London bias within current governmental priorities? Would the in built Manchester bias be less harmful?

So should the French vote OUI or NON? Please email us your views and we will publish the results on Tuesday

* The French public voted 55% not to ratify the proposed constitution that would have paved the way to a much greater deepening of EU institutions and advancing the ultimate aim of the 'European Project'

Tales from Paradise
FACT hosted the excellent quarterly Paradise Project review meeting yesterday to a packed audience.


Chavasse 'Park'!

The building work is now well underway and the sheer scale of what is happening downtown is starting to become clear.

The team from Cesar Pelli Architects gave a sneak preview of their design work for the new Chavasse Park, Custom House Steps and Discovery Centre. Intrigued? Just wait until you see the real thing!

A little birdie, or a big fat albatross?
The Daily Post's Larry Neild, who is in the downtown loop more than most, states that certain folk are eyeing up the site of the soon to be demolished former T&GWU building for a £51m replacement for the Royal Court and Playhouse theatres. Hmm..

FIVE IS THE NUMBER!
And we're not just referring to the potential for football glory tonight!

Today this site reached its FIVE MILLIONTH HIT since launch - thank you everyone and let's hope that today - of all days - it's auspicious!

So why not turn off the telly and head downtown to watch the biggest football match in the city for 20 years as Liverpool play in the European Cup Final - there's already a carnival atmosphere in town today! Good Luck LFC. (see above for final twist - it's worth it)

Keeping things continental
Downtown's Continental market is also place today in Lord St, just in time to stock up on some European goodies to add to the flavour for the evening's little event.

Downtown vintners, Scatchards, do a fine selection of European wines as well, so fill yer boots - or you could go to 3345 where the invitation to join them has been made again?

Taking the Michael?
Downtowners will be aware that all sorts of political games have been going on. MS gives SDH a 'knock out blow' only for SDH to hit back with a killer punch' the story has been unfolding all weekend (with rumours for considerably longer).


A super heatwave has been forecast this summer, for some though it looks like heavy weather

The two stories below are related, but events are moving fast. Please stay tuned by getting hold of your Daily Post and Echo's or keeping an eye on this site. Downtown politics hey - this story is sure to run and run!

An eye to the future
CEO of Liverpool City Council, Sir David Henshaw has, in many ways, done well for the city, but he is due to leave soon (however it comes about) so the city must grasp this opportunity to get away from the more provincial 'command & control' mindsets by ensuring that his successor has had actual experience of heading a major, internationally successful metropolis. The world is full of them after all!

Liverpool is a City. Cities are complex, pluralistic organisms 'run' in an entirely different way to industrial towns and cathedral cities. This means our city executive needs the skills to match - so let's think San Francisco not Sandwell and Dudley!

Right up our street?
Perhaps the way to avoid all the constant shenanigans going on, loss of direction and vision, petty internal power politics etc, that leaves our administrative structures open to abuse from underhand and untalented officers is to consider a new system?

Read this excellent piece from last Friday's Independent - sounds good to us. But read this Observer piece that reminds us of the huge task we have.

It would be absolutely essential though that the small town minded where avoided here (we've already had no-marks crawling out from the woodwork, spouting off on radio this week - avoid these like the plague!)
Big person for the big city!

Summer in the city
Downtown has been chock-a-block with all sorts of activity. Check out our new downtown snapshot that gives a small taste of the incidental stuff that makes downtown so great, compiled in just half an hour's walk on Saturday - imagine the millions of things that we missed!

Get me to the church on time? In the CBD the 'Big Dig' hardly matters on a Saturday - as it's still largely dead then.

Beware ...QUAPITALISM!
'Red' in tooth and claw, ruthless in pursuit of its aims, wreaks havoc in the communities it descends upon - voracious!
read more

Let the bus go - I'm having an architectural experience
The new transport hub being built down on Canning Place is fast taking shape. The 'flying' roof-span of the shelter looks interesting - sort of.

Moving the bus stops undoes emense damage caused by past plans

Showing all you've got
It's that time of year again, when downtown business get the opportunity to show the world what they have to offer. BusinessLive is a whole series of downtown based celebrations of our growing enterprise community.

City Exchange - Light, airy, was also a small but important first step in downtown's recovery

A two day expo held at the City Exchange is a highlight - and it is all taking place as the Daily Post celebrates 150 years providing the best business intelligence available. It all kicks off the day after Downtown Week ends!

Still time to get involved, email or call 0151-472 2570.

Downtown Week - building diversity, celebrating vibrancy - website online 17th May

Downtown Week has been designated to celebrate the vibrancy and importance of downtown, the heart of the UK's most exciting city. Simple idea - downtown's great, get down and enjoy yourself.

There are millions of things going on downtown, but some are putting on special initiatives to celebrate - support them? [click logo to visit site]

The week will also provide the opportunity to test ideas that may prove viable year-round, improving, over the years, the range of activity we have to offer even further.

So, if you love your city and you want downtown to become ever more vibrant then make a special effort to come downtown during the week. Downtown offers something for everyone.

See a movie, go to the Phil or even take the time to seek out a really esoteric experience.

If you can, then please support the companies, organisations and individuals who have decided to put on additional, special events for Downtown Week?

There are some crackers on board. The latest to help kick things off by putting on something extra include;

3345, downtown's hippest members club for creative's is opening its doors for Downtown Week to non members to view and use the facilities normally reserved for members.

Step inside - a thriving community of creative's

In addition 3345 are showcasing a photographic exhibition by Robert Whittaker: called "The Cat who got the Cream". a never before seen photographic exhibition of supergroup Cream, perfectly reflecting the summer of love, 1967.

There will also be a nature walk, some debates, special meal deals - there could also be a loft tour to complement Martins Bank Bdg opening for the week!

We are proud to support this independent initiative as we are sure that as it develops over the years it will become an immensely valuable tool for increasing trade, visitors and marketing of downtown Liverpool - Heart of the UK's most exciting city - Don't you just love it?

We Told You So!
News that UNESCO chief Francesco Bandarin has come out with a no-holds-barred attack on tall buildings and contemporary architecture [link]:

"In confronting modern architecture we find we do not have the tools to stop them.” !!!!!!!!

Bandarin's proposal is to ensure that cities with WHS status have to embed a new conservation plan which would make statutory, opposition to tall/iconic architecture.

Bandarin cited buildings such as this:


30 St Mary Axe,
Stirling Prize Winner 2004
picture credit: courtesy of architecture.com [RIBA]

as something that should not have been built!

Would we ever have seen a Liver Building, Anglican Cathedral, Oriel Chambers, Radio City Tower? This is crazy!

Can we call on Liverpool City Council to follow the lead of the Corporation of London whose spokesman responded:
"It is not for someone from some anally retentive European country to come along and tell people they can’t touch [a heritage site]." YES!


Here we go Mr Bandarin
One of the 'modern' projects that has riled our friends at UNESCO is the Unity development on Chapel and Rumford Streets.

As our leaders have stated in the strongest language that we have no intention of discouraging metropolitan scale buildings and modern architecture we see a problem or two brewing.

Central cores of the Unity nearly complete

That beautiful Manhattan-esque vista has now disappeared - growth is good!

Central courtyard taking shape

We are going to face a tricky dilemma before long - do we drop the WHS designation, drastically amend it, or do we wait for the indignity of being stripped of WHS status?

Density Calling
How many times have you heard 'they're building too many flats'.

At the same time how many families are forced to live in Wirral and Warrington because there are so few (and therefore so expensive) family dwellings in Liverpool.

Remember, apartments not houses are THE correct dwelling for cities. The 'problem' at present is one of over-supply of one type of property ie:1-2 bed flats. Look at the muddle the city is in now with the bungalows that were built in between Kings Dock and Ropewalks..

Great news then that the massive £1 billion private sector investment in Baltic L1 is aimed squarely at family apartments [link].

-We hinted at this story back in Feb 04!

Inspite of everything..
we must admit that there is something appealing about the new 'City Square' development in downtown Moorfields!


Nearly finished and nearly fully let ...City Square

In spite of the stunted ambition, the tan tiling and kitsch references it is quite a tidy building, unlike that other recent horror..

COMMUTATION PLAZA or is it Castle Greyskull? (with T&GWU bdg in background)

The joke is that the former T&GWU building next door, crafted to be 'in keeping' in the same way as CP, is soon to be pulled down at huge public expense, such is the power of the aesthetes. Let's hope the bulldozers get the wrong one hey?!

It's that lamb again
Superlambanana has been given a makeover to help highlight a campaign encouraging people to think about fostering local children.

It has been painted green, for 'fostering fortnight'. There is also an open day at downtown's Radio City Tower on 12th May so downtowners who would like to consider fostering should get along, between 10a.m and 4p.m.

As it's in a spectacularly good cause it is a good use of the icon - but not too often LCC? it would spoil the impact. For more details about fostering call the recruitment team on 0151 233 3700.

Is it the end for the Royal Court?
Rumours that downtown's famous art deco Royal Court Theatre is to be closed/forced to close have been sweeping around for months.

We all like a good comedian, but enough to fill this place 7 days a week?

Latest rumour is that it is to close as a theatre but re-open as a comedy venue!

Directors have said there will be a definitive statement within the next few weeks - Capital of Culture?

Downtown is the natural incubator for those new ideas
From little acorns, sometimes grow the downtown giants. Drop by new enterprise 'The Heart of Liverpool' food stand in downtown Williamson Sq and not only pick up a healthy snack, but also tons of info about fitness & healthy living.

Sound advice - and unbelievable food

Who knows! Maybe in ten years time owner, Jeff will have 20 shops and 50 more facilities like this. Marks and Sparks, TJs', Rapid Hardware ...even Microsoft started out in a lean to!

Another ace example of small-scale enterprise building both the offer and downtown potential is up on Heyworth St.

Tell your visitors to stay up at May Duncan's

May Duncan's is doing a roaring trade and is helping to reverse decades of decline and suburbanisation of this downtown district with tons of potential. Check it out

Some spectacular downtown views from the rooms

90% of jobs and wealth are generated by SME's in the worlds most vibrant cities ...so why not here? Downtown is our incubator, laboratory and testing ground .. the central marketplace!

Still the best
Radio City last week won the most important of the Sony Awards ...again! Like the city itself, Radio City and Merseyside, from their downtown nerve centres, have always punched way above their weight with regards to innovation, listening figures and quality.

Deeply rooted in the city's popular culture both have also been vital in reminding us that we are a city to sing about!

Remember 'Downtown'? The slot probably did more to keep that important, buoyant feel going about downtown's night-life during a nasty decade of decline than most things!

Take it from the experts, rather than the 'experts'
Another Tenentspin programme is being broadcast on Wednesday, where high-rise tenants tell their tales.

Fascinating stuff, and confirms one of our basic tenets, namely that there is nothing inherently bad about high-rise living - far from it. Indeed, in cities it is a desirable way of building density, retaining and reviving viable neighbourhoods and quality of urban life. Lessons for downtown and our inner districts aplenty.

Scouse Power!
With Liverpool losing to Arsenal on Sunday, that means Everton are into next seasons UEFA Champions League. Excellent stuff and thoroughly deserved.

Red or Blue we're all scousers first and our teams being successful is an important aspect of scouse culture, which is in some part manifest at Anfield and Goodison - Well done David Moyes - Manager or the Year!

Make mine a tall one please?
The BBC start a short series of programmes tonight on the history of tall buildings and the skyscraper. We'll raise a glass to that. First programme goes out tonight [10 May], 10.40p.m on BBC1 - Lets hope certain folk in Liverpool are watching - as it's called Imagine, the Beatles link might make them more acceptable!

Running just to stand still now?
News that Marconi are to close their Edge Lane plant is not exactly a downtown story, but it does highlight a central concern with regards to mindset and the metropolitan economy we have raised over and over again on this site.

Big plants like these are not the future for urban economies, in truth they where never really their past either, as we know to huge cost in this city.

There is nothing wrong with having them, but not as your only trick. Enterprise led to it's presence here (while others where induced with 'bribes') and enterprise will mitigate the damage of this plants closing ...if we let it!

As this is not the first piece of negative news from industries our economy has been saddled with again recently AMICUS, MSIF, GME, Liverpool Chamber and all other strategic players should be crafting plans asap to ensure that as many as possible of those facing redundancy are helped to set up their own business ..thus ensuring that the city doesn't loose this vital sector ...and those with the hi-tech skills do not fester in the dole queue.

The plant is expendable, the people, the skills and the sector are not! We have bled more of the induced jobs than we have brought in this year, and this while the national economy is robust. What happens when we hit a downturn and all our eggs lie in this precarious basket?

It's a position we should not have gotten ourselves back into, having suffered the devastation of the late 70s' and early 80s' (did nobody remember all those leaders in the DP?)

For the longer term all should be looking at extricating ourselves from this dependence as quickly as we can.

N.B NWDA are the landlords of the site and one of the reasons given for moving those jobs not being eliminated was rent charges!

Read all about it!
icliverpool is absolutely packed with downtown development info today (10th May) - so be sure to pick up a copy of the Daily Post, or the Echo later today. Comprehensive stories about
- Lime St gateway
- Kings Dock resolution
- the long overdue 'Hard Days Night' Beatles themed hotel in North John St

Ellman retains downtown seat
In yesterdays General Election Louise Ellman, M.P. for 'Riverside', which includes downtown, was returned.

Louise has been a good representative but if the city is now to progress any further then all our M.Ps' have to join George Howarths rallying call made last year for a metropolitan agenda to replace the fundamentally flawed 'Regional Project'

With Scouser Rosie Cooper elected for West Lancs we have the chance to form a city-region power block in Westminster ...even the BBC see some logic in this, reporting Merseyside and Cheshire results as one unit!

Esther McVey's attempt to crack Wirral West didn't quite come off.

Downtown residential market continues to grow
News that downtown's first £2m apartment will form part of the redevelopment of Exchange Flags is great news.

Exchange Flags - spectacular heart of new downtown growth?

The downtown housing market is holding up well, whilst other city centres see a drying up of demand and some have also seen a fall in prices.

The best piece of the news is that we must remember that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface with regards to wider downtown residential markets ...so come on downtown developers, start investing in the second generation?

Spot the difference
The potential to be gained from our downtown residential revival has not sunk into all mindsets though, as these two examples from Everton illustrate.

View 146 - enterprise

Both complexes are atop Everton Brow, adjacent to the park, have spacious accommodation and spectacular views over downtown, the Mersey and Bay Area to North Wales, all are former council blocks.

Corinth Tower - Quango

One lot was sold off to entrepreneurs

One lot was passed over to a quango

One lot is helping to repopulate this much abused downtown district and are selling for a bomb - making money for the owners and the city-

The others future was viewed as dependent on 'grants', is empty, it's residents largely dispersed and is to be blown up at 11a.m. next Sunday (15th May)- making 'money' for the owners.

Downtown - heart of a global city
If Liverpool's renaissance is to be complete then its international perspective and its internationalism need to be fully understood and re galvanised. Barcelona has the confidence to run international centres and awards Cue for Liverpool?

Striking a balance
Change is an essential element of a dynamic downtown and should be welcomed. The desire of some to not only preserve the 'heritage aspect' of our architecture but would also see second hand bookshops and other 'olde worlde' paraphernalia exclusively inhabit the street rightly deserves to be ridiculed.

It was with a little sadness however that we hear that long established RW Antiques in downtown Seel St is closing down whilst at the same time Sir Thomas St is being over-ran with yet more of the same, bland national brewery chain establishments.


The 'Chester set' like emporia like this rather than Millets etc!

Entrepreneurialism, not homogenisation is the essence of a unique and vibrant downtown.

Oh, Please, less of this 'Three Graces' nonsense!
Downtown's Port of Liverpool bdg is to undergo a massive renovation which will then see it open to the public.

This incredible symbol of Liverpool's former international power was the first of the famous Pierhead group of buildings to be built, thus fundamentally changing the city's 'skyline'.

One negative keep on rearing its head though. Surely it is time to ditch the insufferably cringe making, and recently dreamt up, '3 Graces' as a description of these mighty commercial structures? It's so naff and provincial that we imagine those who built them will be turning in their graves.

Perceptual gaps aplenty, still

Economics:
Downtown is the centre of - everything
There is still a lot of work to do with regards to developing the perception that having our major organisations and institutions based downtown is vital.

We have long heard rumours that a number of institutions currently based downtown are being pressured to move their headquarters to other 'regeneration priority areas' (i.e. failing pet projects)

So it is with some relief that we welcome Merseyside's Chief of Police statement that it is vital that their headquarters remain downtown.

It does also highlight that certain groups HAVE been attempting to move these types of facility out of the city centre. So much for the idea that our planners are enlightened urbanists.

Urban Planning:
Planners love their zones and masterplans, but who decides?
While cities around the world are crafting frameworks that facilitate intensified and more organic downtown growth and getting away from backward and damaging 'zonal masterplans', could ours possibly be taking yet another nostalgia trip?

In addition to WHS, anti tall building policies and fights over Merseytram coming WAY TOO late in the day, word now reaches us that a third, more proscriptive 'masterplan' has been requested for The Baltic, 'L1' area.

We cannot identify any logic, any rationale, any joined up thinking, any progressive vision. To what overall framework will this fit? Who is in over all charge of strategic development of downtown? With whom does the buck stop?

Great news - downtown traffic chaos could be with us for 2 years!
No irony in the headline here. Reports that the current major upheavals could get worse before they get better and will take at least two years should be taken as a sign of a city reviving.

Single file please? Traffic caught up in 'The Big Dig' snaking down Ranlagh St

Downtown's Big Dig is vital work that is making good decades of previous neglect and will enable downtown to regenerate even further. Just remember, in the 1980s' the traffic was pretty free-flowing - Soviet style almost!

Liverpool commuters more 'metro savvy' than rivals
If you do commute downtown then avoid the gridlock and just take the train? You will be in good company, as according to 'The Urban Audit' Liverpool comes 4th highest in the league of major cities for commuter use of trains, only beaten by London, Glasgow and Newcastle.

You find that it is in the more provincial minded places where folk are obsessed with using their own little cars to protect themselves from the rest of humanity!

It takes 15 minutes max to get downtown from Huyton, Crosby or Garston by train or taxi (Scouse taxi drivers know all the shortcuts) so if you can't move downtown then do the next best sensible thing and use the alternatives?

The sun shines brighter too!
As we already know, it's always sunny downtown! The survey above, amongst tons of other useful statistics, also highlights that downtown Liverpool gets more and better quality levels of sun and sunlight than the other northern cities. How's that for all you budding downtown artists?

Giddy up
Crowds at the Pierhead are growing daily and downtown entrepreneurs are responding with new (and some not so new) ventures.

Nothing finer ...a horse drawn conveyance to take the stress away

A trip round town can now be had in a horse and carriage. Catch Maisie and driver at the Pierhead each day, from Wednesday to Sunday. Be sure to take a sugar lump or two along.

Entertaining the folks downtown

The crowds aren't quite large enough for some just yet though to make an income. We came across this entertainer moving his pitch up to Church St for the day.