Downtown Liverpool Organisation

The Downtown Organisation, Liverpool news alerts to: info@downtownliverpool.org or visit the DL website. www.downtownliverpool.org		Issue 16: Jul 23 2004 Liverpool eDigest
	Hello Downtowners - Don’t you just love downtown? Summer in the city is always full of exciting festivals, concerts and culture. The shops are doing a roaring trade…the renaissance continues. But mostly, just with residents and tourists keeping the city busy after workers have mostly left for home, you can just get a hint of what we could really be if we get tens of thousands more people living downtown. Click on these sites and just get a taster of what is going on in the heart of our great metropolis…makes us wonder why so many leave the city for their holidays during August! visitliverpool.com myvillage BBCmusic brouhaha Capital of Culture City Central BID are also planning a number of great events…visit their site, sign up and be kept abreast of what they’re doing Changes afoot? Regular visitors to our site as well as recipients of our e-digest will have noticed that we have not been quite as quick with our news and info over the last 5 or 6 weeks. A number of factors have been at play, but mainly with the advent of WHS removing so much of our campaigning agenda on the built environment our proto board have been considering this and wish to make some changes in our approach as an organisation. We will still be doing all of our usual downtown activities…debates, projects and, of course, our free monthly downtowners meetings, along with our e-digests and constantly refreshed website. We are moving along on some major new downtown initiatives with partner organisations too. But! - There are some major plans afoot…so watch this space! Announcements soon.
	City Fourth Grace Despairing news that Will Alsop's £multi-million scheme for the car park on the Pier Head has been axed. For anybody who feels that Liverpool must have a future to eagerly anticipate as well as a glorious past to celebrate - this has to be gut-wrenching news. Liverpool is aiming to be the UK's 'most business friendly city'. Would Will Alsop agree? For background on the fourth grace debacle check out the BBC site. World Heritage Status Well, we went and did it! Is Liverpool an 'Historic Town’ or a mighty commercial, cultural and creative metropolis? Maybe…if we really wish hard…and keep all our fingers crossed really, really tightly, then maybe, one day we may be the equal of Chester, Stratford, Blaenavon…or maybe even BATH! Herbert’s Downtown's famous hair stylists, are on course to move to a new and extravagant building on Hanover Street link. We hope he gets permission;watch out however for the usual suspects objecting to planning on this or any building that refuses to conform to a stereotype of Victorian Liverpool. Market Plans The ugly but ever popular St John’s Market is to under go a Łmulti-million revamp. Plans are still confidential and some of the stallholders aren’t happy. No further details available as yet, but we will try to keep you informed. Knight Frank have published a report stating that Liverpool can build the economic and cultural clout of Barcelona… No more of this ‘Manchester is the economic powerhouse and Liverpool is, well…er…something else?’ guff then? Guardian. Visit Knight Frank's site to download their latest Liverpool report and look round their comprehensive site to compare us with other cities [webpage link] Liverpool Land Development Company is beginning to drive their programme. Have a look at some projects that should have a major impact on the metropolis Capital of Culture We have just discovered this BBC web page hidden in the ether by the Liverpool Daily Post’s Laura Hughes; highlighting the reasons why Liverpool should win Capital of Culture…we reckon she won it with this! Football Stadium C’mon lads, just share the bloody thing? (and build it down by the docks!) link
	Downtown Downtowners' Meeting Our next downtowners meeting should be a cracker. We have been invited to ‘piggy back’ onto an early evening performance event by Brouhaha on Thursday 29th July 18:30 being organised on the new Roman Catholic Cathedral’s stupendous new piazza and part of the Liverpool International Street Festival it's well worth just coming along to see the space if you haven’t been lately! As we have gone on about this site so often, we felt that this was just too kind an opportunity to let pass. So, please, join us for an evening of good downtown conversation, socialising, fantastic entertainment and excellent , cheap food and drink. We shall be congregating from 6.30pm, the performance itself by Cameroonian star Nzi Dada starts at 8p.m. link Downtown Week Sadly though, no Downtown Week 2004…But don’t despair, Downtown Week is going on. We ended up painting ourselves into a corner changing the orginal date and so decided to defer this year's. It is now to take place next year, 5th-12th June 2005. Thanks to all who where willing to put on events and who are all still on board for next year. We had a tremendous response, we have the strategic support we need and we have lined up some major sponsors for next year. 20/08 A good chance to try something out would be to run an event or make an offer for 20/08. This is the date designated to celebrate Liverpool, its culture and its nomination as Capital of Culture for 2008. We are exploring a few things so that we can help make the day go great…sign up with the Liverpool Culture Company here
	Metropolitan Liverpool New Brighton Things may finally be about to move with regards to New Brighton’s on-off regeneration. We wonder though from where they may take their inspiration…Miami? Clacton?….or Wal Mart? Check out this link Liverpool Bay A plan for an offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay has met with renewed objections. Amongst those campaigning is the RSPB who reckon too many birds will get chopped up in the rotors! Can this be true? With one already constructed in Seaforth Docks and another under construction further south in the Bay surely this can be easily verified? Bay Cruises There are two cruises that you can take now out into the Bay Mersey Ferries, or even on round to Llandudno…check it out. Take a trip and see for yourself what all the palaver is about (re: story above) Go on...get down to the Pierhead and go on the ferry…Bet you haven’t done that for years...have you? Liverpool FC New Stadium The Council for the Protection of Rural England (huh?!) are already objecting to the proposed new Liverpool Football Club stadium. Quote Gemma Heaton (CPRE): "a large stadium of the size proposed will significantly detract from the present appearance of the park and overshadow the area" The present appearance of the park? Isn't this the same glass-strewn car park in front of the Vernon Sangster sports club and in an area of 16% unemployment? Make your own minds up about whether the CPRE is an appropiate body to object to this major inner-city regeneration masterplan. main website and branch
	International NYC Take a look at what proper cities are allowed to build….’historic town’ indeed! NYC apartments Tampa Bay Try out this new interactive map of downtown Tampa Liverpool should have one of these! Supermarket theory of neighbourhood revival Some valuable advice for Liverpool, the Bay Area and the North West? link Austin Liverpool’s regular Downtown Farmers' Market gets better and better, but take a look at this cracker from Austin Downtowns heal cities See what the USA Today and CNN reports on the ways in with downtowns are reviving across America…much more than shopping precincts, ‘cultural’ regeneration and pedestrianisation. Vancouver A more general lesson from Vancouver on how a growing city handles change and opportunity. With Liverpool no longer in decline do we still need the mindset (and personalities mired in the approaches of) managing decline? City of Vancouver and yet more from the Vancouver Sun Lisbon Enjoy Euro 2004? Check this great little site on stadium architecture in Portugal.
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