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Introduction
A Place To Live
Retail in The City
Physical Regeneration
The Liverpool Image
Realising The Opportunities
Recommendations
Museum of Popular Culture
About Downtown Liverpool
About The Management School
Physical regeneration
The challenge for planners is both physical and social, and these challenges are inextricably linked. Not only in the retail sector, but through prestige buildings that in their city location, can add to the self-image and aspirations of local people. However, opinions in Liverpool reflect a wide spectrum of views, for example concerning the visible impact of high rise buildings against the potential purchasing power and economic impact from those who work and live in such structures.
City planning institutions and their associated mechanisms of decision-making have to provide clarity in their executive processes: they need clearness, simplicity and transparency with each a necessity to demonstrate standards and direction about the quality and the physical appearance of development in the City. Only careful thought about the way economic and visual needs are satisfied will allow developers to support the physical renaissance of Liverpool.
The challenge for planners in Liverpool is both physical and social, challenges that are inextricably linked.
Among the physical regeneration taking place, the Fourth Grace has already provoked much discussion within the City. (Click here for more on this) The plan is to use the site at the Pier Head for a variety of purposes that will include office space, residential units, leisure and retail. In addition, museum and exhibition areas will mean that in total, around 60,000m2 of downtown location should be utilised.
Local opinion on the proposal has varied widely. While some regard the Fourth Grace to be a bold piece of architecture that will sit in a highly visible position on the Liverpool waterfront (see Figure 2) others hold contrary views. The fact that the proposal has sparked off controversy will lead to the image of Liverpool being examined in greater detail; more people from outside will want to know what ‘all the fuss is about’ and will inevitably start to look at any waterfront development taking place. We can use this level of disagreement to show how we debate and reach consensus, and more than ever, to provide a message from the City that Liverpool is looking to the future and is confident enough to situate this alongside the heritage of yesteryear. This message will show how the new Liverpool and its people go about their business, how they demonstrate their culture and plan to live, all of which will literally be managed and carried out from this new site.
Figure 2 The proposed Fourth Grace
At the same time, the decision on Liverpool’s application for World Heritage status is imminent.5 If successful, the potential for this label to attract more tourism will grow. However, it will be essential that City policy officers achieve the correct balance between protecting heritage, while encouraging new development.
The most high profile example of this currently centres on the redevelopment of Colquitt Street and the proposal for a £20 million plus apartment complex, Elysian Fields, led by developers Iliad. The complaint by English Heritage is that the proposal by Iliad is too high in comparison to the heritage of the downtown warehouse district. The proposal has therefore been amended with a reduction in the number of apartments, from 115 to 101. This case provides an excellent example of how space is contested in downtown Liverpool with, on the one hand the potential for greater levels of revenue to be generated and re-circulated within the local economy, and on the other the potential clash of design style as contemporary architecture is juxtaposed alongside Georgian build, leading to concerns about downtown aesthetics.
If successful, World Heritage status will need to be placed into a longer term vision for Liverpool, one that recognizes the importance of economics, history and people.
To a lesser extent the proposals for a new cruise liner terminal at the Pier Head raise many similar concerns. The difference here is that the new £12 million development restores the history of the City within a broader framework of new buildings that will include the Fourth Grace. Economic benefit, through greater levels of tourism, goes hand in hand with prestige building and the enhancement of the City environment. In all cases, downtown development demands a longer term vision for the City that positions finance and economics, alongside history and heritage, while taking into account the wants and needs of local people. It may well mean that some new property development is refused, as proposals fail to match the long term strategy needed to give confidence to and welcome fresh investment. City assets need to be protected, but the future population of downtown Liverpool needs to be encouraged at the same time.
The physical regeneration of Liverpool is one part of a wider agenda that must include social, economic and environmental development. Even so, new building helps to lift the image of downtown Liverpool and can raise the aspirations of local people. Examples on an international scale abound, particularly but not exclusively from the Spanish cities of Barcelona and Bilbao. Physical regeneration that is well planned can help repopulate the City and stimulate new forms of business activity, bringing together enterprise and regeneration in one singular place.
Associated links :
Liverpool Fourth Grace
