Letter to the Daily Post

The Kings Waterfront development; the (now abandoned) fourth grace; the new Liverpool Football Club stadium; the 'new' museum for the fourth grace site; and FOURTEEN years of European Objective One cash.

This is a significant, though by no means exhaustive list, of projects and programmes that have made Liverpool a city that is seen as having a 'grant culture' rather than an enterprising one.

And it is in this context that Downtown Liverpool in Business (DLIB) members registered their disapproval of our civic leaders' recent decision to campaign for ADDITIONAL grant to deliver the Capital of Culture programme in 2008. (D.Post, Business, 14th April 2005). Was the £5 Million eventually awarded by the Government in response to this campaign worth the re-inforcement of Liverpool's 'gissagrant' stereotype in the minds of many outside of Merseyside?

If Liverpool is to completely throw off its image of a city always looking for a 'hand out', then surely time would be better spent in engaging with local wealth creators and entrepreneurs more effectively to establish their support for CoC; encouraging, rather than rejecting big inward investment opportunities such as that offered by Maro Developments via their Brunswick Quay proposal; and promoting the fact that Liverpool is now big enough and confident enough to stand on its own two feet.

Only when the powers that be genuinely embrace enterprise and new investment, and resist the temptation of spending endless resources and energy in search of the next public subsidy will we make the 'business friendly city' soundbite a reality.

Yours Sincerely
Frank McKenna
Chairman
Downtown Liverpool in Business

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