Regeneration & Development in Liverpool City Centre 1995-2004 by New Ferry Regeneration Action Group

Regeneration & Development in Liverpool City Centre 1995-2004

Foreword The designation of Liverpool as the UK’s nomination for

where people could move back in to live, if the choice

European Capital of Culture 2008 in June 2003 has given

and quality of the accommodation was sufficient to

the city a well earned boost to its confidence following

become desirable.

the economic hardships which it faced through the 1980’s and 1990’s. Today, the city is internationally

By 1995, as more apartments slowly began to appear

recognised as undergoing a major renaissance.

around the marina and city centre living became

Culturally, the city has always been strong, with its

fashionable amongst young professionals, niche

connections to popular music and the arts.

developers such as Urban Splash and the Beetham

Architecturally, the city has long been admired for its

Organization looked to the heart of the city centre itself -

grand buildings of earlier centuries - but by the

away from the waterside - for opportunities to convert

beginning of the 1990’s Liverpool was seen as a place

some of Liverpool’s redundant office buildings for

where major new developments were part of its history

residential use.

and the city was stagnating.

The birth of waterside and city living in Liverpool: Mariners Wharf, South Marina (mid 1980’s)

Urban Splash’s involvement in Concert Square saw the The seeds of Liverpool’s renaissance were actually

development of striking new architecture featuring bars

planted as long ago as the early 1980’s, when the

and apartments arriving in the emerging RopeWalks

Merseyside Development Corporation proved what could

district adjacent to Bold Street, an area of mostly derelict

be possible by its transformation of the Albert Dock into

warehouses. So successful was this and subsequent

one of the city’s major tourist attractions. Liverpool’s

developments that Urban Splash now enjoy an

hosting of the UK’s first ever international Garden

outstanding reputation for innovation and quality in the

Festival in 1984 further demonstrated what could be

field of conversion of former derelict areas into vibrant

done with imagination and commitment.

and popular quarters of the city’s regenerating urban fabric.

What was less well known in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, however, was that an area of the South Docklands had

Similarly, when the Beetham Organization acquired the

been slowly cleared away and a small development of

former Hornby House, a vacant office building on

striking apartments erected next to what would become

Tithebarn Street, with a view to converting it into

Liverpool Marina. This, in addition to the conversion of

apartments with ground floor commercial space, some

some of the Albert Dock and Wapping warehouses into

were sceptical that anybody would wish to buy a place to

residential accommodation, would be the birth of

live in this location. The sceptics were proved wrong,

waterside living - making Liverpool City Centre a place

and the Beetham Organization proceeded to move onto

Concert Square, RopeWalks: Urban Splash (1995)

more exciting ventures such as converting the former

Commercial activity at Princes Dock was followed by

Council Planning Department’s building - Wilberforce

renewed interest in the commercial heart of the city

House - into a striking luxury apartment block called

centre with a number of listed buildings that typify

Beetham Plaza (completed June 2000), and its most

Liverpool in its commercial heyday undergoing

recent major development, the 30 storey Beetham Tower

refurbishment and increasing in investment values.

at Old Hall Street.

Examples include India Buildings, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building.

City Centre Living in Liverpool is now recognised as one

New Century Apartments - formerly Hornby House, Tithebarn Street (completed 1996)

of the many major successes for the city. Between 1971

In the northern part of the Commercial District, Old Hall

and 1991 the population of the city centre had fallen from

Street area, high quality new floorspace started to be

3,600 to 2,340. An estimated 12,000 people now live in

planned in the late 1990s. 140,000 sq ft will be

the same area, with this figure expected to exceed

completed and occupied in 2004 on Old Hall Street

20,000 by 2007.

adjacent to the Beetham Tower, and a further 144,000 sq ft started on site in late 2003 at City Square, Moorfields.

Although other cities may still be ahead of Liverpool in terms of commercial development, Liverpool is quietly

Arts and Creative Industries were the focus of the

catching up with its competitors. In 1996 the Mersey

RopeWalks Initiative in the late 1990’s, which saw the

Docks and Harbour Company started to clear

start of the regeneration in this once dilapidated sector

redundant buildings from the Princes Dock,

of the city centre. Investment in existing and new

immediately adjacent to - and now forming part of -

buildings, coupled with an extensive programme of

the Commercial District. The first phase of office

environmental improvements are now coming to fruit,

Phase 3 Office Development, Princes Dock - MDHC

buildings, providing 70,000 square feet of floorspace,

with plans for additional development currently being

(completed 2001)

arrived in 1998. This was closely followed by the

prepared.

completion of the Crowne Plaza Hotel which itself became the first of a number of new hotels developed

Within RopeWalks and elsewhere, the quality and

as part of Liverpool’s growing tourist and conference

breadth of the city centre’s leisure offer improved

facilitating industries. Two further phases of offices

enormously. The completion of the Crowne Plaza Holiday

on Princes Dock have now been completed, whilst

Inn in Princes Dock has been referred to. Other new

another hotel and residential developments on this

hotels to open include Holiday Inn Express and Premier

key site are at planning stage. In March 2004, Plot 1

Lodge at Albert Dock, Marriott in Queen Square, a Travel

was given permission for 162 apartments in 20 and 11

Inn and a Travel Lodge. At the end of 2003/early 2004,

storey towers with ground floor retail uses. City Lofts

two further hotels opened: Radisson SAS in the

will be the developer.

commercial district and the Hope Street Hotel opposite

Nelson Street, Chinese Quarter, RopeWalks

the Philharmonic Hall. Both the latter have added

The most recent and perhaps most exciting growth area

significantly to the quality of products on offer in

to emerge in the city centre at the start of the new

the city centre.

century has been that related to the knowledge industries. The North West Development Agency’s

In tandem with the growth in the residential market and

Economic Strategy identifies the importance of the

the maturity of the city centre as a leisure destination,

eastern part of the city centre, incorporating the

the variety and number of restaurants and bars has

campuses of the two principal universities, to this area of

expanded with Heathcotes, Living Room and others now

the economy. The strategy will build on the strengths of

located in the city centre.

the universities in the Bio Sciences and Digital Industry. A Liverpool Science Park Company has been established,

Looking to the future and Liverpool’s 800th birthday in

which includes the City Council, North West Development

2007, further development and expansion of the city

Agency and the two universities, whilst incubator and

centre economy is well underway. Grosvenor’s proposals

grow-on space is currently under construction around the

for the Paradise Street Development Area will see a

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Grosvenor’s model for the Paradise Street Development Area

significant expansion of the Retail Area, boosting Liverpool’s position in the national league of shopping

This document provides an overview of significant

destinations. In addition to 1 million square feet of retail

projects in Liverpool’s city centre between 1995 and

and leisure floorspace, this £750 million scheme will also

2004, charting the rise in the number of schemes as

provide further residential units, offices, hotels, a new

confidence by the development sector has grown to the

bus station and public park.

levels which it currently enjoys as efforts to regenerate the city continue.

Development of the Kings Dock Waterfront will see a mixed use scheme including purpose built conference and arena facilities, hotels, offices and apartments. The conference facility will have a seating capacity of 8-9000. Together with the new Cruise Liner facility at Princes Dock and the proposed Canal Link, these two schemes will establish the Pier Head at the heart of Liverpool’s new identity.

Latest proposals for the Kings Dock Waterfront

Zones Page

Waterfront

Commercial

Live Work District

Lime Street Gateway

Retail Area

RopeWalks

L1 Baltic

Marybone

University Edge

Hope

Canning

Waterfront (1) Liverpool’s Waterfront is one of the city’s most important assets, with the Three Graces at the Pier Head being one of the most internationally renowned group of buildings. Nominated for World Heritage Site status, the area also includes the Albert Dock housing the Tate Gallery and Maritime Museum. The Albert Dock, which is the largest group of Grade 1 listed buildings in England and designed by Jesse Hartley, was officially opened by Prince Albert in 1846.

River Mersey, Pier Head, Liver Building

Pier Head

Albert Dock

After New York, Liverpool has one of the best recognised waterfront skylines in the world. The Pier Head, docks and part of the Commercial District hinterland behind have collectively been nominated for World Heritage Site status. Plans are currently progressing to open a new cruise liner facility at the Pier Head, bringing international tourists right into the heart of the city, whilst the Mersey Ferries accommodation will also be improved.

Sitting on Liverpool’s Pier Head are its Three Graces (the Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building). In 1998 the Pier Head Gardens were improved, providing the city with a symbol of civic pride with which to greet international visitors. A Canal Link to connect the Albert Dock with the Leeds-Liverpool Canal and which will pass in front of the Three Graces has recently been submitted as a formal planning application.

The Albert Dock continues to be regenerated, some 20 years after its renaissance began. Home to Tate Liverpool, the largest gallery of modern and contemporary art outside London, the Albert Dock attracts 5 million visitors per annum. Over the last five years two new hotels and many bars and restaurants have been opened to add to its existing shops and museum experiences. Upper floors of some buildings have been converted to offices and residential apartments. In 2003, three bedroomed apartments in the Colonnades were selling at £260,000, and penthouses at £335,000.

Waterfront (2) Liverpool City Council and its partner Liverpool Vision support the development of an arena and major leisure and residential provision on the King’s Dock, which will add to the Waterfront Area’s position as a major cultural and leisure attraction for Merseyside and the North West Region. Since 1998, Princes Dock has developed into an important addition to the city’s Commercial Office sector.

Kings Waterfront, Kings Dock

8 Princes Parade, Princes Dock

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Princes Dock

For many years, the Kings Dock has sat vacant, in use as either car parking for the adjacent Albert Dock, or during the summer as a temporary concert venue. Liverpool has long wanted to see the site developed with mixed uses including conference and arena facilities - and negotiations are currently underway to secure such a development. In the meantime, 200 high quality apartments arrived in early 2003 in the form of a joint development between Fiortho and Morrison Homes. By December 2003, penthouses within the complex were selling for £240,000.

In the late 1990’s, the former Princes Dock was cleared of its redundant buildings by owner Mersey Docks & Harbour Company in preparation for a prestige new development of offices, hotels and apartments. 8 Princes Parade was the first office building at Princes Dock to be opened in 1998, offering high quality, high specification accommodation in an outstanding waterfront location. Tenants included PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KMPG and Cammell Laird. Two further phases have since been completed and are now also occupied, by - amongst others - the Criminal Records Bureau. The first major new-build office development in the city since the 1980’s, Princes Dock remains the largest development of its kind in the North West.

The Crowne Plaza Holiday Inn Hotel at St Nicholas Place was the first new building erected on the £150 million Princes Dock development in September 1998. The late 1990’s were also significant in that they also saw the start of rising confidence in the leisure and business hotel sectors: the Daulby and Campanile Hotels further along the river past the Kings Dock appeared at the same time. In more recent years, additional hotels have opened at Queen Square (Marriott), Old Haymarket (Travelodge), Vernon Street (Travel Inn), Chaloner Street (Ibis and Formule One), Old Hall Street (Radisson) and Hope Street (Hope Street Hotel) amongst others.

Waterfront (3) Since the mid 1980’s, Liverpool Marina has been developed as a high quality and highly desirable residential location. With stunning river views, it sits directly next to the City Centre and is included here because its success is important in that “City Centre Living” started here for Liverpool. As prices around the Marina rapidly rose and it became clear there was only a limited amount of land available, developers and investors looked into the City Centre itself to find redundant buildings ripe for conversion to residential uses, and which Liverpool’s increasingly affluent citizens could afford as an alternative.

Mariners Wharf, Liverpool Marina

South Ferry Quay, Liverpool Marina

Navigation Wharf, Liverpool Marina

The renaissance of the southern docks and marina for residential use was started by the former Merseyside Development Corporation in the mid-1980’s. These apartments grouped around the marina were amongst the first to be completed and in December 2003 were changing hands for £130,000. Living in such a location only became fashionable in the early 1990’s, and the decade saw the steady expansion of residential developments around the marina which now also has a popular yacht club. In the background can be seen Liverpool’s famous Anglican Cathedral.

Development around the marina was completed in 2001. These apartments and 4 storey townhouses at South Ferry Quay were among the last to be completed, with units being sold for over £200,000. By December 2003 these were being resold for over £260,000, and in March 2004 one of the 4 bedroomed apartments was for sale at £320,000. The focus for such development has now shifted to the northern docks area where the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company is hoping to repeat the success of the marina with a mixed use development featuring 2000 residential units, 300,000 sq ft light industrial/business units, leisure and tourist accommodation.

These three storey townhouses, built in 1992 with a price tag of £99,000, were selling for over £200,000 just ten years later - an example of how some sectors of Liverpool’s housing market have performed in recent years. With more jobs being created in Liverpool than any other area of the United Kingdom1 the city’s problem is that it does not have enough quality homes to which its citizens aspire. Interventions such as the Housing Market Renewal Initiative will ensure that major restructuring of the housing offer in Liverpool’s northern suburbs will repeat the success seen in the City Centre and South Liverpool’s housing markets. 1 ABI Annual Business Inquiry, 2001

Commercial (1) Liverpool’s Commercial District is recognised as having the most important concentration of office activity on Merseyside with over 8,000 people employed in major businesses including Royal Sun Alliance, Littlewoods, British Telecom and the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo. The Old Hall Street area was radically reconstructed in the early 1970’s with typical bland architecture of the time, but in more recent years this has been undergoing significant refurbishment allied with environmental improvements to the streetscape.

City Exchange, Old Hall Street

Environmental Improvements, Old Hall Street

Beetham Tower, Old Hall Street

Nominated the Best Building of 2001 at the Liverpool Architecture and Design Trust Awards, City Exchange at New Hall Place, was completed in October 2001. The £10.5 million development has provided a new entrance atrium and reception to the existing buildings housing Royal Sun Alliance and the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo. The removal of the redundant pedestrian walkway system and footbridges in Old Hall Street has facilitated this and other developments.

A £1.25 million streetscape improvement scheme in the Old Hall Street area was also completed by the City Council in the summer of the same year, and the street now has a number of pavement cafes which are popular lunch-time meeting places. This was the start of the Council’s public realm programme, which in late 2003 was extended to encompass many of the tertiary streets in the surrounding area - most of which will be completed by summer of 2004.

The Beetham Organization’s development on the site of the former Eye Hospital site features a 140,000 square feet office block, 10 storey 200 bed Radisson hotel, and 30 storey apartment tower with 132 units. This £40 million scheme was completed in early 2004, with substantial pre-lets having been agreed for the office space. The hotel opened on 14th February 2004, whilst 1 bedroom apartments were selling for a minimum of £180,000.

Commercial (2) Although the development of new office space within the Commercial District was fairly limited in the 1980’s, increasing business confidence has seen a growing interest in providing new, higher quality office floorspace. By 2003, with the amount of available vacant land in the City Centre gradually decreasing and a proportion of the city centre’s redundant Victorian buildings having been converted to residential uses and therefore no longer available, rents have been steadily increasing to a point where developers are now more willing to develop speculatively. Between 1993 and 2002 rents rose 4.5% annually compared to the national average of 3.4%.

100 Old Hall Street

City Square, Tithebarn Street

100 Old Hall Street is home of the Littlewoods Group. In the late 1990’s the building underwent a major refurbishment programme, including a new entrance atrium, with vacant space on the some of the floors above being subsequently rented out to other businesses. In 2003 the Littlewoods Group sold the building for £25 million to Bruntwood Estates who are planning further refurbishment. From 2005 a new public square to the south of the office block is to be created by English Cities Fund, enclosed by further new buildings which will house offices, retail, residential apartments and a multi-storey car park.

The £20 million Teesland redevelopment for a 142,000 square feet multi-storey office building which started on site in early 2004 at City Square next to Moorfields Merseyrail Station is an example of the type of new, high specification floorspace for which a strong demand now exists in the city. The Department for Constitutional Affairs will occupy six floors of the building, housing the new civil and family justice centre which will bring together all the civil courts and family aspect of Liverpool’s magistrates’ courts under one roof. Another £60 million scheme, the Sentinel/Unity, will replace the former Richmond House on Chapel Street with a mixed use development of offices, apartments and ground floor retail.

Mercury Court, Tithebarn Street The Mercury Court office complex was constructed on the site of the former Tithebarn Street Exchange station in the mid 1980’s. Behind the building a small pocket park was laid out, which is a popular summertime lunchtime venue for the city’s business population. There are now plans to use the remainder of the platform areas to the rear (used for parking for the last 20 years) to create a prestigious new commercial quarter incorporating offices, car parking, new open space and residential accommodation. A masterplan for the phased development of the area has been recently completed by Liverpool Vision.

Commercial (3) In the late 1990’s, the explosion in City Centre Living saw developers seeking easy options for converting redundant office buildings into residential apartments for aspiring singles and young couples without children who wished to live close to their place of work. Liverpool City Council welcome the opportunity to bring semi derelict or vacant outer sections of the Commercial District back into use through such activity. New uses have included residential, leisure (bars/restaurants) and hotels.

Berey’s Building, Bixteth Street Despite having been vacant for a number of years and unsuitable for adaptation for modern office use, many older buildings in the Commercial District have been snapped up by developers for conversion to trendy residential apartments. Berey’s Building on Bixteth Street was one such £1.5 million conversion completed in 1999. Two bedroomed split-level apartments inside it now sell for £170,000. Its success has led to other buildings in the area being converted for residential use, including Tower Buildings on The Strand, and The Albany on Old Hall Street which are both expected to be completed in 2004.

Ziba Bar Brasserie/The Racquet Club, Covent Garden As business confidence in the city has grown over the last few years, the bar, restaurant and hotel sectors have moved significantly up-market. Although The Racquet Club on Covent Garden has been established since 1874, it moved to its current building in the early 1980’s and has recently undergone significant investment to improve its bar/restaurant and other facilities to cater for the growing numbers of daytime business lunches and the increasing city centre population dominated by young professional couples wanting a quiet night out as an alternative to the louder bar/nightclub sector. The building is also equipped with an exercise room and four squash courts, together with dining facilities and hotel/bedroom accommodation, to maintain its traditions as Liverpool’s premier private members club.

Tower Building, Water Street/The Strand When the Beetham Organization completed Beetham Plaza, The Strand became one of the most prestigious addresses in the city, being in close proximity to the Waterfront area and the Three Graces. Pierse are looking to have a similar success with the conversion of redundant offices in Tower Building, which sits next to St Nicholas’s Church and on the opposite side of the street to the Liver Building. Work commenced at the end of 2003, and by the end of 2004 will have provided a further 93 residential apartments on its first to seventh floors to the city centre’s growing population. The ground floor will also be converted for restaurants.

Live Work District (1) This historic and architecturally attractive quarter is undergoing fundamental change and renewal as city living becomes ever more popular. The area has the potential to create a quality architectural mix of both high class and affordable housing whilst main road frontages and principal streets house banking institutions (centred on Castle Street) and a rapidly growing number of restaurants.

Castle Street

India Buildings, Water Street

Beetham Plaza, The Strand

Castle Street forms part of Liverpool’s Waterfront area which has now been placed on the Government’s list for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognising its significance as the pre-eminent commercial port in the nineteenth century at the time of Britain’s greatest global influence. This will further enhance its international status, bringing thousands of additional visitors into the area and resulting in increased income for the city.

India Buildings which stretches between Water Street and Brunswick Street had its ground floor refurbished in the early 1990’s with an arcade of shops beneath its many floors of offices. More recently, a sympathetically designed access ramp has been provided into the building, in common with Liverpool City Council policy to see such improvements to disabled access being made in grander old buildings where steps usually provided the only means of access from street level. In January 2004 the building was sold to London-based property company The Pacific Group of Companies for £45 million, making it the city’s most expensive-ever property transaction.

Beetham Plaza, The Strand, is an imaginative £6 million conversion of former offices to luxury apartments. Penthouses were pre-sold at between £310,000 to £500,000 each prior to its completion in June 2000, making it one of the most expensive addresses in the City Centre.

Live Work District (2) The Live Work District is an area where growing pressure for City Centre Living has seen redundant former office floorspace being refurbished and converted to apartments. Traffic will be calmed in both Dale Street and Victoria Street and pedestrian friendly zones will be created in this district which links the Retail Area with the Commercial District. MerseyTram is also to be introduced to this area, providing a fast and reliable addition to the public transport infrastructure. Public realm and lighting treatments currently underway will contribute towards a safe environment.

Baker House, Button Street

Cable House, Cheapside

Municipal Buildings, Dale Street

The Live Work District includes Mathew Street and the Cavern Quarter - home to the Mathew Street Festival and the birthplace of The Beatles - where, over the last decade, ground floors and basements have been refurbished for bars and retail, including part of the original Cavern Club where Sir Paul McCartney has more recently paid return visits to perform. As the momentum for City Centre Living continues, upper floors of the buildings are being converted for residential apartments, as here at Baker House in Button Street which was completed in 1998.

Cable House, a former engineering works, was converted into two bedroomed apartments and completed in December 2001 at a cost of £6 million. It is typical of the many new residential conversions and new-build developments which have sprung up in this area over the last four years. “L3” another development close by, is another example of existing buildings converted to residential. This was the former Parcel Force Office on Hatton Garden. Two bedroomed apartments were selling at £180,000 in early 2002.

Municipal Buildings on Dale Street sits alongside many fine architectural buildings. A competitive process is currently underway for an extension to the rear of the building to accommodate more centralised city services. The Council remains one of Merseyside’s major employers with over 20,000 staff. To the right is the former Municipal Annexe with former Education Offices behind it which is to be converted to mixed use including residential apartments, shops and offices.

Live Work District (3) One of the larger redevelopment schemes in the Live Work District is Urban Splash’s Old Haymarket development which commenced in 1999. It demonstrates the faith which niche developers operating in the city have in retaining the best of the oldest buildings and creating new striking architecture next to them. It is no longer practical to zone a city into strict areas of commercial offices or retail, since to be sustainable in the long term, buildings and areas need to be able to adapt to the changing requirements and aspirations of its citizens.

Old Haymarket

Travelodge Hotel, Old Haymarket

The Temple, Temple Square (off Dale Street)

Old Haymarket (formerly Manchester Street) is currently being redeveloped with a mixture of uses. The building to the right was refurbished in April 2000 for ground floor cafes and shops, with residential apartments above at a cost of £4.5 million. A further phase of this development is expected to commence in 2004. In the background of the photograph is The Observatory, part of the Queen Square development and home to Liverpool Vision.

The £3.5 million 100 bedroomed Travelodge hotel at Old Haymarket was completed in late 2002. It has office/ commercial space on the ground floor.

This new build office extension to the rear of The Temple, Dale Street, was completed early in 2001. The rear overlooks Temple Square, a former backstreet area which has been opened up by developer Villagate with the creation of a new public open space. Surrounding buildings have been refurbished for office and commercial use. The final phase of conversion of Sovereign and Regenecy Chambers to apartments is due on site by summer 2004, whilst Villagate has also recently completed a 40,000 square feet speculative office development in the area.

Live Work District (4) As the student and resident population of the city centre has grown, so has the need to provide services which they require close to their homes. The sandwich bars and restaurants which traditionally served the business community have now been joined by dry cleaners, a dental practitioner, health centre and a growing number of newsagents and convenience stores. In 2000, one of the few convenience stores open after office hours was Spar on Dale Street. Further outlets have since opened in Tithebarn Street and Hatton Garden.

15-19 Sweeting Street

Victoria Hall, Hatton Garden/Tithebarn Street

Travel Inn, Vernon Street

Due to a slowdown in Liverpool’s economy in the late 1970’s, many parts of its city centre escaped wholescale comprehensive clearance and redevelopment. Sweeting Street off Castle Street is typical of many smaller back streets which retain a pre-20th century character with attractive buildings that are becoming increasingly popular for conversion to residential. The narrow streets have limited ingress by cars, and therefore provide quiet backwaters. 15-19 Sweeting Street was converted to 15 apartments with ground floor licensed premises by Westpoint in 2001, at a cost of £1.5 million.

This £5 million 415 bedroom student village was completed in late 2000. It was built over an existing car park, which remains on the ground floor - with additional space having been allowed for the inclusion of a newsagents/foodstore to serve the growing student and residential population in the area.

The £6 million Travel Inn Hotel opened in July 2003. Significantly it does not have a frontage onto one of the city’s main streets, yet demonstrates the confidence of its operators that a backstreet location can still be successful in this market. Major streetwork improvements are currently underway, including the creation of a new public square adjacent to the hotel. On the opposite side of Vernon Street sits NCP’s Moorfields Car Park, one of the 1990’s better examples of multistorey car park design.

Lime Street Gateway (1) Lime Street Gateway encompasses Liverpool’s Cultural Quarter, and is home to some of its classical buildings such as the National Museums and Galleries for Merseyside in the form of the Liverpool Museum and Walker Art Gallery. The Central Library and Picton Reading Rooms also form part of this historic group, whilst opposite them sits St George’s Hall.

Liverpool Museum, William Brown Street

St George’s Building & St John’s Gardens

Commutation Plaza, Commutation Place

In early 2003, Liverpool Museum was the subject of a £33 million refurbishment scheme which included the provision of a new ground level entrance area. The Museum now offers free admission, and is both an educational and memorable experience for parties of school children.

The attractive St John’s Garden to the rear of St George’s Hall is one of Liverpool City Centre’s pleasant open spaces. St George’s Hall is currently undergoing a £14.8 million refurbishment courtesy of the Heritage Lottery Fund to improve physical access to the building, restoration work, the reopening of the Small Concert Room, new pavement level at the southern end, and visitor facilities.

This £4.1 million development, completed in February 2002, is now the headquarters of Maritime Housing Association, incorporating residential apartments. The site, at the top end of William Brown Street, had been derelict for many years. When this building was first suggested, there was much debate about its design, since it was to face some of Liverpool’s most classical buildings. The end result is considered a commendable achievement which does not detract from the architectural integrity of the area.

Lime Street Gateway (2) Lime Street Gateway is so named because of its significance as the northern entrance to the City Centre. Lime Street Station is an important terminus for main line rail services (although it does give access to Liverpool’s underground rail network) and it is here that many visitors to Liverpool arrive and experience their first view of the city and what it has to offer.

North Western Hall, Lime Street

Lime Street Station

Empire Theatre, Lime Street

North Western Hall - adjacent to Lime Street Station - was refurbished in 1997 to provide student accommodation. It was originally built in 1871 as a 330 room hotel at the front of Lime Street Station, in the French Renaissance style. It is typical of the many grand Liverpool buildings which had once been vacant for many years, but have now been successfully brought back into use.

Lime Street Station had its roof reconstructed in 2000 at a cost of £20 million. Improvements were also made to the interior concourse which now has a number of shops and cafes provided for waiting passengers. Although the station is the terminus for main line rail connection from London and the rest of the country, it is linked via an underground rail system to north and south local train services, and to the west under the River Mersey to the Wirral. This Merseyrail system is an important part of the local transport network, and - in recent years - has seen investment in new stations. The station has recently been designated a “Major Station”, with control for its development passing to Network Rail. An extended programme of phased refurbishment is now planned, including a new entrance from Lime Street following the proposed demolition of the exterior 1960’s shopping concourse which currently obscures part of the station’s grand façade.

In July 2002 The Empire Theatre opened its £10.5 million extension to provide enhanced audience facilities and a new box office. Liverpool has a thriving theatre industry, and nearby are the Royal Court Theatre, and the Liverpool Playhouse.

Retail Area (1) Liverpool evolved from a market town to become the most famous trading City in the world. Formerly, one of the UK’s major shopping centres, Liverpool’s retail status declined during the 1990’s in the face of competition from its regional rivals and the growth of out-of-town retail centres such as The Trafford Centre near Manchester and Cheshire Oaks near Ellesmere Port. There is now a major opportunity to address this situation and re-establish Liverpool as a premier retail destination.

Parker Street

St John’s Shopping Centre

Clayton Square Shopping Centre

Superdrug and Tesco Metro both arrived in Parker Street in 1996, whilst Liverpool’s landmark Beacon reopened in summer 2000 as a broadcasting station for Radio City. Tesco, Kwik Save and Lidl were the first major food chains to realise the potential for opening stores in the city centre to meet the demands from an increasing residential population Over the past 12 months new foodstores have arrived including Sainsbury’s who recently opened a store in the refurbished Central Station complex in March 2002 and Somerfields on Lord Street.

St John’s Shopping Centre was built in the early 1970’s in a style which today would be viewed with some distaste. However, its owners - Land Securities - have continually invested in upgrading and enhancing the centre to correct the mistakes made when it was originally created. In 2003 the company embarked on a programme to reposition some of the anchor stores around the complex, and in November of that year succeeded in attracting Wilkinsons to their list of tenants which also includes Woolworths, Poundland and Argos. Land Securities also confirmed the trend that Liverpool’s citizens are spending more than ever when they announced that customer numbers to the centre had risen 6.3% in the year, whilst car park income had increased by 24.3%.

Clayton Square Shopping Centre opened in the late 1980’s and is mentioned here because of its significance as one of the last major retail schemes in the city for a decade. It has proven how retail units do not remain vacant for long if they are in a popular location and an environment of such quality. Although there is currently a proposal to fill in part of the arcaded section to Great Charlotte Street, Clayton Square’s problem is that it is unable to expand any further in order to create additional floorspace. Inevitably, the demand for more retail space of this quality led to the birth of the Paradise Street Development Area proposals.

Retail Area (2) The Main Retail Area is currently undergoing a major streetscape improvement programme. In December 2003, retail experts Gerald Eve voted Liverpool as the most improved city for shopping, highlighting its accessibility, parking and public transport improvements that had taken place between 2000 and 2003. Although the city is 13h in the overall list of shopping destinations as at March 2004 (in 2002 it was 18th), European Capital of Culture status and the emerging Paradise Street Development Area proposals are expected to significantly boost its position in the league table in the next few years.

Bluecoat Chambers, School Lane

Liverpool Playhouse, Williamson Square

Cavern Walks - Vivienne Westwood

Bluecoat Chambers was originally built as a charity school in 1717 and is in the Queen Anne style. The Bluecoat School remained here until 1906 when it moved to more spacious premises in Wavertree. The building was vacant until 1927 when the Bluecoat Society of Arts acquired it to become a cultural and arts centre for the city. Grade I listed, it sits adjacent to the Paradise Street Development Area. The society will be embarking on a £9 million refurbishment programme for the building to provide enhanced facilities for arts and heritage, education, retail and tourism - including a new wing containing gallery and performance space.

The Liverpool Playhouse Theatre (centre of photograph) was the subject of a £3 million refurbishment scheme and re-opened in late 2001. To the right is department store John Lewis, which underwent a major £6 million refurbishment in early 2002. Williamson Square is also overlooked (off photo to the left) by the £6 million extension to the St John’s Shopping Centre, housing JJB Sports - amongst others - and completed in 1999. The Square itself is currently undergoing a major relandscaping project to add an exciting new water feature, which will be completed in late 2004.

Even before Paradise Street has been completed the retail fashion industry received a significant boost when Vivienne Westwood opened her second store outside London in Cavern Walks off Mathew Street in October 2003. Built in the early 1980’s, the Cavern Walks development has undergone considerable refurbishment - the latest £2 million scheme coming to a close in early 2004. Its owner, Warner Estate Holdings recently announced plans to expand onto adjacent land and improve access from Dorans Lane. Office space above is already used by, amongst others, 400 Direct Line Insurance staff.

Retail Area (3) Grosvenor has been given the green light for re-development of the Paradise Street Development Area, a £750 million retail, leisure and residential scheme in the city’s historic Bluecoat area. The scheme will set to be the largest city centre regeneration project in Europe and will set a benchmark for the next generation of international city centre development. In anticipation of its impact on the city centre retail offer, some retailers have been looking to move into Liverpool earlier, whilst existing ones are considering expanding where possible.

The Great Escape & current streetscape works

Paradise Street Development Area

Zara Store, Church Street

In the mid 1990’s, Liverpool’s retail area’s streetscape

The Paradise Street Development Area, (PSDA), will provide for a mix of uses including retail (75,000 square metres net additional comparison floor space), food and drink, leisure, residential apartments (750 units), recording studios, offices, Meeting Hall, gallery, ancillary accommodation, two hotels, new bus station, bus layover provision plus ancillary facilities, 3,000 car parking spaces, new means of access, public open space including a new public park (2.2 hectares) and associated servicing, highway works and landscaping. The development has a significant location in that it acts as a hub linking other major area of the city centre: the Albert Dock, main shopping area and RopeWalks.

In anticipation of the Paradise Street Development Area’s expanded retail offer, some companies have been unable to wait - having already seen the opportunity to move into Liverpool to serve its citizens’ growing desire to spend. Zara, a major new fashion clothes store arrived in December 2001 after Next vacated the store to move into larger premises further along Church Street (and create their largest store in the UK). GAP also arrived in the former Mothercare Store on the opposite side of the street, whilst River Island embarked on a £3 million refurbishment nearby.

was enhanced by the addition of a number of new sculpture works, including “The Great Escape”. The city centre is currently undergoing a major programme of streetworks, with £5 million being invested in the retail area alone to provide new pavings, street furniture, signage and sculpture features. This programme commenced in September 2003 and will take approximately 12 months to complete.

Retail Area (4) The start of Liverpool’s renaissance as a shopping and leisure destination was slow to start, but once underway would prove to be the start of a rapid transformation. Queen Square lay vacant for two decades, its previous buildings having been cleared in the early 1970’s for a civic centre which never materialised. The site was acquired by Neptune Developments in the late 1990’s to create a new public square surrounded by buildings mostly to serve the leisure industry. Critical to the scheme was the restructuring of the Roe Street Bus Passenger Facility which would bring thousands of passengers into the heart of the area every day.

Queen Square Centre

Millennium House, Whitechapel

Marriott Hotel, Queen Square

Queen Square, the Roe Street/Queen Square Bus Passenger Facility Building, was completed in 1999 at a cost of £1.5 million. It also houses a tourist information centre. Its completion signalled the start of Liverpool City Council’s commitment to improving the city’s public transport infrastructure.

Queen Square saw the creation of nine restaurants, bars and fast food outlets at a cost of £6 million when completed in 1999. Two years earlier, Neptune Developments were also responsible for the construction of Millennium House (background of above photograph) which is now home to a number of Liverpool City Council departments. In 2003, the ground floor of Millennium House was converted to a gymnasium to serve the growing health and fitness industry in the city.

Lunchtime customers enjoy the midday sun outside La Tasca Restaurant, Queen Square, which is overlooked by the £13.5 million Marriott Hotel completed in 1998. The Queen Square scheme won the RTPI “Best Major Project Award” in 1999.

RopeWalks (1) RopeWalks is a unique area of the city known for its concentration of historic warehouse buildings, and increasingly as the centre for Liverpool’s night-time economy and creative industries. The area owes much of its character and name to the craft of rope making for sailing ships that dominated the area until the 19th century. In the late 1990’s the Liverpool RopeWalks Partnership was responsible for coordinating the regeneration of the area through development and conservation, public realm improvements and training, employment and business support. This partnership regime and its funding has now ended, and the programme of work nearing completion. Liverpool Vision is currently developing plans for promoting further development in the area.

Colquitt Street

Concert Square

Bold Street

One of Liverpool RopeWalks Partnership’s many successes was the £14 million streetscape refurbishment of the area with high quality materials in 2002. This is the junction of Colquitt Street and Seel Street, which also demonstrates how - encouraged by the investment seen in the area - businesses have improved their own frontages.

RopeWalks is also the hub of Liverpool’s nightlife sector, with bars and clubs proving popular destinations for the city’s night life economy. Concert Square was one of Manchester-based company Urban Splash’s first successful projects in Liverpool, which also provided residential apartments on upper floors of adjacent buildings when completed in 1995. It would prove what was possible in an area of semi dereliction, and since that time the RopeWalks area has developed into a thriving sector of the city centre.

Bold Street is one of Liverpool’s favourite shopping streets following its relandscaping in 1995. It now contains a mixture of medium-sized stores down smallscale family run businesses, cafés and bars which are popular with Liverpool’s student population. Shoppers like the range of individual and specialist shops which are found here.

RopeWalks (2) The Liverpool RopeWalks Partnership grew out of the Duke Street Action Plan which was originally drawn up in the mid 1990’s by Liverpool City Council. It was Merseyside’s designation as an Objective 1 area by the European Union in the mid 1990’s that eventually saw the funding which the area desperately needed to get its regeneration programme underway. In total, the area received £14.5 million ERDF funding, a further £14.1 million from the North West Development Agency, £4 million Arts Lottery, £0.9 million Heritage Lottery, £2.6 million City Council and £19.6 million private sector funding.

Chinese Arch, Nelson Street

Campbell Square

Balcony Apartments, Henry Street

Liverpool’s Chinatown sits within the RopeWalks area, and is believed to be the oldest established Chinese community in the country. In early 2000, the newly refurbished streetscape in Nelson Street was completed with the addition of a new Chinese Arch, the largest in Europe.

Campbell Square, a major £16 million redevelopment scheme at the western end of the RopeWalks area, providing 125 residential units, 30,000 square feet office floorspace, 3 bars, restaurant and a new public square was completed in late 2002. Many of the finer warehouse and old buildings, including the Old Bridewell, have been retained and refurbished alongside new buildings to bring life back to what had been a dying part of the City Centre. The scheme won an RTPI award in 2003.

Former warehouse converted for residential use, Henry Street circa 1999. Many adjoining buildings in Henry Street and Lydia Anne Street - mostly former warehouses - are also currently being refurbished or redeveloped. As a further boost to secure continuing improvement of the area, a £6 million Artists’ Village is under construction providing studio space for 70 artists, gallery space, café and apartments.

RopeWalks (3) In terms of employment, 815 new jobs have been created, along with a further 226 indirect jobs. This was in addition to construction and training jobs used during the various construction projects. Early 2004 will see the completion of East Village and Manhattan Place, one of the largest development projects centred around Kent Street, a £20 million mixed use scheme featuring a training centre for Liverpool Community College, apartments, workspace, shops and cafes.

Manoli’s Yard, Colquitt Street

FACT Centre, Wood Street

Tea Factory, Wood Street

Manoli’s Yard grew on the site of former Wetheralls Factory. Completed in June 2002, apartments in this stylish residential block which includes office space, were available for rent in early 2004 at over £600 per month.

The £10 million FACT (Foundation for Art & Creative Technology) Centre was developed to house a film and arts centre, and café/restaurant. The first purpose built arts project in Liverpool for over 60 years, its two galleries feature newly commissioned work or projects new to the UK by established and emerging international artists working in film, video and new media. Opened in February 2003, it includes three cinemas and is one of the most significant developments in RopeWalks and has helped to raise the area’s profile in the city.

“The Tea Factory” on Wood Street is an example of the high quality conversions of former industrial space in this part of the City Centre which has been transformed into a mixed use building containing offices, workshops, gallery/exhibition space, retail and penthouse residential apartments. This £9 million scheme was completed in Spring 2002, and its thirty £150,000 penthouse apartments all sold on the first day of their release. The Tea Factory Bar, Kitchen and Bluu restaurant have opened on the ground floor.

L1/Baltic (1) The Baltic Triangle is an historic port area bordered by RopeWalks, the Paradise Street Development Area and Kings Dock. Currently it contains the Waterfront Business Park, and has seen significant investment in recent years with the opening of two new hotels and the refurbishment of some historic warehouse buildings for new commercial and leisure uses. In 2001 Liverpool Vision and the L1 Partnership appointed consultants to provide a master plan framework for the area. A key challenge will be how to support the interests of existing businesses whilst realising potential for new residential and commercial investment. The vision for The Baltic Triangle is a vibrant mixed-use quarter featuring businesses, refurbished historic warehouses and opportunities for striking contemporary architecture, whilst the former Council estate along Great George Street is to be replaced with high quality private residential development bordering Great George’s Square which will also be refurbished. As an example of the pressure which the area faces to allow residential developers to move in, an application for one £40 million development of over 300 apartments and new piazza was submitted in November 2003.

Super Lamb Banana, Wapping

Ibis Hotel, Wapping

Blundell Restaurant, Blundell Street

Liverpool’s “Super-Lamb-Banana” sculpture provoked controversy when it first appeared in the city in 1997, but its current position outside the premises of Joseph P Lamb’s ship’s chandlers on Wapping has made it one of Liverpool’s most often recognised new additions to the city’s sculptural heritage.

The Ibis and Formule 1 Hotels, completed in January 2001 at a cost of £5 million. Although the area was improved in the 1980’s by the Merseyside Development Corporation, parts of the area have come under increasing pressure in recent years by developers wishing to build high quality residential apartments and a number of schemes are now underway close to the hotels. In response, the future of this area is therefore being reassessed as to whether parts of it can be rezoned from purely industrial to mixed use to accommodate this.

L1 / Baltic area is characterised by many historic warehouses which need to be retained and preserved. The Blundell Restaurant opened early in 2002, and is a good example of how these old buildings can be successfully converted to modern uses where their former use is no longer an option.

Marybone (1) Marybone consists mostly of a long established residential community to the north of the city centre. It provides an important source of family accommodation in the city centre and one of the city centre’s four primary schools. In recent years there has been significant investment by Liverpool John Moores University in new student facilities. New apartments have also been built in the Highfield Street area to the west of this zone and Pall Mall.

Avril Robarts Centre, Tithebarn Street

Imperial Halls, Fontenoy Street

Bellway Development, Pall Mall

The Avril Robarts Learning Resources Centre at the junction of Tithebarn Street and Vauxhall Road was opened in 1997 by Liverpool John Moores University. Beyond can be seen the first phase of Cosmopolitan Housing Association’s £8 million redevelopment for ground floor 300 seat lecture theatre, bar and retail with students flats above. It was completed in Autumn 2001, and from 2004 will house a new health centre and pharmacy catering for the growing residential population of the city centre. A second phase costing another £8 million which will contain further student apartments and offices is due for completion in mid 2004.

Imperial Halls is another example of student accommodation. The building, a former bottling works, had been vacant for many years. The numbers of students living in the city centre has grown significantly in recent years as many purpose built or refurbished schemes such as this have been completed in order to cater for them.

153 new apartments came onto the market when Bellway Homes completed its £3 million Pall Mall development in early 2003. Prices ranged between £140,000 to £160,000 for two bedroomed units. The site was previously occupied by a former lead works which had been derelict for many years.

Marybone (2) Marybone is a somewhat quieter area of the City Centre, but still retains some commercial buildings providing employment. Until the late 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s it was dominated by a depressing maze of 1930â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council maisonettes and flats which had been cleared and lay vacant for over a decade. Vauxhall Gardens was created on the same site, a mix of more traditional houses for rent. However, in recent years the area has seen a greater concentration of apartments for private sale.

30-32 Pall Mall

Audi Dealer, Pall Mall

Highfield Gardens

30-32 Pall Mall was refurbished for offices in early 2001. This quieter area of the city centre still retains some commercial buildings providing employment.

Since 1995 Liverpool has seen a growth in the number of prestige car dealerships investing in new high quality showrooms on major approach roads to the City Centre. This Audi dealer arrived at the junction of Leeds Street and Pall Mall in 2000. Behind can be seen a new office building by Kingham Knight Associates, completed summer 2002.

Highfield Gardens was one of the first major residential schemes completed in the city centre in 1996.

University Edge (1) The London Road area to the north of the University Edge area enjoys a strategic location at the periphery of the city centre, providing a refurbished shopping centre serving a growing new residential community. The area was previously in decline, but a rescue package of cash came from the City Challenge programme in the early 1990â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the London Road Development Association was set up. The LRDA ran until 1998, but it had laid the foundations for the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renaissance which is still underway.

Arndale House, London Road

169-175 London Road

Monument Buildings, London Road

89-101 London Road was re-elevated in 1997 as part of the initial refurbishment of the London Road area. These shops overlook the square which was relandscaped a few years earlier, and currently hosts a popular weekly market. This centre, the closest to Liverpool City Centre, retains its own TJ Hughes store and hosts a number of specialist shops for which rents in the City Centre itself are too expensive.

Two bedroomed apartments at 169-175 London Road with retail units on the ground floor, completed in July 1999. In addition to the many new apartments which sprang up in this previously decaying area, new shops also appeared in the district centre. Food retailing for the revitalising and growing new community was boosted with the opening of a new Lidl store further along the street.

Housing Associations have been actively involved in regenerating some of the most difficult parts of the city in which to attract investment. Experience has shown that once Housing Associations get involved and are prepared to invest in high quality buildings in an area, the private sector can sometimes subsequently show an interest in the area as well. These apartments, completed in 1997 with ground floor retail commercial units, are available for rent from one of the many Housing Associations operating in the city. The success of this scheme led to the private sector wanting to repeat it - see 169-175 London Road, opposite.

University Edge (2) The London Road area is also home to the Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital, whilst the former Royal Infirmary has been refurbished to provide teaching and research facilities for the Health Authority and Universities. To the north is a mixture of light industrial uses.

London Road/Norton Street junction

Brownlow Hill

University of Liverpool, Pembroke Place

London Road had two major gateway building projects. “Gateway 1” (right) was completed in Summer 2001 at a cost of £2.1 million to provide new shops, offices and residential accommodation. “Gateway 2”, another building with similar uses, was completed mid 2002.

Riverside Housing Association homes, Brownlow Hill part of a £13 million programme of housing improvements carried out on the St Andrew’s Gardens area between 1994 and 1999. The various Housing Associations work closely with the City Council on the regeneration of Liverpool’s suburbs as well as the city centre. This area also has some of the city centre’s share of family housing.

The former Royal Infirmary, now refurbished to provide teaching and research facilities for the Liverpool Primary Care Trusts and Universities cost £12 million by the time of its completion in 1999. It includes The Foresight Centre which offers conferencing facilities.

University Edge (3) The southern end of the University Edge is dominated by the University of Liverpool itself, and is currently undergoing a massive expansion of its facilities. Liverpool is one of the country’s most popular choices of destination for students in the country, its popularity growing faster than Oxford and Cambridge* as applications to study rose 12% between 2003 and 2004 - with 28,232 applying for courses commencing in September 2004. The University is currently in the middle of an ongoing capital investment programme to improve facilities and services for students and staff, and this has undoubtedly enhanced the reputation of Liverpool as a leading centre of teaching and research. (* as reported in Liverpool Daily Post, Feb 18, 2004)

Lynda McCartney Centre, Liverpool Hospital

University of Liverpool Life Biosciences Centre

Faculty of Medicine, Crown Street

The £4 million Linda McCartney Centre and Education Centre, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Prescot Street. It was opened in November 2000 in order to treat many forms of cancer and thrust Merseyside to the forefront of cancer treatment, providing expertise in the management of cancer and specialist diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.

The £23 million Biosciences Centre and Business Incubator completed in summer 2003 will be a key facility for the University’s biological and biomedical sciences community, which is one of the largest life sciences groups in the UK, and for biosciences and biomedical businesses. The Centre will be a key facility for the University’s biological and biomedical sciences community, which is one of the largest life sciences groups in the UK, and for biosciences and biomedical businesses in the region.

The £6 million Sherringham Buildings were completed in April 2002, and contain two lecture theatres, seminar rooms and a cafeteria. The fast-track graduate-entry medicine programme taught here has become one of the most popular courses for which students are applying to enter.

Hope (1) The Hope Street Quarter represents an opportunity to create a vibrant, mixed-use community that builds upon the significant arts, educational, architectural and spiritual legacy of this part of Liverpool. It is home to the city’s two cathedrals and universities as well as major cultural institutions like the Philharmonic Hall, The Everyman and Unity theatres and the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

St James Gardens, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King

Science Park, Mount Pleasant

St James Gardens is an attractive and important area of public open space within the City Centre. A programme of works is currently underway with the aim of improving the gardens for both local residents and visitors who come to the area. Footpaths are being renewed, along with benches, litter bins, information and entrance signage. The Huskisson Memorial, a Grade II listed structure, will also be restored. The works are expected to be completed by May 2004.

In 2002, construction work started on new £1.4 million offices and civic space surrounding the Metropolitan Cathedral. By late 2003, the new grand series of steps envisaged in the original on the Hope Street axis had been completed - as was in the original 1960’s design. A restaurant has been opened, with gardens built above its roof (to the right of the steps shown in the artist’s impression above).

For a number of years, Liverpool’s Universities have been at the forefront in pioneering new technologies and business ideas which its graduating students have shown interest in developing. The first phase of the Science Park currently being constructed by Neptune to the west of the new Cathedral steps (see to the left of the steps on the artist’s impression opposite) will provide incubator units for new breakout businesses from the Universities when completed in late 2004. “The Foundation” (shown at top right of the impression opposite) will provide further “move on” office space for the Science Park, and is expected to be completed in 2005.

Hope (2) Sitting next to the University Zone, the Hope area of the city centre has also seen considerable investment by Liverpool’s two universities.

Cathedral Gate/Upper Duke Street

Liverpool Community College, Clarence Street

Agnes Jones House, Catharine Street

Liverpool John Moores University was the former Liverpool Polytechnic. Like the University of Liverpool, it has also been expanding its facilities, including these buildings which appeared in the mid 1990’s. New buildings now stretch down Upper Duke Street to its junction with Great George Street.

The £7 million Community College was completed in 2001.

The expansion of the universities has also seen a rise in quality student accommodation in this area. Agnes Jones House, (the former Catharine Street Womens Hospital), was completed in 1999. Further phases included new residential blocks built behind it, and were completed in 2001.

Hope (3) In addition to the Universities operating within the area, Hope is also home to a fairly stable residential community. Rodney Street (originally constructed 1782-1801) continues to flourish as an office district. 59 Rodney Street has been acquired by the National Trust: this building was the former home of Chambre Hardman, the well known 20th century photographer whose collection of 140,000 photographs includes the world famous shot of the Ark Royal under construction at Cammell Laird. With funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Trust have been restoring the house to its former glory of the 1950â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, including the construction of a visitor welcome centre with disabled access from Pilgrim Street. The restoration will be completed by Summer 2004.

13-19 Pilgrim Street

LIPA, Mount Street

The Beetham Organization completed this terrace of new build housing in Pilgrim Street in 1998. An example of sympathetic architecture which blends in with the traditional historic terraces of the area.

The Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (or LIPA), was officially opened by Sir Paul McCartney in 1996. LIPA is dedicated to providing the best teaching and learning for people who want to pursue and maintain a lasting career in the popular performing arts economy. Sir Paul McCartney makes frequent visits to Liverpool and has consistently remained one of the greatest supporters of the city, its culture and its people.

Liverpool Community College: Arts Centre, Myrtle Street The ÂŁ8 million Arts Centre was completed in January 1999. With 800,000 square metres of space it is not only the largest building of its kind in the UK but is also the only centre of its kind which covers the full spectrum of the arts. Music and technology, dance, drama, art and design, graphics, fashion and clothing, photography and professional media make up the 60 courses offered here, catering for more than 1,300 students.

Hope (4) The Hope Street area has also developed its leisure facilities to serve the growing residential, student, business and tourist populations.

The Varsity Pub, Myrtle Street

Hope Street Hotel, Hope Street

Unity Theatre, Hope Place

The Varsity Pub is one of a number of establishments created in the growing student quarter of the city. It stands next to the Arts Centre (see opposite) and has behind it a large complex of over 500 new student apartments all completed in 1999.

The £1.5 million “4-5 star boutique” Hope Street Hotel was completed in December 2003. Its ground floor houses a popular and stylish restaurant.

The Unity Theatre was refurbished and the front of its building in this quiet city centre street was rebuilt with improved disabled access in early 2002. The theatre itself is one of Liverpool’s most ground breaking venues with a diverse range of productions usually on a small scale. Often promoting the work of new playwrights and theatre companies, it has a reputation based on providing quality performances from up and coming theatre groups and in recent years has gained a loyal following. The theatre was Winner of the ‘Performing Arts Venue of the Year’ award in the Mersey Tourism Awards 2000

Canning (1) Like Hope, the Canning area retains much of its historic Georgian and early Victorian architecture, interspersed with more modern examples of architectural diversity.

66 Huskisson Street

Canning Street

Falkner Terrace, Upper Parliament Street

The private sector has been very active in the Canning district since property prices have been rising. Many of these houses have been converted to apartments. This typical example, completed at the end of 2003, now features five apartments.

Canning Street, with its rows of Georgian houses, has become a fashionable place to live, with a number of properties being refurbished in recent years both as apartments and family homes. In 2004, some of these were being sold for as much as £250,000. The area is also much favoured by film companies who use this and surrounding streets to recreate period dramas for both films and television series.

Housing Associations such as Cosmopolitan have been instrumental in retaining and restoring many of the fine classical residential terraces in the area. Falkner Terrace sits on one of the major gateway routes into the city centre, and therefore gives an important “shop window” glimpse of Liverpool’s Georgian heritage to passing visitors to the city. Originally refurbished as bedsits in the late 1990’s, some of these are now being converted to more upmarket apartments as property prices in this area have soared.

University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham Street Liverpool is now one of the prime locations in the UK to build a business. The ÂŁ8 million University of Liverpool Management School opened in September 2002 in order to cater for students wishing to pursue a career in business management.

Produced by marketing@liverpool on behalf of Regeneration Portfolio, Liverpool City Council. July 2004.

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