Council finally embarks on World Heritage branding
More than seven years after being designated a World Heritage Site due to its significant maritime mercantile history Liverpool is to begin promoting its special status to visitors.
The six historic areas covered by World Heritage status since July 2004 are the Pier Head, Albert Dock, Stanley Dock, Castle Street, William Brown Street and Lower Duke Street.
The new badges will carry emblems using the expression "Proud to be part of Liverpool World Heritage City". There are also individual letters which 'are a contemporary version of medieval capital letters, which include within them historic and modern structures', the council said. The Pier Head's new signage is a letter 'P' which is illustrated with images of the Liver Building and the Museum of Liverpool. Venues in the Albert Dock will have a giant 'A' featuring pictures of a vessel and the dock buildings, while William Brown Street's giant 'W' has representations of St George's Hall, Wellington's Column and Lime Street Station.
Unesco, the authority responsible for awarding World Heritage Site status, recently said it would consider removing Liverpool's designation if it did not properly control development in the area. Heritage objections to Peel Group's Liverpool Waters mega-scheme have been central to the debate about whether being a World Heritage Site benefits or dampens the city's economic growth prospects.
Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for culture and tourism, Cllr Wendy Simon, said: "There has been a great deal of speculation relating to Liverpool's future as a World Heritage City, but this launch reaffirms our commitment to our title. This branding has been a long time in the making and I'm delighted we've developed such striking illustrations which will help us spread the word far and wide that we are proud to be home to a World Heritage Site and want to do as much as we can to promote these areas to residents and visitors."
Six organisations have signed up to the branding scheme so far; National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool One, Merseytravel, Bibby Line Group, Liverpool Vision and Albert Dock Tenants Association.
Chris Bliss, estate director at Liverpool One, said: "Liverpool One is proud to support Liverpool City Council in their recognition of the historic importance of our amazing city. We're excited to be a part of shaping Liverpool's future, and by supporting this initiative with other businesses in the community, we can also help acknowledge the important landmarks from Liverpool's past which have helped make it a World Heritage city."
There are also plans in place to produce a window sticker in forthcoming months which all businesses can display with pride in their windows.
