LDA appointed on Liverpool public realm strategy

LDA Design has been appointed to draw up plans to enhance public realm across the city centre with a strategy set to go to public consultation next year.

The public realm strategy, which will be used a planning document once Liverpool City Council’s Local Plan is adopted in late 2020, will focus on improving public spaces and connectivity across the city centre.

It will link into existing or planned frameworks including the Cavern Quarter, Upper Central, the Baltic Triangle, and the recently-adopted Commercial Business District masterplan. The Baltic Triangle framework is also being drawn up by LDA Design.

The strategy will also be designed to complement the ongoing city centre connectivity scheme, which focuses on improving roads, paths, and cycleways around the city, and an upcoming public art strategy.

The council said the public realm strategy would “provide a detailed planning framework to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the design and management of streets and open spaces”. A initial draft is expected to go to public consultation in 2020.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Liverpool is undergoing an unprecedented renaissance with billions of pounds reshaping the city’s economy – but we need an overarching vision to glue all this regeneration activity together.

“How a city looks and feels at a human level is vital to its success – as the Liverpool ONE development has proved. We now have a number of masterplans all looking to foster growth across the city centre but the quality of our public spaces and streets needs to be consistent and complementary.

“We take great pride in the fact that the city wins awards for its world class welcome – but that experience needs to continue right through to the benches people sit on, the directional signs they need to read right through to the planting and lighting in our squares and streets.

“I look forward to seeing the development of this public realm strategy and would encourage all our residents and businesses to give their input to shape its direction and help further fuel to the Liverpool Powerhouse.”

Mark Graham, Director of LDA, said: “Liverpool is renowned as one of the most vibrant and creative cities in the UK. The strategy matters because we all meet in the public realm so it needs to be healthy, welcoming, green and sociable.

“As Liverpool continues to grow, its people deserve a city centre that reflects their ambitions, the public realm plays a huge part in this. We’re honoured to be part of such a nationally significant project.”

Your Comments

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The Council has announced a spending freeze yet has money for projects such as this.

LL

By Liver lad

Well done Liverpool. Manchester desperately needs something similar. It is great having the gleaming towers but when the pavements are a total mess it looks terrible. Its not the big one off projects, its the general quality of the public realm.

By XY

Liver lad: Invest to earn la

By Visitor Economy

Walking around the city, and keeping an eye on all these plans it’s quite clear that the newly shuffled deck at the top level in LCC is paying dividends all round.

More of this please.

By New Broom

Nice to see a relatively new ‘face’ to the region win this. No offence to those already well-established in the NW, but the region needs a mix of ideas and approaches.

By MancLad

Yes….anybody can build skyscrapers…but without personality and accessibility in a town plan….it becomes just another urban sprawl…..ask anybody ro identify the two cities from the air….and I’ll bet it’s Liverpool that’s picked out first !!!

By Tercol

Instead of spending money on consultants, they could pay to put water in their street cleaning machines and have them serviced so they actually clean, rather than dribble a bit of dirty water behind them.

When they have people actually cleaning the streets (noting the BID have been reduced to hiring their own powerwashing teams) the next thing to do is break the chain of criminality involved that keeps drug and drink addicts collecting cash on every street corner.

Lastly, they need to go back to the historic streets and undo the god awful LED lighting they’ve put in, which shrouds the city in darkness when it should be looking its best.

Sadly, I suspect this consultancy will just be another excuse to greenlight activity which makes the city unattractive rather than attractive. If there’s a “new broom” it hasn’t done very much so far, and certainly hasn’t “swept” where it’s needed. Nothing meaningful has changed.

By Mike

Since Liverpool turned its aim to attract low budget Benidorm style tourism the city is becoming increasingly unwelcoming to be in and attracting low quality architecture to match it’s low aspirations. Perhaps a rethink at the top next election might be needed?

By Anon

I find what Liverpool City Council, Planning Department and Joe Anderson are doing to this great city. Some of the new buildings are the most Ugliest things I have seen. All I seem to see is high rise apartments, student accommodation and Signature Hotels. Each new building looks the same, no character with what is in the city. I loved coming into Liverpool City Centre 2 or 3 times a week, now I come about once a month
Liverpool is not great anymore the LCC and Joe Anderson have made sure of that.

By Peter

Hey Visitor Economy yesterday @1.20, you’re an insider aren’t you… why is this a priority when everything else isn’t?

LL

By Liver lad

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