Liverpool picks consultants for ‘cultural quarter’ masterplan
LDA Design will lead a professional team tasked with mapping out regeneration in the St George’s Gateway area over the next decade.
The area covered spans 86 acres, from Lime Street station through to William Brown Street, encompassing major buildings such as St George’s Hall, Liverpool Empire Theatre, the Walker Art Gallery, and World Museum Liverpool.
A crucial element of the site being unlocked has been the removal of the Churchill Way flyovers, said Liverpool City Council.
LDA Design will work with other firms including Stirling Prize-winner Haworth Tompkins, WSP, planner Pegasus and Hatch.
Liverpool-based community engagement specialist PLACED and AspinallVerdi complete the team.
The council partnered with Liverpool John Moores University and National Museums Liverpool to commission the team to create a framework that sets out “the development of a transformational future which is both visionary, ambitious and deliverable”.
The announcement immediately follows the appointment of a new regeneration board for Liverpool, members of which are attending UKREiiF this week.
A central aim of the St George’s Gateway draft masterplan is to also enhance connectivity, specifically to the wider city centre and adjoining communities, said LCC.
The St George’s Gateway framework will also tie in with the masterplanning for the Pumpfields area, and complement the New Towns taskforce submission covering the northern fringe of the city centre.
Once approved by the council, the framework will be adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document to aid decision making, facilitate delivery and provide certainty for investors.
The St George’s Gateway framework is underpinned by six guiding principles, based on enhancing the quality of the place and its environment:
- Set out detailed public realm and landscape interventions, with a clear strategy for improved walkability, active travel, legibility and permeability, connecting this area and north Liverpool into the city centre.
- Propose deliverable transport improvements and interventions in the context of an emerging city centre mobility strategy, driving towards active travel and net zero.
- Promote introduction of green space.
- Identify and propose interventions to unlock and maximise the value of potential development sites and land use strategy.
- Set out potential interventions for the creative reuse of derelict or under used buildings.
- Set design codes for the area; character areas; and sites including appropriate use and design/place requirements which respond to unique character and context.
Mark Graham, director at LDA Design, said: “St George’s has all the ingredients needed to create a world-class gateway for Liverpool. We are, therefore, very excited to be working with the Council to realise the potential of this historically and culturally significant area of Liverpool.
“We are thrilled to also be working with National Museums Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University to forge key regenerative partnerships and shape a shared vision for the site.
“This plan will need to respond to a diverse audience – shaping a place which benefits residents, students, visitors and local businesses – and we are eager to gather ideas as soon as possible of how we can shape a high-quality place and deliver sensitive development at the heart of Liverpool city centre.”
Cllr Nick Small, LCC cabinet member for growth and development, described the project as “a hugely critical part of our vision to the next phase in the r3egeneration of Liverpool city centre”.
We love a good masterplan in Liverpool. Sure beats building anything or taking tough decisions.
By Anonymous
Another framework we can watch absolutely nothing happen with. Yawn.
By Anonymous
Nick small raised this area for a key Gateway redevelopments about 3 years ago …. Now further delay while a master plan is drawn , then approved , then started on site in 203??????? SO SLOW !
By George
Could not have put that any better @ Anonymous 11:45……….we will spend alot of money on consultants though!
By TaxPayer
Are there any more revolving theatres planned for this district?
By Anonymous
Another masterplan
By Anonymous
We really do need a masterplan here. The world class assets don’t connect with the wider city centre. A great opportunity for new open spaces too: the World Museum to Dale Street sites (former flyovers) lend themselves to an imposing new square (onto World Museum west façade) requiring the right architecture to contain it.
Looking forward to the public consultation, hopefully before things are decided!
By Paul Blackburne
Yet another masterplan by Liverpool city council. Let’s try something radical like actually building something . The people have had enough of this council’s playbook of consultations, master plans, delays and ultimately non delivery. Littlewoods, Kings Dock,Upper Central, Anfield Square, Pall Mall, Ten Streets, Paddington Village , the cruise terminal, Festival Gardens , the old Mersey Police HQ not one spade in the ground on any of them while we watch other cities power ahead.
By Anon
Re: St Georges Gateway masterplan and the ‘new’ regeneration board. Once again it will be all talk and fine ideas but nothing will ever happen……apart from in about five years time another masterplan will be proposed and another regeneration board appointed. That is all LCC seem to be capable of doing, just creating masterplans and consultations in the full knowledge that no spades or diggers will be put onto or into the ground. I think the people that created our fine dock system and built many of our great cities fine buildings would be ashamed at the speed that LCC work or supposedly make things happen. Less talk more do please!
By Brendan R
Another 10 years then, at least, London Rd , lower end especially,needs a boost now, as it looks like a favella in some parts. There are some good signs in the Fabric District which can connect into this so called Culural Quarter, but how about the old ABC cinema on Lime St, been empty for years, and the old Blacklers store just bog-standard bars but the interior is empty, that would’ve made a fantastic continental style market with bars, cafes, and quality market stalls on multi levels.
By Anonymous
If only someone would come up with a master plan for all the master plans Liverpool puts in place . Surely there must be some consultancy we can pay who will take it to a committee somewhere so that we can talk about this. Anyone?
By Red Ken
No mention of London Road/Islington/Fabric District……….. Liverpool City Council do not seem very good at linking areas. Just doing bits in silo. I keep saying it but Lime Street – gateway to the city! – St John’s Gardens – Williamson Square (could be great like a European Square) , area in front of World Museum/Library/ Walker Art Gallery. Forgotten that people do come out of Lime St go out the side entrance and go to Royal Liverpool Hospital, Paddington Village, Knowledge Quarter. It needs addressing. Some of the buildings on London Road are AMAZING! Is there a defined template in regard to public realm works templates for paving etc? – is it going to tie in – really really needs thinking about.
By Bob Dawson
Renovate the rundown buildings on London Road & top of Dale Street, and build new apartments on the empty plots, expand the museum, fix the fountain, paving and carry out street cleansing and litter picking at least once a week. Job done
By GetItBuilt!
Thinking ahead perhaps it is time that LCC took their cue from the late great Elvis Presley who once said ‘A little less conversation, a little more action’. Maybe that could be put on all LCC memos that are linked to planning and regeneration.
By Brendan R
A look behind the museum and library gives a reminder towards the level of ‘Quality” we all have to look forward to
By John lynn
Hopefully they address that stupid road layout at the beginning of Dale Street that has cars coming from Tithebarn street and onto Byrom street. It causes chaos for traffic coming out of the tunnel and from Victoria Street, and it looks awful. A real after thought with no aesthetic qualities attached. Block it off and build over it. A new office building of 7 storeys covering that site and the land back to the newer student block would be great. It will block off the view of the broad green hospital style jmu building behind and improve the streets ape from Byrom street and down William Brown street. Green the central reservation and plant trees so Byrom street is like a boulevard coming in from the north and Leeds street. If they lower the pavements as well, it will help. The car par and land behind the museum is ripe for an extension to the museum that could hold the large objects collection. Doesn’t even need to be anything special. A shed that follows the curve of Hunter Street clad in an interesting material with the name of the museum on would do. Have a green wall or clad it in glass with controlled Less like the engineering building at the uni to hide the shed behind. Don’t need anything from the inside other than top lit space so a cheap industrial climate controlled shed would do. Just a shame they never continued Islington around the back of the old Poly to join Leeds street as planned. It would have made Hunter Street much more pedestrian friendly and incorporated it more into the city.
By Anonymous
May the graduates of Greater Manchester and elsewhere rejoice again. Safe in the knowledge that they stand a better chance of getting a job shaping the future of Liverpool than someone within the LCR.
By Michael Bean
Please fix the fountain ASAP. Disgrace how long it’s been abandoned.
By Anonymous
The Tactic for LCC and Mr Rotherham has become rather obvious and tedious . Better to commission and pay for Frame works / Masterplans than actually do anything. Kick everything into the long grass. Looking forward to the expert panel to review the Mersey Barrage , Tram system etc
Look at the shambles of a transport solution for the new Everton Stadium , had 5 years and did nothing until the fans complained . Now a new bus service is being heralded to serve the stadium , Embarrassing.
By Paul M - Woolton
Great to see another important Liverpool project going to a London/Manchester based company
By Anon
Article in another publication showing the business community in the city becoming fed up of the council and these frameworks and masterplans that don’t go anywhere. A 10 year vision? It needs to be 5 tops.
By Anonymous
Given that they planned taking the Churchill Way flyovers down some years ago you would’ve thought they would have a plan in place then, but hey, ho, this is Liverpool. We despair with all these masterplans and consultations, then targets 10,20, or 30 years down the line.
We have derelict land slap bang in the middle of town, behind the Pig and Whistle, on Moorfields, Pall Mall, etc empty for decades, what’s going on?
By Anonymous
The neo-greek buildings in front of Lime street station are splendid. But those built in the 1980s – 2000 really do need to be demolished. They do not do justice these marvellous buildings. Liverpool needs new beautifully designed buildings on this site
By John