Beatles street to be lit up

Mathew Street in Liverpool city centre is being improved with a series of lighting installations to appeal more to visitors and celebrate The Beatles.

The project is being funded by Liverpool Vision and City Central Business Improvement District, which represents 630 businesses across Liverpool city centre.

The improvement work includes:

• A 40-metre long ceiling of light, dubbed Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds, to be installed running the full length of Mathew Street
• New spotlights on a bronze statue of John Lennon, which was unveiled in 1997, and Arthur Dooley's Four Lads Who Shook The World sculpture
• New spotlights on gateways signs into the Cavern quarter
• Re-paint of the world capital of pop wall of fame
• Deep cleansing of pedestrianised walkway

The ceiling of light is being carried out by Enterprise Liverpool and will take six days to complete. The remainder of the works is scheduled to be completed over the next four weeks.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' first ever appearance at The Cavern club, based in Mathew Street, the works were recommended as part of a study entitled 'designing out crime', commissioned by Liverpool City Council's city centre management team. They identified additional lighting as having a positive impact on the night economy in the Cavern quarter.

Jenny Douglas, head of city centre and urban design at Liverpool Vision and a board member of the city central BID team, said: "Lighting is internationally recognised as important in making towns and cities better places and Liverpool has an excellent reputation internationally based on work done in recent times to make the city attractive at night. The installation of the ceiling of light on Mathew Street is the first stage in making the Cavern quarter look attractive to visitors and potential investors, as well as having a positive impact on its night-time economy."

The city central BID team said there will be several major projects of this kind in 2011 that aims to have a big impact on the appeal of the city centre.

Ged Gibbons, chief executive of the City Central BID team, added: "Mathew Street is on the must see list for every visitor to Liverpool and these works will make a massive difference to their experience, especially at night with the lighting effects. 2011 is a year of landmarks for The Cavern and to celebrate we wanted to encourage visitors to take a closer look at what makes this street so special – be it the venues, it's art and its claim to immortality."

Gibbons added that the improvements to the Cavern quarter, which is also home to boutique fashion centre, Cavern Walks, were welcomed by local businesses.

The project cost was not disclosed.