Cavern Quarter masterplan approved
Liverpool City Council has given the green light to a plan to regenerate the Cavern Quarter, Whitechapel and Williamson Square as it begins exploring funding options for the project.
The council wants to turn the areas into into “global destinations overflowing with culture, music and performance”, and aims to improve gateways in and out of the Cavern Quarter, construct an outdoor performance space in Williamson Square and refurbish several building facades in the area.
In the Cavern Quarter, the focus will be on daytime uses, with a push-back against further nightclubs or bars.
The council said in a statement it drew up the Cavern Quarter Strategic Regeneration Framework in response to a separate report on tourism, which called for the city to “curate a clearer proposition around Liverpool’s pivotal role in the story of popular and contemporary music”.
Liverpool’s music heritage industry, centred around The Beatles, is now worth more than £90m a year.
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Liverpool’s musical heritage is an asset of global significance. This masterplan presents an opportunity to provide an experience that celebrates that unique offer and showcases the current scene.
“The next key step is to identify the monies needed and work with our partners to deliver these changes.”
Bill Addy, chief executive of Liverpool BID Company and chair of the Liverpool Visitor Economy Network, said: “Visitors from across the globe come to Liverpool to steep themselves in its musical heritage. As a city, part of our job is to give that culture and heritage the stage and setting it deserves, making it as welcoming as possible.”
According to the council, the SRF will be taken back to cabinet once Liverpool’s Local Plan is adopted in August, in order to be adopted as a supplementary planning document to guide determination of planning applications.
The SRF was designed by Planit-IE, alongside Arup, Fourth Street Consulting, Avison Young, and Dave Pichilingi, founder of Sound City, advising on music history and event planning, while Rob Burns advised on heritage.
