THING OF THE WEEK

NAME GAMES... As you may have heard, Liverpool is getting a new train station. Or rather an old train station is being reopened. Kind of. The “new” station, complete with real-life cowboys (pictured above), will be built on the site of the former St James Station in the Baltic Triangle. The public is now being given the opportunity to get involved in the long-awaited project, having been invited to choose a name for the station. Those interested in getting involved must choose between three possible names: Liverpool Baltic, Liverpool Parliament Street, and Liverpool Riverside. Apparently giving the station its old name, St James, is not possible as it is too similar to the name of another Liverpool station, James Street. 

Clayton Architecture is working with the developer on the plans. Credit: Clayton Architecture via Andrew Brown

TOWER POWER… News of a 48-storey tower in Southport certainly turned heads this week. If constructed, it would become one of the tallest buildings outside London. Many commentators seemed aghast that such a tall structure could be constructed in a humble North West seaside town. Have these people never heard of Blackpool Tower?

Best thing about my day 👇yep that’s the highlight… https://t.co/Upx2nSLG3q

— Joanne Roney OBE (@joanneroney) January 19, 2022

WORDLE WARRIORS... The viral word game has really taken off in recent weeks. Wordle’s one-a-day format seems to appeal to busy professionals for whom developing an addiction to an app would get in the way of more important ventures. Civic Engineers director Paul Morris is an avid Wordler and managed to solve Thursday and Friday’s puzzles in just two guesses. When he is not letting flexible workspace, Colliers’ Paddy Kennedy can be found shuffling vowels and consonants around in the hunt for the magic five-letter word. Manchester City Council chief executive Joanne Roney summed up how many of us feel about Wordle, describing the daily word game as the “best thing about my day”.  

MINI PLANET WOES… It’s all in the details, as ambitious miniature lovers found out after Blackpool Council refused an application for a certificate of lawfulness to turn the basement of the old BHS off Church Street into Mini Planet, a 26,000 sq ft attraction with miniature planes, trains and iconic buildings. Council officers stated that the scheme would require planning permission before a change of use could be approved. It appears it is back to the drawing board for this miniature wonderland. 

‘22 looks like it’s going to be even busier, oh it looks like a film crew will be following us around again, but a different city this time…👀 @CapitalCentric https://t.co/UVxSr3jEj0

— Tim Heatley (@MrTimHeatley) January 20, 2022

MANCTOPIA... Capital & Centric co-founder and celebrity developer Tim Heatley has revealed that he might be making a return to our screens. In 2020, he starred in the BBC’s Manctopia, a series documenting Manchester’s “billion-pound property boom”. Having stayed out of the limelight in 2021, C&C has progressed several of its projects, claiming it still spends £2m a week on regeneration. And, after a busy 2021, the time seems right for the company to show off what it is doing to a national audience again, although it won’t be in Manchester this time, according to Heatley. Watch this space.