Without Walls rollout set for sign-off

Liverpool City Council is to lead on a £2.3m Combined Authority project to expand its outdoor hospitality support programme across the city region.

The council’s cabinet meets on Friday, and will be asked to formally accept £2.3m funding to act as the representative body on the further development of a project that saw several key roads closed to vehicles in the city centre in summer 2020.

Bold Street and Castle Street were pedestrianised in a project led by Arup in Without Walls’ initial phase.

At Friday’s meeting, permission is sought to sign off on the recruitment of two roles to a dedicated central management team – a project lead and a support role – to work within Culture Liverpool and the team that delivered the first phase.

This team will work with teams from the different LCR boroughs to design schemes, oversee asset infrastructure/creation as necessary, and centralise procurement where practical, also overseeing the budget and reporting back to the Combined Authority.

Each borough will form a steering group including a project manager and representatives from highways, licensing and a local business group, such as a BID or Chamber.

Although not finalised, allocations will be divided according to population, so could, according to the officers’ report, look something like £150,000 to £250,000 each for Halton, St Helens and Knowsley; £350,000 to £450,000 for Sefton and Wirral; and £825,000 for Liverpool. Central costs are likely to be around £200,000.

The cabinet will also be asked to approve a spending programme from a £247,780 grant from the second round of Arts Council England’s culture recovery fund: this will cover four projects including the Eight Quarters of Liverpool, a series of installations to be introduced between May and September.