Viewpoint: Transformation of Castle Street is just the beginning
Source: by Paul Rice, CEO of Liverpool Commercial District Partnership
Such has been the speed of transformation in Castle Street recently that you could be forgiven for thinking that its fantastic new benches are the only things standing still right now.
Without doubt one of Liverpool’s finest streets, the weekend’s Fiesta Latina confirmed there is a real appetite among the city’s residents and visitors to spend their free time around the Castle Street area, if there is a compelling enough reason to do so.
We, Liverpool Vision and the city council have long acknowledged its potential as a highly viable retail and leisure destination, alongside its more established reputation as a commercial hub in the city.
The recent £3m refurbishment project marks a significant step in the delivery of that potential and demonstrates exactly what can be achieved through an integrated approach.
To avoid losing this newly-found momentum, we must not rest on our laurels and should instead press on with efforts in other locations, particularly a number of side streets which currently reflect something of a tide mark around the edges of the increasingly sparkling commercial district’s main thoroughfares.
Environmental improvements should allow us to generate greater footfall, which in turn will make the area more attractive to retailers and leisure operators.
Invariably, a more convivial space will also appeal to inward investors and create new opportunities for commercial growth.
However, we cannot simply state ambitions in a vacuum and they must be tempered against a climate of public sector budget cuts; the council cannot afford deliver every project on its own.
This is where we hope the value of Business Improvement District (BID) status comes in to its own. We launched our BID application as a means of ensuring the commercial district remained on an upward growth curve, in spite of austerity measures.
This remains our core focus and we intend to use the increased revenue gained through the BID levy to support the council in delivering key projects aside from its statutory services, for which our levy payers already pay their business rates.
That fundamental spirit of partnership is by no means a closed shop.
I would encourage every organisation to get on board, as it’s the only way to keep this city moving.
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