Technology

Posted on October 7, 2016 by staff

New plan set to turn Liverpool docks into creative hub

Technology

Ten rundown streets in Liverpool’s north docks are poised to become a creative hub under new plans.

The city’s council has identified the warehouses and dockside buildings between Peel Ports’ £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters development and Harcourt Developments’ Titanic Hotel and Rum Warehouse Conference Centre at Stanley Dock as ripe for redevelopment.

The council’s cabinet is set to approve the plans – part of the new Atlantic Corridor Development Framework – to create a ‘Cultural Enterprise Industry Hub’ next Friday.

It would allow creative start-ups cheap space to develop as prices at the Baltic Triangle across the city are driven up.

The ‘Ten Streets’ plan aims to “blend historic buildings with new developments in much the same way that has seen the transformation of the city’s Baltic Triangle or Shoreditch in London, attracting new investment, business and jobs”.

Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Liverpool’s Atlantic Corridor has the potential to become one of the jewels in the north of England’s economy.

“It’s been a sleeping giant for far too long and now thanks to work with partners such as Peel and Harcourt we have for the first time in generations a plan to resurrect its fortunes.

“In many ways the warehouses that fell silent with the changes in the docks’ fortunes are now its greatest asset as they are the perfect spaces for start-ups and emerging businesses in the digital and creative sector.

“There is much work to be done in establishing the ‘Ten Streets’ as a brand and location, but the vision is there, the support is there from the city council and, crucially, the private sector to deliver something very special.”

The Liverpool Waters 30-year project will dominate the skyline.

Ian Pollitt, assistant development director at Liverpool Waters, said: “We very much welcome this piece of work which complements the Liverpool Waters project and includes some of the land that we own.

“While Liverpool Waters covers a large area of the northern docks, this scheme reaches out and engages further into north Liverpool and will ensure the momentum of recent and on-going regeneration is maintained.

“We are also looking forward to working with other partners on the Heritage Action Zone steering committee to ensure the historical assets are repaired and preserved, new use is found for old and we can take this vision to the next level.”