The case for Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880. Historically a part of Lancashire, the urbanisation and expansion of Liverpool were both largely brought about by the city’s status as a major port. By the 18th century, trade from the West Indies, Ireland and mainland Europe coupled with close links with the Atlantic Slave Trade furthered the economic expansion of Liverpool. By the early 19th century, 40% of the world’s trade passed through Liverpool’s docks, contributing to Liverpool’s rise as a major city. The Liverpool City Region has a population of 2.3 million people. A map of the region is in The North West of England Plan Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021.
For periods during the 19th century the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London itself, and Liverpool’s Custom House was the single largest contributor to the British Exchequer. Liverpool’s status can be judged from the fact that it was the only British city ever to have its own Whitehall office. Even today Liverpool tops all cities outside London for wealth management. Compounded by other towns and cities in this field in the Liverpool City Region such as, Chester, Bootle and Skelmersdale, the region holds a strong grip.
Liverpool’s status as a port city has contributed to its diverse population, which, historically, were drawn from a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions. The city is also home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe. The first overseas consulate of the United States was opened in Liverpool in 1790, and it remained operational for almost two centuries. Today, a large number of consulates are located in the city serving Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden and Thailand. Tunisian & Ivory Coast Consulates are located in the neighbouring Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
Liverpool is noted for its rich architectural heritage and is home to many buildings regarded as amongst the greatest examples of their respective styles in the world. Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. Referred to as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the site comprises six separate locations in the city including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street and includes many of the city’s most famous landmarks.
Liverpool’s history means that there are a considerable variety of architectural styles found within the city, ranging from 16th century Tudor buildings to modern-day contemporary architecture. The majority of buildings in the city date from the late-18th century onwards, the period during which the city grew into one of the foremost powers in the British Empire. There are over 2,500 listed buildings in Liverpool, of which 27 are Grade I listed and 85 are Grade II* listed. The city also has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the United Kingdom aside from Westminster and more Georgian houses than the city of Bath. This richness of architecture has subsequently seen Liverpool described by English Heritage, as England’s finest Victorian city.
Spearheaded by the multi-billion Liverpool ONE development, regeneration has continued on an unprecedented scale through to the start of the early 2010s in Liverpool. Some of the most significant regeneration projects to have taken place in the city include the new Commercial District, King’s Dock, Mann Island, the Lime Street Gateway, the Baltic Triangle, RopeWalks and the Edge Lane Gateway. All projects could however soon be eclipsed by the Liverpool Waters scheme which if built will cost in the region of £5.5billion and be one of the largest megaprojects in the UK’s history. Liverpool Waters is a mixed use development which will contain one of Europe’s largest skyscraper clusters. The project received outline planning permission in 2012. A similar project Wirral Waters is planned for the opposite bank of the River Mersey.
A planned Post-Panamax container terminal extension will berth the world’s largest container ships on the tidal River Mersey side of Seaforth Dock. These ships transport up to 14,000 containers per ship. This facility will increase container throughput by over 100%, from 700,000 containers per annum to 2 million by 2020. The city’s new cruise liner terminal, which is situated close to the Pier Head, also makes Liverpool one of the few places in the world where cruise ships are able to berth in the centre of the city. No other regional city has many large scale expansion projects.
Another important component of Liverpool’s economy are the tourism and leisure sectors. Liverpool is the 6th most visited city in the United Kingdom and one of the 100 most visited cities in the world by international tourists. In 2008, during the city’s European Capital of Culture celebrations, overnight visitors brought £188m into the local economy, while tourism as a whole is worth approximately £1.3bn a year to Liverpool. Other recent developments in Liverpool such as the Echo Arena and Liverpool One have made Liverpool an important leisure centre with the latter helping to lift Liverpool into the top five retail destinations in the UK.
The popularity of The Beatles and the other groups from the Merseybeat era contributes to Liverpool’s status as a tourist destination. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, in 2008. Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. Referred to as the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City, the site comprises six separate locations in the city including the Pier Head, Albert Dock and William Brown Street and includes many of the city’s most famous landmarks.
The city is one of only four cities in the UK with its own partially underground rapid-transit urban rail network, Merseyrail, serving the two terminal rail stations at Lime Street railway station and Chester which both terminate London trains. The city has its own airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
