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I enjoyed the UNESCO article but the peculiarly Scouse angst that pervades it is as damaging to our prospects as any business closure or wayward decision by our beloved City Council. Whatever the merits and demerits of the UNESCO decision two years ago, it should have taught us the importance of perspective. Losing World Heritage Status did not signal catastrophe any more than Eurovision or Capital of Culture 2008 secured our cultural future. Both were simply footnotes in the continuing evolution of the city region.

So much public discourse about Liverpool is bipolar: either we are the greatest city in the world because of our catalogue of listed buildings and ability to throw parties like Eurovision, or we are inexorably in decline as witnessed by stubbornly persistent poverty north of the city or the failure of a brand new building on the fringe of the city centre (The Spine) to be fully let whilst its paint is still wet. The binary view of our city is reflected in the comparisons we flatter or flagellate ourselves with - either we are an exciting clone of Shanghai’s Bund and New York’s brash dynamism or we languish behind Manchester or (and this is a new one) Warrington as a landing pad for foreign direct investment.

We trail Manchester not because of inherent weaknesses in our economy but because of core strengths in theirs. Greater Manchester and its hinterland is twice as big as Merseyside and includes assets like Manchester Airport and Trafford Park which dwarf their Liverpudlian counterparts. We secure comparable levels of FDI to Warrington not because of our failings but because Warrington’s location between Liverpool and Manchester on the junction of the M6 and M62, plus an abundance of cheap land, better suits the needs of online retailers and distributors who currently dominate the market for FDI. These are simply functions of economic geography and not signs that Liverpool is in terminal decline.

I was at the same Futures Panel meeting as Michael Parkinson and he is quite right that nobody bemoaned the loss of World Heritage status or even mentioned it. Indeed, apart from some world-weary references to the Caller report and recent City Council shenanigans, the discussion was positive and optimistic. Investors and developers are not shunning the city and will invest when good sites are available, planners get properly transactional and politicians keep out of it until and unless a final decision on planning permission is needed.

The only (slightly) perturbing feature was the sense that just because the City Council needs to start again post-Caller, the private sector also needed to press “reset” as though any new development initiative was an unprecedented fresh start. That is nonsense, of course, and I reminded the group that “Liverpool’s Greatest Hits” were the envy of the world (including Manchester) and were an unbroken continuum of developments since the regeneration of Albert Dock in the 1980s. Albert Dock stimulated new housing and commercial development southwards as far as Garston and provided the precedent for Peel and others in the north docks, exemplified by the redevelopment of Pier Head, Princes Dock, the tobacco warehouse, Titanic Hotel, Everton’s stadium and Liverpool 2 at Seaforth. In the city’s commercial centre, Liverpool One is an extraordinary success and has fared better than most through lockdown and crises on our High Streets. At long last, a credible developer has taken on the wonderful Martins Bank building and we are seeing developments on other previously moribund central sites like Pall Mall, providing essential grade one offices. Hopefully the eyesore of Moorfields will follow suit. Threaded in between these landmark sites, virtually every international hotel brand has arrived in the city. That started with Liverpool City Challenge securing Swallow Hotels (now Marriott) for Queen Square and includes Hilton, Holiday Inn, Novotel, Malmaison, Crowne Plaza, Jury’s and more budget operators than you can shake a stick at.

So, no - the loss of the UNESCO badge did not stymie new development any more than the incompetence (at best) of the council killed the Golden Goose of FDI and business growth among SMEs in the city but our civic leaders, academics and journalists need occasionally to take a step back and view things proportionately. Stop being “wannabe Manchester” and focus instead on becoming the best Liverpool we can be, which is pretty bloody awesome.

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Dead right Jack. Spot on. This defeatism, as if Aldi is all we can expect, is a combination of the peculiarities you speak of, readily encouraged by those who would wish to cover up their role in very recent failure.

Little is said about the role of the council in deterring and rejecting very decent inward investment by being repellent to it - either by design or accident. That is them, not us.

Indeed, the Spine is a success hence the next phase going on. The Plaza is full, not empty.

We are far from repellent as a city. It wasn't so long ago that we were the focal point of huge, actively pursued investment.

Had the Grosvenors listened to nay sayers, Liverpool One wouldn't exist. Now Liverpool competes with the West End for store launches.

The collapse of office space in the city is to do with government policy meets useless council meets opportunistic scallies with cash. We don't need a new city, for investors to "reset", or for the world to change. We certainly don't need to adjust our expectations downwards.

We just need new, professional champions. Like we used to have.

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Well said Jack from one who was also involved over several years I couldn’t have said it better.

The article itself was a good read and made several insightful comments.There has been a sad decline in the direction of the regeneration process in the City over the last few years driven in large part by a lack of experienced personnel and funding sadly experienced by most Northern Cities.Recently back from a few days in London and the disparities in funding are shocking.

Keep well.

Martin Wright

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"Losing" WHS looks to me like a side-issue [about as damaging as the bookshop with the same initials becoming the replacement for the closed town centre Post Office).

Successive Governments since 1945 have FAILED to fulfil the "promise" to help financially with rebuilding the Docks complex which took such a hammering in WW2 while Liverpool literally kept the country FED.

Oliver Goldsmith couldn't find Liverpool on a Sat-Nav with both hands free and a flashlight up his ***

Everton FC have thrown their hat in the ring. LOCAL involvement will be a deciding factor in renovating the Docks. WHS?? Who needs them?

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Another informative and interesting read, thanks Jack.

Liverpool has always gone it’s own way and I feel we shouldn’t be disheartened by the views of European bureaucrats.

Also, it’s possibly in a minority view but I like the juxtaposition of the modern black glass buildings with the Three Graces being reflected in the glass, the classical with the modern. It seems fitting for our City region.

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I'm amazed people still complain about the museum and Mann Island, the area has never looked smarter and visitors can't stop taking photos.

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Couldn't agree with this article more. There is very little value to holding World Heritage status - I think a lot of us were of the belief it would come with cash funding for our heritage assets or afford some level of protection in the planning process but (like the Capital of Culture fwiw) it is really just a logo for your website. What's more, if you google "cost benefit analysis UNESCO world heritage" you'll get a pdf of a government commissioned report which, like other studies, struggles to find any socioeconomic benefits while estimates the cost of putting in a bid alone at around £400k - mostly paid to management consultants to produce glossy presentations. I would rather see that figure spent on tangible improvements when it comes to Birkenhead Park.

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Absolutely agree re Birkenhead Park!

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The WHS was utter nonsense. It included the Albert Dock (yay!) , but not the King's Dock site. Fortunately what was put up there isn't too bad, unlike the utterly abysmal museum building and the atrocious black glass blocks and the utterly unmemorable ticket office building that have destroyed the Pier Head. We had a near miss there.

But astonishingly it did NOT include the cathedrals and much else that is 'heritage! But all the fuss was because someone wanted to improve the completely derelict docks. Right next to an oil refinery.

So yes, WHS sites have their place if done sensibly. But Liverpool's was nonsense.

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I think the point about the departure of Castore stings more than the Unesco decision but they're flip sides of the same coin.

I wonder how hard the city tried with the former and whether it would have made any difference ?

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Given the slump in inwards investment, and what has since come into public acknowledgment, it would be good to hear what Mr Parkinson now thinks about this article:

https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2016/07/11/liverpool-mayor-success-says-first-major-study-political-structure/

And this;

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-and-social-sciences/news/articles/69928/

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Another fine piece from Jack Walton, displaying his usual understanding and depth. Young ambitious north Liverpudlians must sometimes feel neglected and UNESCO status would mean nothing to them. There is of course remarkable potential in that youth but it is stunted by generational layers of mis-development of their locality. With recent election turnouts of 13%, some North Liverpool wards show massive disengagement with not only politics but also culture and aspiration. Some call it "worn-down" but its really a salutary tale in how not to let once-prosperous and beautiful areas slide into decline through neglect. There are library closures and huge environmental inflictions along the way of that decline. The LCR vision - an executives view of what's good for the future region, while well-meaning and glossy-brochured has some fatal flaws. It fails to see how their promised land of trickle-down economics does not really work here. By contrast, the daily scenes of traffic chaos along the A5036, Liverpool Road and surrounding roads chaos are a direct result of its "focal dock" mis-planning and development policies. Its become “that way or the highway” but the highway is sacrificing the whole area. It seems there's no mechanism to reboot this - with their obligate addiction to Peel's global capital. But then again Peel has bought Liverpool, and so no one else has any say. North Liverpool actually needs what it used to have - a radical diverse local economy (and not palliative measures of a promised land of jobs that never come). The LCR development cash has certainly fed the Chinese Belt and Road initiative well. Not so much the ambitious youth of the North Liverpool.

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So frustrating to see persistent factual errors - there’s at least one in every Post article. The 3XN point is incorrect, they designed Museum of Liverpool (assuming that’s what you meant by “Liverpool Museum”?). AEW aren’t a Manchester firm either.

The Spine is part empty because the fit out wasn’t funded so tenants wanting to move in immediately (of which there have been many) couldn’t - the council have this week rectified that by funding the fit out so it’ll be filled soon.

Development takes 2-5 years from genesis to delivery so it’s impossible to tell the impact of UNESCO yet and pointless discussing it yet. We’ll in any case never fully know the counter-factual scenario in which the city had fully exploited the status

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Great article, as ever and why I subscribe. As the co-author of the ‘more authentic, greener and sustainable plan’, it feels like we need a ‘part 2’. There are one or two corrections needed (the 3XN ref is wrong for instance) but overall, a good start 👍🏻 The true story is much, much deeper and I say that because I travelled all the way to Paris to present the case to UNESCO and to use a local phrase, their faces were clear.... they couldn’t be arsed!

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I used to look down towards the Mersey and view the Three Graces from Water Street or from the Town Hall, Castle Street or the Victoria monument. A great Black glass monster blocks, my view, or, looking from the Tate, my view of the Three Graces is blocked. On the other hand, developments further down river towards North Liverpool may be an improvement.

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Good article Jack, lots to think about. I live in the north of the city now but spent 15 years in the south end and can see the divide. Although there are some ‘poorer’ parts around the south of the city there’s far more affluent areas than the north. The Ten Streets Social, Murphys Distillery and the Invisible Wind Factory are hopefully encouraging a change and showing businesses that people living here also want nice bars restaurants and places to dance. I can see a change already since the stadium started to be built and fingers crossed there’s more investment going to happen in the right way. The news about a Central Park from Peel Ports seems to have gone quiet, I truly hope it goes ahead as it would improve the look and feel of the dock area so much.

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Too many yuppie apartments in s city on zero hours contracts which can't afford the mortgages.

I used to describe Liverpool Waters as being "pie in the skyscrapers". Give something or some areas fancy titles and names and all will be roses. More like the odious substance to help grow them!

A city of "quarters". It reminds me of the football manager who when quizzed about why his team were so hopeless answered "Football is a game of two halves and the problem is not enough halves".

P.S The Victoria state of Australia have had to quit holding the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Liverpool City Council DON'T EVEN THINK OF IT,! Birmingham are in desperate straits having taken on the 2022 event Liverpool had a lucky escape from Mr Andersons

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Mr Andersons folly

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The idea that led to the formation of UNESCO was from a UK minister whose namesake was the same as the main character in Gone with the Wind, a Mr. R. Butler. The message the people of Liverpool should be giving to those from UNESCO after they took us from their list must be, " Frankly my dear, we don't give a damn".

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Great piece. I do wonder how many of the pubs and shops around Goodison will fare when the club moves.

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Great article: this type of reporting is the reason I subscribe.

Well done THE POST Keep it up

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