Full funding in place for Church Street - Lord Street Area
The full funding package for the transformation of the Church Street - Lord Street area is now in place with work due to start in mid May 2006.
The £5.5 million scheme in this key retail area of the city has been funded by Liverpool City Council, the NorthWest Development Agency, the European Regional Development Fund, and Cityfocus.
The main aim of the scheme is to improve the pedestrian areas with new high quality granite paving, new street lighting, new street furniture (benches and litter bins), and tree planting.
The concept for the scheme is 'The Ribbons of Life', representing the social, cultural and economic aspects of Liverpool and its people. The ribbon theme will be visible in the paving and the street furniture. Sculptural elements will also reflect this theme.
The first element of work involved the removal of the existing trees due to public safety issues and problems with damage from the tree roots. These will be replaced with 33 new mature trees, all 9 metres high, later in the scheme.
The trees needed to be removed before the main work begins. The Trees and Woodland Management Team of the City Council had carried out a full assessment of the trees condition. Planted in the 1970s, these had proven to be unsuitable trees for this location and due to their current poor condition there was a risk of branches falling off onto passing pedestrians. The work was carried out on the morning of Sunday 23rd April to minimise disruption for retailers, shoppers and businesses.
A council spokesman said: "We are really upset about the loss of the trees but they were originally planted in poor conditions which has led to a steady decline in the tree health with public safety concerns due to limb failure. This is an opportunity to create a fantastic long term new planting scheme with over 30 mature trees being planted. All the trees removed will be chipped and recycled."
Liverpool City Council is working very closely with the Business Improvement District to ensure this busy retail area is fully consulted on all the works to meet all their business needs.
Carl Speight, General Manager of the Business Improvement District said: "This scheme will help to complement the nearby Paradise Project and ensure our prime retail area remains an important part of the city centre. There has been extensive consultation with retailers and businesses and we will continue to do all we can to work with the Council to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum.
"This is a very exciting scheme that will bring this vital area up to date and make it an enjoyable and pleasant place to work, to shop and to visit."