Click to tweet @accliverpool LWBP forms community interest company to boost Liverpool Waterfront
The directors of Liverpool Waterfront Business Partnership (LWBP) are set to form a Community Interest Company (CIC) to help drive more tourists to Liverpool waterfront and build on its reputation as one of the leading UK visitor destinations.
Senior staff from the five major landowners: ACC Liverpool, Tate Liverpool, National Museums Liverpool, Merseytravel and Gower Street Estates, plus The Canal and River Trust and Liverpool Vision – the city’s economic development company – are joining forces to promote one of the city’s most iconic focal points.
The new CIC, a limited company created for community benefit, aims to enhance Liverpool Waterfront so that it becomes an all year-round destination, creates quality jobs and contributes significantly to the local economy.
Plans for the new company include the marketing of Liverpool Waterfront with a new website www.liverpoolwaterfront.org featuring a host of attractions and activities around Albert Dock, Kings Dock, Princes Dock and the Pier Head.
The website, which was launched today (THURS), marks the start of a marketing push for the Liverpool Waterfront brand, which the partnership hopes will ensure Liverpool’s most iconic visitor attraction is positioned alongside other world-famous and successfully developed waterfronts, including Darling Harbour in Sydney and the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town.
LWBP was formed in 2009 with the aim of establishing Liverpool as the major UK tourism city outside of London with the CIC the next stage in its plan. Recent waterfront events include the launch of the Cruise Liner Terminal and Music On the Waterfront, which attracted thousands of visitors to the Pier Head.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson pledged his support for the CIC. He said: “The waterfront is integral to the identity and experience of the city and Liverpool’s fortunes are directly linked to the ebb and flow of waterfront activity.
“These days it is an inspirational sign, it is iconic and a symbol of Liverpool as an outward-looking international city. Progress made in recent years needs to be continued to ensure that this great natural asset is playing a full and vital role in the city’s status and ambition.”
Developments on the waterfront include Exhibition Centre Liverpool, ACC Liverpool’s new £40m development, due for completion late 2014. The CIC will work with the city to provide a welcome to visitors of Exhibition Centre Liverpool as well as a gateway for Cruise Liner Terminal passengers.
Bob Prattey, chief executive of ACC Liverpool, home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, and a director of LWBP, said: “Liverpool Waterfront has come to symbolise the regeneration of the city over the past decade and is a real asset to the city region.
“Projects such as Exhibition Centre Liverpool will help place Liverpool Waterfront on an international stage. It is a natural progression to bring the developments in the area together so that the waterfront has its own identity and becomes another unique focal point in our fantastic city.”
New highways and pedestrian signage will be erected across the site and the wider city over the coming months.
Duncan Frazer, commercial and marketing director of Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LCR LEP) said: “The launch of the CIC is a significant move forward for the LWBP and Liverpool City Region. LEP Tourist Board ‘VisitLiverpool’ is delighted to be supporting this initiative.
“The Liverpool waterfront is an iconic part of the destination’s heritage and plays a pivotal role in linking many of our key assets – therefore enhancing the overall visitor experience.
“By partners continuing to develop a strong network, we can maximise its appeal across the Visitor Economy and beyond.”
Sue Grindrod, LWBP director and chairman of Gower Street Estates, which owns and manages Albert Dock, said: “Albert Dock is a key element of Liverpool Waterfront and this new website, which has been led by ACC Liverpool, illustrates the dynamic way that partners are working together to further enhance our tourism offer.
“Every year we welcome millions of visitors, both local and international, and the Partnership’s aim is to enable all to enjoy world class attractions, diverse events and the fantastic atmosphere of this vibrant waterfront.”
Jenny Douglas, head of area investment at Liverpool Vision and LWBP board member, added: “This is a very positive step forward and CIC status will help us to realise further the area’s huge potential. The waterfront has long been central to our plans for Liverpool’s city centre – to establish it both as place to be enjoyed by our citizens and as an international visitor destination.
“A lot can still be done and the emerging vision for the city centre has a continued focus on the waterfront, because the prize for a successful Liverpool waterfront is huge. It will cement the city’s place on the map of world cities and create opportunities through employment and leisure activities even more than it already does.”
