Headlines: Lime Street revamp under ‘urgent review’ after contractor goes into administration

The entire revamp of the area around Liverpool Lime Street station is to be "urgently reviewed" after the collapse of a contractor working on the scheme.

NMCN plc, the principal contractor behind the multi-million pound redesign of one of the city’s key gateways, has fallen into administration.

The Nottingham-based firm failed to sign off its 2020 accounts and secure a re-financing of the business.

Lime Street controversy

Critics have argued that the redevelopment of Lime Street and St George’s Plateau will cut-off the city’s bus routes from Liverpool’s mainline station.

The Mayor and her cabinet have agreed to review the plan after an emergency motion was put to council.

The redevelopment work, which began in October 2020, is part of a wider City Centre Connectivity Scheme, made up of eight projects.

The £47 million portfolio of projects has been hit by delays and has run significantly over budget, with some reports putting the figure at an extra £13 million.

The eight projects

The original eight projects for Phase One of the City Centre Connectivity Scheme are as follows:

Lime Street: Creating a new gateway into the city from Liverpool Lime Street Station and a new events space for St George’s Plateau.

Victoria Street and Tithebarn Street: Enhancing the area for public use and improving connectivity through the city by introducing a new cycle link between Lime Street and the Waterfront.

Brownlow Hill: Enhancing the area for public use and introducing of new cycle link from Liverpool Lime Street to the Knowledge Quarter.

Moorfields: Improving the footways and introducing new trees to enhance the area and the entrance into Moorfields Station.

City Bus Hub: Creating a new bus layover with welfare facilities in Old Haymarket for buses leaving Queen Square bus station so reducing congestion and pollution in the city centre.

City Coach Park: Building an off-street parking facility and rest area for coach drivers.

Canning Dock Bridges: Building four new bridges to link Salthouse Quay with Mann Island and opening up land for future development.

The Strand: Improving links for pedestrians and cyclists between the city centre shopping areas and the waterfront leisure district by reassigning existing road space along The Strand.

Funding to improve women’s safety

Nearly £270,000 of new funding is being invested in making women feel safer on the Liverpool City Region transport network.

The money has been awarded from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund will be focused on addressing women’s fears about travelling in and out of the city centre, particularly at night.

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “More than 1,500 women across Merseyside responding to my public survey about their feelings of safety. Their responses highlighted that more women feel unsafe using public transport at night than any other area or location in our region.

“No-one should feel too worried or scared to use our public transport network. We listened intently to their voices and this bid was developed specifically to respond to their concerns.

“With this funding we will be able to put some significant, long-term improvements in place relatively quickly that I hope will make a genuine difference.

“We want women to feel safe using the transport network and ensure if any incident does occur that causes them concern that they can report it quickly and easily and there is someone on hand who is trained to respond effectively.”

Making Liverpool a fairer city for all

It’s your last chance to have your say in survey on how to make Liverpool "a fairer city for all".

As well as ‘feedback’ postcards being available in libraries, Children’s Centres and Lifestyles Centres, the public can also now share their thoughts online via Smart Survey.

The survey remains open until Friday, 8 October.

Joanne Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, said: “Liverpool is very much a city on a journey. Although we face challenges, I am confident that we will come back stronger. But, crucially, I also want us to come back fairer.

“We know that there are barriers to opportunities in Liverpool and that life chances are not equal for all. 

“So, I want to use this moment to draw a line in the sand and ask the people who really matter – our residents, businesses and organisations – to tell us what they think is needed to make the city one which delivers for everyone.”