A £1.4bn plan to help Liverpool’s economy bounce back from the coronavirus lockdown has been drawn up.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson and Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram have submitted a 178-page report to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor outlining it aims which they say would create 25,600 jobs, provide an additioal 12,000 construction roles and more than 9,700 apprenticeships.
Their five-year vision also underlines Liverpool’s role as a “global gateway in post-Brexit Britain”.
To make this happen, the recovery plan is requesting £200m of central government funding for physical construction and more than £267m for apprenticeship and skills training programmes.
The report focuses on four key themes - Innovation, Housing, Employment and Creativity, with the goal of providing jobs and supporting people in accessing lifelong careers in the areas which will drive the 海角视频 economy in future decades.
Before Covid-19 struck, Liverpool was averaging £1bn a year in regeneration investment and was steadily establishing itself as a well-known destination for medical research, digital health and life sciences. Its three universities annually educate 70,000 students and the visitor economy of the former European Capital of Culture has grown to more than £3bn a year.
With the virus hitting the city hard, leaders moved quickly to begin work on the ambitious recovery plan.
The plan has had the working title of Operation Greyhound, with the city keen to be quick out of the blocks on the route to recovery.
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Anderson said: “The Covid-19 lockdown has left cities like Liverpool in a state of economic paralysis and the option of doing two things - wait for events to unfold or take action. Liverpool has acted.
“This recovery plan is a blueprint for a new Liverpool. Forged by ambition and confidence to be innovative in how we create new skills, new homes and new jobs, and it has the weight of the entire city behind it.
“Liverpool has undergone a renaissance over the past two decades and we are not about to let the momentum slip. Our knowledge, digital and visitor economies are flourishing and this recovery plan sets out a detailed strategy to build on those platforms.”
Liverpool FC chief executive Peter Moore and vice chancellor of the University of Liverpool Professor Dame Janet Beer are among 72 figures from the city's commercial, legal, financial and cultural sectors who have given their backing to the plan.
Moore added: “Liverpool FC have played a major part in this city’s past and it intends to play a major role in the city’s future.
“We believe in and support this five-year plan and are fully committed to playing our part in supporting the city’s economy.”