Long-term strategies – they never sound like vote-winners, but a city will struggle to change without one.
If – like me – you’re used to dividing attention between Liverpool and Manchester, you’ll be used to the comparisons often made between the cities. The most common one is that Manchester has had better long-term strategies for growth, with often credited for his work leading city centre regeneration.
People in Merseyside sometimes groan about the comparison but it’s hard to avoid. Whatever you think of Manchester’s skyscraper-studded skyline, it’s undeniably a visible symbol of growth.
Now Liverpool has growth symbols too – particularly Everton’s new stadium. But everyone acknowledges there’s work to do.
That long-term growth planning in Liverpool city region now sits with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and the combined authority. It might not be glamorous work, but it’s vital if – for example – you want to lead the narrative at an event promoting Liverpool city region’s growth and investment opportunities.
The mayor addressed Let’s Talk Liverpool at the Everyman cinema in the city centre on Tuesday, all about “capitalising on the region’s strengths to deliver Liverpool’s growth ambitions”.
The mayor said the city needed to look forward, and was developing long-term plans to do just that. But he smiled: "When you knock on doors, no-one ever says to you ‘I'm going to vote for you because your 10-year-strategy is the best I’ve ever seen’.”
The LCR is also developing a Spatial Development Strategy to plan land use. The mayor again: "That's not something that's a vote winner on the doorstep”.
But he said Liverpool was taking inspiration from its North West neighbour: "I think we’re at the stage now where Manchester was a decade ago, maybe a bit longer, where the vision of Howard Bernstein and co started to shine through "
Host Stephen Cowperthwaite, managing director for Ƶ Regions at Avison Young, observed that people can mention that Manchester comparison too often – “too many people get a bit hung up on it,” he added.
The mayor replied that yes, people can talk about Manchester – “it’s our closest neighbour and we want somewhere we can learn lessons from".
And he also stressed the value of collaboration with other North West cities and said that in the region: "There's things we can do here that quite simply can't be achieved anywhere else in the country.”
What, he was asked, can the property professionals in the room do to help his mission? “Don't let people divert you onto footie and the Beatles,” he smiled. Instead, talk about innovation: “If someone's interested in innovation, this is the epicentre.”
It’s only fair to add that there’s also plenty of innovation in that local footie. A panel debate after Steve’s Q&A included Colin Chong, who led Everton’s stadium project on the North Liverpool docks that the club and the city hope will spur North Liverpool’s regeneration.
Long-term planning is all very well, but the city also needs action. Colin said Liverpool had all the skillsets it needed, plus plenty of space for redevelopment – but he said the city needed to do it with “urgency”. He emphasised: “Do it quickly.”
Host Remi Smith from Avison Young closed by pointing out that the key ingredients for growth already exist in Liverpool. Now the city region needs action, and action plans – no matter how dry they sound on the doorstep.
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