This article needs to be updated.(February 2024) |
Location | Liverpool, England, United Kingdom |
---|---|
Opening date | 14 July 2003 |
Developer | Liverpool Leisure and Stores Committee and Liverpool City Council |
Management | Bill Addy, Chief Executive. |
No. of stores and services | 630 [1] |
No. of anchor tenants | 8 |
Total retail floor area | Total area: 198,000 m2 (2,130,000 sq ft) |
Website | liverpoolbidcompany |
Retail & Leisure BID is a business improvement district (BID) that represents over 650 businesses in the retail and leisure heart of Liverpool's city centre, covering a total area of 49 acres and including 61 streets, such as Bold Street, Church Street, Lord Street, the Cavern Quarter, Whitechapel, Williamson Square, Queen Square, Ranelagh Street and all inter-connecting streets. [2] The BID aims to enhance the public services of the local authority by raising a 1.2% levy on its members' annual business rates. This five-year program is intended to provide a safe, clean, attractive, and well-promoted trading area within Liverpool's city centre.
Its core objective is to improve the experience for shoppers, visitors, and workers in the city center and establish the high standards necessary to support Liverpool's reputation as a premier European city. Key shopping centers in the area include: Cavern Walks, Clayton Square, Metquarter and St. Johns. [3] [4]
It operates under the umbrella of Liverpool BID Company, and it is a limited company by guarantee. It reports quarterly to an executive board and to an operating board whose members are re-elected annually at its Annual General Meeting (AGM). In May 2013, the BID sought to enter a third term through a ballot of its members, which would run until October 31, 2018.
However, in November 2013, the BID's Chief Executive, Ged Gibbons, was suspended without any explanation given. [5]
The concept of BIDs originated in North America, where the initiative was developed in the 1970s. [6]
In the UK a national BID pilot program [7] was launched by the UK Government through the Regional Development Agencies. Liverpool Stores Committee and Liverpool City Council applied to establish City Central as a pilot BID in 2003.
The pilot period allowed businesses to understand the advantages and the role of BIDs within city centre management. Moreover, it gave enough time to develop business consultations, elaborate a proper business plan and strengthen networking and partnerships. Safety, event and marketing initiatives were established as tasters of a fully fledged BID. [8]
After the approval of the Business Improvement District Regulations in 2004 by the UK Parliament, [9] the creation of a proper BID was possible. The ballot took place in 2005 for a period of 3 years. It won the ballot with 62% in favour by numbers and 51% of the rateable value. [10]
The second ballot was in 2008 for period of 5 years. Its influence area was increased in the second ballot due to Bold Street joining the BID. In the second ballot City Central 64% of the businesses were in favour and 68% by rateable value. [10]
Liverpool is ranked as one of the UK's top five retail destinations [11] and in the top 25 in Europe. [12] The Main Retail Area is formed by City Central (49 acres) and Liverpool One (42 acres). [4]
There are different areas within City Central:
They are the main retail streets in Liverpool city centre. Most of the anchor tenants are located here. It is the border between City Central and Liverpool ONE.
Bold Street is regarded as one of the UK's best shopping streets [13] due to its eclectic and charismatic retail mix of independent shops, cafes and bars. The Church of St Luke (AKA Bombed-out Church) is situated at the top end. Bold Street is included in the RopeWalks area, which is one of the most important night time economy areas in Liverpool.
Metquarter, opened in 2005 [14] and is a luxury shopping centre consisting primarily of boutique stores located on Whitechapel in Liverpool city centre and home to 40 stores. Metquarter is the third largest shopping centre in the city, behind Liverpool One and St. Johns. Recent new tenants include Jack & Wills, Illamasqua and Carluccio's.
World-famous for being the home of the Cavern Club which hosted The Beatles 292 times. [15] The area also includes Cavern Walks, home to Cricket and Vivienne Westwood, and is one of the night time economy zones in the city.
Other notable non-retail members include Royal Court, Play house, Holiday Inn, Marriott Hotel and Athenaeum.
City Central delivers a range of services identified by businesses as their key targets and priorities outlined in the City Central business plan. [3]
The four strands of the business plan are:
A safe city centre is key to delivering the whole business plan as it allows a stable and trustful atmosphere for businesses, customers and visitors. Key achievements include:
“Cleaner and greener" has been a key focus. City Central has worked in partnership with Liverpool City Council's Environment Team targeting trade waste, fly-tipping, aggressive begging, buskers, charity collectors and anti-social behaviour issues. Key achievements include:
Animating City Central is a key objective of the BID as the benefits of an events programme can be multiple: create footfall, increase dwell time, raise the profile of the city centre and raise revenue to reinvest in future events. Key achievements include:
Promoting a city centre requires a multi-level communication plan which involves all the businesses. The target is to promote the unique characteristics and selling points of Liverpool. Key achievements include:
Merseyside is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Liverpool.
Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline terminus. It is the busiest station in Liverpool, though considerably smaller than Lime Street station, the mainline terminus, and the busiest station to operate solely on the Merseyrail network. The station is the busiest underground station outside London serving 40,000 people daily. The station in passengers per platform is the busiest underground railway station in the United Kingdom outside of London at 3,979,547 per platform per annum and coming tenth out of all stations outside the capital, underground or overground.
Liverpool ONE is a shopping, residential, and leisure complex in Liverpool, England. The project involved the redevelopment of 42 acres of land in the city centre. It is a retail-led development anchored by the department store John Lewis. Debenhams had previously been an anchor tenant until the closure of its Liverpool One store in March 2021, with Marks & Spencer taking its place in mid-2023. Additional elements include leisure facilities, apartments, offices, public open spaces, restaurants, and transport improvements. The completion of Liverpool ONE significantly boosted the local economy, while lifting Liverpool into the top five most popular retail destinations in the UK.
Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became the flagship of the chain. Several stores in the chain were bought in 1991 by the company Owen Owen and continued to operate under the Lewis's brand name for several years, but after the closure of the Manchester store in 2001, only the original Liverpool store continued to trade under the Lewis's name. This store was sold in 2007 to Vergo Retail Ltd and closed in 2010.
T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912.
John Lewis & Partners, commonly known as John Lewis, is a British chain of high-end department stores operating across the United Kingdom, with concessions in Ireland. It is part of the John Lewis Partnership plc, a holding company held in a trust on behalf of its employees as the beneficiaries of the trust. The brand was established in 1929 by Spedan Lewis, son of the founder, John Lewis.
Kensington is an inner city area of Liverpool, England, immediately to the east of the city centre, bordered by Everton to the north, Fairfield to the east and Edge Hill to the south.
Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles. Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s.
Mathew Street is a street in Liverpool, England, notable as the location of the new Cavern Club, the Beatles having played in the original club on numerous occasions in their early career.
Bold Street is a street in Liverpool, England. It is known for its concentration of independent businesses and for the Church of St Luke, which is situated at the top end of the street. The bottom end leads into the area surrounding Clayton Square, which is part of the main retail district of central Liverpool. The bottom end contains more shops which are chain stores. Liverpool Central, a major hub of the Merseyrail rapid transit/commuter rail network, can also be accessed via an entrance on Bold Street next to The Lyceum, a post office which was Europe's first lending library. The middle area contains bars as it leads towards Concert Square, a square containing clubs and bars, and the top end contains more independent shops and cafes. For the most part, Bold Street is pedestrianised and cars do not have access.
St Johns Shopping Centre is the largest covered shopping centre in the city of Liverpool, located in the heart of the city since 1969 and home to more than 100 retailers. All businesses located in St Johns Liverpool are members of Retail & Leisure BID, a Business Improvement District (BID) representing approximately 630 businesses in the retail and leisure heart of Liverpool city centre.
Stanley Street, in the centre of Liverpool, England, runs south between Dale Street and Whitechapel. As well as being home to numerous businesses ranging from estate agents, solicitors, bars and restaurants, there are also apartments in upper floors of some of the buildings. As part of the Big Dig, the southern half of the street between Whitechapel and Victoria Street was repaved in 2007, and is used as a taxi-rank serving Liverpool's central shopping district and Mathew Street.
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID funds are collected and used for the exclusive benefit of the industry that pays the assessment.
Metquarter is a shopping centre consisting primarily of boutique stores located in central Liverpool, England.
Clayton Square Shopping Centre is an inner-city shopping centre located in Liverpool, England. It is in close proximity to Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool Central railway stations. It is the city's fourth largest shopping centre behind Liverpool One, St. John's Shopping Centre and Metquarter. Clayton Square sees tough competition from the likes of Liverpool One, St.Johns, Metquarter, Church Street, Lord Street and Bold Street.
The economy of Liverpool encompasses a wide range of economic activity that occurs within and surrounding the city of Liverpool, England.
Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region, England. Different definitions of the city centre exist for urban planning and local government, however, the border of Liverpool city centre is broadly marked by the inner city districts of Vauxhall, Everton, Edge Hill, Kensington and Toxteth.
Ropewalks is a district of Liverpool city centre bounded by Hanover Street to the north-west, Lydia Ann Street to the west, Roscoe Street to the east and Back Bold Street to north-east.
Cricket Fashion is a luxury fashion retailer for men, women and children based in Liverpool city centre. Specialising in runway designers, the company offers the work of labels including Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Céline, Stella McCartney and Christian Louboutin. Cricket is revered as one of Vogue's best independent stores outside of London.