These bloody southern scallies , no respect at all :gaah:

Scouser DAVID, :baeh3: try and remember it`s ........... Mr. Woody :bow:

You what they always used to say, Woody: "Liverpool Gentlemen; Manchester Men."

i think a few people have died in the waters of Brasilia lately
http://img350.imageshack.us/img350/868/530597109pzoonmph6gq.jpg

erm... yeh. Jumpers, thrown in or some other reason? Isn't Brasilia the most over planned metropolis on earth and something of a failure, too?

And just as a reminder this was the most popular choice, well I thought it was the best out of the 4.

Fosters entry, this would be great on Central Docks!!


http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/1537/foster14fs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

yeah i liked that one best too

It certainly is L8... my old boss was invited to Brazil on some urbanist's junket... they went to some iffy places in Rio and Sao Paulo without a hitch.

When he got to Brasilia he got mugged!

I certainly do think this plan would be very good if it could be revived and placed further down on central docks or stanley docks...whichever one it was. This was always my favourite, i still think the cloud was very good though, better than those two black pyramids

I was just having a mooch around the council website and some some stuf that may or may not be of interest.

It looks like the Church Street "Ribbons of Life" project should be starting very soon according to the dates in this document:

http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/Published/C00000282/M00004569/AI00024871/$RT08ChurchStreetPhase3.docA.ps.pdf

Also there is a planning application to move the Moore's Brothers statue from Church Street to outside 100 Old Hall street.

There is also an item on a item about discussing the formation of a "City Centre Development Group" an extended version of a group who were originally formed to be an interface for Grosvenor and the council. It says they will help in deliver major city centre projects and offer guidance.

http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/Published/C00000282/M00004570/AI00025296/$SI4FormationofCityCentreDevelopmentGroup.docA.ps.pdf

That all sounds good Liverdude, I also think that the natural place for the Moore's Brothers statue is in Old Hall Street.....if not within the LJMU?

Our place in the Sun-light


JANET TANSLEY on the Merseyside factory village that's set to become a top attraction for tourists nationwide

IT sprang to life as a specially-created village to house the workers from William Hesketh Lever's soap factory.

Now Port Sunlight is set to become one of the north west's newest holiday destinations.

Two of the original properties, both grade II listed cottages, have been turned into holiday homes for visitors to the picture-postcard village - and the bookings are already flooding in.

The idea was the brainchild of Lionel Bolland, chief executive of the Port Sunlight Village Trust but it was one which has been brought to loving life by colleague Sandra Nicholls.

Sandra, who was initially enlisted by the Trust to carry out general clerical work, but whose role was widened to include the transformation of the holiday cottages, says: "Whenever any tenants are relocated the cottages undergo refurbishment anyway but the idea was suggested that we should refurbish these two properties as holiday homes," says Sandra.


"It was recognised that there was a shortage of self-catering accommodation on the Wirral generally. But, equally, in Port Sunlight because the houses are quite small and compact there is no room for the extended family when people come to visit.

"There are lots of weddings at Christ Church, but nowhere for guests to stay when they attend them and, of course, the area is a tourist attraction in itself."

So with the hope of appealing to holiday-makers, Sandra set about recreating an historic place for them to stay.

"The cottages were both rewired, re-plastered, painted and decorated. Because the buildings are listed, the outsides have to be maintained as they are, but inside we installed new bathroom suites and fully refurbished them to a high standard."

The cottages were completed in August last year and given Quality in Tourism 4 star accreditation in November.

Only now has the Trust decided to advertise the homes and shout about their newest attractions - which have already been base for a collection of visitors including those involved in productions at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool.

"Everyone who's stayed here seems to have really enjoyed it," says Sandra.

And they all benefit from her personal touch.

"I always like to leave a little welcome pack of essentials, tea, coffee, that sort, and I also like to leave a little gift, something like a nice soap for people to take back home with them that will remind them of the village.

"I do like to look after our guests and pamper them a little bit," she adds. "But this is my baby and it means a lot to me that people who stay here enjoy it.

"It's lovely to see people spending time in them."

One of the cottages is two-bedroomed, the second is three-bedroomed ... and work is already underway on a third.

The cost of the cottages starts at £70 a day or £300 a week, including bed linen, towels, gas and electricity and, in the event of anyone staying longer than a week, a housekeeping service.

All of the income from the cottages is ploughed back into the Trust to help maintain and improve the garden village, a designated conservation area.

It's a wonderful place and everyone should come," smiles Sandra.

The cottages have views of the Lady Lever Art Gallery and are an excellent base for exploring the region, especially for those who want their own bit of space and don't want to stay in a hotel. "There is Port Sunlight itself, offering a beautiful setting, the art gallery famous for its collection of 18th and 19th century paintings and outstanding Wedgwood, the heritage centre, the Gladstone theatre and, from this summer, a new visitor attraction, Sunlight Vision, which is a museum celebrating Port Sunlight and its importance.

"And, of course, staying in Port Sunlight you can easily reach Liverpool and Chester. Even North Wales and Manchester are only a short drive away."

Sandra adds: "We have already got advance bookings for Christmas and for people going to the Open Golf on the Wirral - so we're having no problems getting people to stay in them.

"I haven't stayed in the cottages myself because I'm too busy making sure the visitors are happy and comfortable. And looking forward to welcoming the next."

* More details on the holiday cottage can be found at www.portsunlightvillage.com or contact 0151 644 4801.

BIRTH OF A SOAP STAR

In 1887, William Hesketh Lever , a successful soap manufacturer, began looking for a new site for his factory as his business had outgrown its original premises in Warrington.


The marshy ground that he discovered was eventually transformed Port Sunlight, named after his famous soap, where he built cottages for his workers.


Now it is a designated conservation area, still within its orginal boundaries and, apart from those houses privately owned, it is managed by The Port Sunlight Village Trust, a charity set up to manage the village.

The inside story


I NEVER fully understood why Pete Burns was such a loudmouthed attention-seeker ... until I visited the place where he grew up.


Imagine being a teenager in Port Sunlight. Rebelling against where you came from - all that prettiness and good citizenship - would become an activity, nay a vocation, that would take up your every waking hour.


I'd only ever been past Lord Lever's model village on a train, so was curious about spending a night there at 21 King George's Drive.


And after my stay, I can sum it up in one word: quiet.


For a certain type of holidaymaker, that sounds like heaven on earth.


It hits you as soon as you arrive. Suddenly, everything becomes very still and peaceful, like an abandoned film set.


The Grade II listed cottage is the smaller of the two properties that have just been put up for rent. It costs £70 a night, although staying there for a week depends on the time of year. Inside it's smartly-decorated with modern, comfortable furniture, although it doesn't feel very historic.


Downstairs is a living room and kitchen, and outside is a small back yard. Upstairs are a bathroom and two double rooms, which means a family of four could stay quite comfortably.


The cottage looks onto "the diamond", a long stretch of grass leading up to the Lady Lever art gallery. When the weather gets warmer, I'm told, it will be covered in roses and they'll have turned the fountain on.


After a good night's sleep, I spent the morning looking round the model village, which has more than 900 listed buildings. It was so quiet and unspoilt that, apart from a few teenagers having driving lessons, I could have been stepping back 100 years.


The Dell, a sunken park with a bridge running over it, looked stunning, even in March, and being near the gallery was a treat.


But is it enough to attract holidaymakers?


Whether there's enough in Port Sunlight to keep you busy for more than a couple of days is questionable. As a base for exploring Merseyside, though, it's near two stations and certainly makes a change from a hotel.


And I found the experience a nice relaxing break from life on the other side of the water - even if it didn't quite spin me right round.

Why are the BBC, who have no staff, no camera crews and usually no interest in Liverpool, camped out this morning outside the Mersey Tunnel as a symbolic site for a national public strike?

I have just put on another post somewhere last night that the media were probably the most responsible for the terrible reputation Liverpool suffered.... and continues to suffer, around the country.... then I get out of bed!!!!!!!! 7a.m. and there they are... In LIVERPOOL!

Why are they here today? because they know this is a strike that will cause much resentment?

although reeped in methane gas i think the garden festival site is the type of site where a "burj al arab" style development would suite nicely

Why are the BBC, who have no staff, no camera crews and usually no interest in Liverpool, camped out this morning outside the Mersey Tunnel as a symbolic site for a national public strike?

I have just put on another post somewhere last night that the media were probably the most responsible for the terrible reputation Liverpool suffered.... and continues to suffer, around the country.... then I get out of bed!!!!!!!! 7a.m. and there they are... In LIVERPOOL!

Why are they here today? because they know this is a strike that will cause much resentment?

Maybe it's a local thing reflecting local news values. It's an easy way of covering that particular story. No mention of the tunnels on radio 4 this morning.

It is the centrepiece of the BBC national breakfast news Fitz.
Getting the newsfeed direct, live from the streets of the city they can't manage to do when there is a good story to tell!

The venue for this feed will have been decided and arranged by the Manchester centre... why didn't they also do today for this story what they normally do and just walk down to Albert Sq instead?

I don't watch the breakfast news so don't know if they've mentioned it, but the Tyne Tunnel is also closed due to strike action today.

No they haven't funnily enough... no doubt the geordie centre thought they would not feed the prejudice of their city by providing such exciting pictures as a tunnel with no cars coming out of it.... the 'North West' centre had no such qualms... but then, of course they aren't providing damaging footage of 'their' city, are they!

Check this on the BBC Website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4848584.stm) aswell.

Traffic chaos on Merseyside with the Mersey tunnels and the Mersey ferry to close forcing motorists to take a 40-mile detour via Runcorn Bridge

No mention of the fact that Merseyrail is still operating...

Whereas for Newcastle, it's a simple:

The Tyne Tunnel and the Metro in danger of closure in Newcastle

Sometimes I think we get too paranoid over news coverage, other times it really makes you think.

No mention of the tunnels on radio 4 this morning.

While I admit that I hesitate to jump to a 'they've all got it in for Liverpool'-type judgement, the 7.30 news on Radio 4's 'Today' programme focused their strike article entirely on the Mersey ferry and the road tunnels, with a brave outside broadcast reporter delivering the news from a paralysed Liverpool.

I thought it was a little peculiar as I brushed my teeth. Seems I'm not the only one! Heh.

My little lad's happy anyway. A day off school for him. Takes me back to the Winter of Discontent, which I just thought was heaven sent due to the inordinate number of random holidays it resulted in.

Royal guest sails in for city's 800th birthday Mar 28 2006



THE most famous ocean liner in the world will return to the River Mersey to mark the official opening of Liverpool's planned cruise ship berth in September, 2007.

Cunard's majestic Queen Elizabeth 2 will call at the line's former world headquarters during a momentous round-Britain cruise to mark the 40th anniversary of the ship's launch by the Queen.

Although work on the new £19m berth at the site of the former Princes Landing Stage is yet to start, QE2's operators have been assured it will be completed well before the visit on September 21 during the city's 800th birthday year.

QE2 will arrive and tie up alongside the new berth early in the morning. Although she has been a regular and popular visitor to the Mersey, this will be the first time the 70,000-ton, five-star ocean liner has been able to berth alongside the Pier Head. Previously, she has been moored in the river.



The day-long call at Liverpool will be one of the highlights of the specially planned UK coastal itinerary which will start and end at QE2's home port of Southampton.


The luxurious liner will edge away from the new landing stage shortly before 11pm that evening and take up a position mid-river before a spectacular firework departure down the Mersey.


During similar celebrations in 1990 to mark Cunard Line's 150th anniversary, and QE2's first visit to Liverpool, more than 1m people crowded both banks of the Mersey to salute the ship.


Cunard Line president Carol Marlow told the Daily Post: "Liverpool has played a hugely significant part in the history of Cunard Line and we are delighted and excited at the prospect of QE2 returning to the city during this special anniversary of her launch which falls during Liverpool's 800th birthday year.

"The ship has always received a very warm Liverpool welcome in the past and we are certain this will be another very memorable day for Cunard and for Liverpool."

In Liverpool, it is expected that a major celebration will take place at the Pier Head World Heritage Site in front of the Cunard Building during the evening of the ship's visit.

Special plans are being drawn up to host and stage the shoreside celebration, which will close with the spectacular firework display above the Mersey as QE2 departs.

The ship's passenger list is certain to be full for the week-long celebration which will also mark QE2's return to the Clyde.

Major celebrations both on board and ashore are planned at all ports of call, which also include Newcastle and Edinburgh.

I posted this on the Downton board the other day, unfortunately the boards seem to have died and don't seem to be getting as many visits as they used to.

Anyway, no harm in posting here either I suppose:

Does anyone know how waste is dealt with for downtown apartments at places like Ropewalks, Beetham tower etc?

Is it a case of all waste being sent to one place and then collected to be taken to landfill? Or are recycling facilities provided?

I remember reading that Liverpool had one of the worst records for recycling in the U.K and with high density living, surely there's an opportunity to provide better facilities and make it easier for people to recycle? It can be difficult to recycle if your nearest facilities are a few miles away, but when theres a high number of people living in one area it could be possible to provide the facilities needed.

Is there any laws or regulation on this?

Steve
It has been a little quiet of late, still gets plenty of visits as you can see from the figures in thebottom left hand corner, in fact it has been going back up in the last few weeks , but they just don't contribute.

Downtown recycling is a bit of a mystery. I had some meetings about 5 years ago with LCC about some of the opportunities for recycling, especially with regards to getting some of the downtown communities to set up social enterprises and generate income.

They said paper from offices was sorted and the stuff from shops and particularly the glass from bars were private sector matters as Biffa collected the stuff so they weren't interested! Idea sort of died a death after that.

There are loads of opportunities however... just needs a bit of gumption and enterprise and the knowledge that you will get no help from the authorities.

One little ray of light might be if you contact Mersey waste Authority. A guy there, Tony Brown is in charge of waste minimisation and though his job is geared more to not producing the stuff in the first place, his interests in these issues include recycling.

A great piece of news in this mornings DP.

The Walton Group is close to selling Exchange Flags!!! it seems the negotiations are at an advanced stage with Liverpool based UK Land & Property (I have never heard of this company and a google search didn't spot them)

If!!! this does go ahead it may mean that finally one of downtowns best buildings is brought back to life, this would be fantastic, almost like having a new building.

That's good news Doug. Never heard of them either. Found this titbit though:
Ref: (http://www.liverpooldev.co.uk/latest_news/detail.asp?recordid=52)

"UK Land & Property is based at its headquarters Customs House, 7 Union Street, Liverpool.

Intercity JIS is a subsidiary company of UK Land and Property.

UK Land & Property as Preferred Developer to Speke Garston Development Company and Liverpool Land Development Company has been involved in the regeneration of over 24 Ha (60 Acres) derelict brownfield land and constructed 1.3 million sq ft of commercial floorspace.

The portfolio of UK Land & Property and its subsidiary companies include Estuary Commerce Park, Boulevard Industry Park and property in Liverpool City centre, Beam Reach at London Riverside and Hawarden Business Park.

UK Land & Property specialises in large-scale commercial business and industrial Parks throughout England and North Wales. The company has over 400 acres of land currently under agreement.

The company has fronted strategic joint ventures with national house builders for bringing forward mixed use developments and it retains and manages it’s own investment portfolio.

The Riverside Group is the foremost social purpose housing and regeneration company in the United Kingdom. They provide affordable homes to which people aspire, and the skills and resources to regenerate the communities in which they are located. Following a few years of rapid expansion, The Riverside Group is now the fourth largest social housing and regeneration organisation in the United Kingdom, owning or managing 40,000 homes from Carlisle to the Midlands, and having 1,100staff and a turnover of more than £110 million. They have 76 years of expertise in sustainable regeneration and renting homes for a social purpose. Their commitment to neighbourhoods can be seen in the millions of pounds they invest in community projects each year, and in the hundreds of new homes they build annually for shared ownership, rent and outright sale. Through active regeneration and partnership,The Riverside Group is striving to create and rejuvenate neighbourhoods, contribute to the national regeneration agenda and to champion new and innovative ways of working.


For further information contact Mitch Poole, Alexander MacGregor 0151 236 3696 or 07843 490148"

A great piece of news in this mornings DP.

The Walton Group is close to selling Exchange Flags!!! it seems the negotiations are at an advanced stage with Liverpool based UK Land & Property (I have never heard of this company and a google search didn't spot them)

If!!! this does go ahead it may mean that finally one of downtowns best buildings is brought back to life, this would be fantastic, almost like having a new building.
we always knew the walton group was never going to come through on this, thank god bill davies is taking the hint for a change and selling up... if only he could have done that with psda or met

http://www.icons.org.uk/
Don't know if you've heard of the ICONS - A Portrait of England project, which has just been launched by ICONS Online. It's a government sponsored website which is aimed at encouraging people to think about their heritage. The Liverpool Waterfront has been nominated as an icon of England and they've requested a couple of my pics. Anyway, I've just had a shufty at their website and popped over to http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/liverpool-waterfront . Registered my vote on the "Is This An Icon" for the Waterfront poll only to find that the voting so far is Yes 46%, No 54%! No idea of the amount of votes, but why would somebody vote "No?" If you get time, pop over, vote and leave a comment. :cheers:
----------------
Just noticed the Mersey Ferry icon page
http://www.icons.org.uk/nom/nominations/mersey-ferry

Pure jealousy mate,just voted. 58% in favour now anyway.

Now 58% :cheers:

I don't understand why somebofdy would vote No. It is a vista for the whole of England to be proud of.

Nice onehttp://skyscrapercity.com/images/icons/icon14.gif
Just posted the same message to a couple of LFC forums I'm in. It's 59% now :)

Downtown recycling is a bit of a mystery. I had some meetings about 5 years ago with LCC about some of the opportunities for recycling, especially with regards to getting some of the downtown communities to set up social enterprises and generate income....

Cheers Tony. I was thinking of writing to the council about it so will press on - suppose there is no time to waste.

Indeed.
Lots of opportunities and the reception may be different now. Let us know if you have any success?

This has to be one of the most potential bits of good news for the City Centre in a long time - but until I see the bags backed to leave .....

This has to be one of the most potential bits of good news for the City Centre in a long time - but until I see the bags backed to leave .....


I agree, this group has an unwelcome ability to linger. Like a bad smell.

Lets get shot of the bugger. I'd rather be protesting against Bill "The Working Man" Davies than Ms Rice, but maybe thats because I live about 50 feet from LIPA and the Phil and am terrified some rent-a-protestors are going to have a go at my "yupee" flat and try to blame me for the worlds ill's. I, however, shall be at work in London, a concept no doubt alien to some of them.

Lets get shot of the bugger. I'd rather be protesting against Bill "The Working Man" Davies than Ms Rice, but maybe thats because I live about 50 feet from LIPA and the Phil and am terrified some rent-a-protestors are going to have a go at my "yupee" flat and try to blame me for the worlds ill's. I, however, shall be at work in London, a concept no doubt alien to some of them.

Totally agree. Bill Davies' name has been associated with failure and stagnation in this city. He should do the honourable thing and sell all of his city center properties to companies who have a genuine knowledge in refurbishment and regeneration.

yes, we sometimes forget just HOW unhealthy they have been for the city.
Remember that he almost sold out the grand national on top of everything else.

This type of uber-grasping 'entrepreneur' we can do without.

As was discussed on another thread some time ago, Exchange Flags should be ones of the greatest downtown squares in the world... but instead....

Yeah, last time I walked through there I was pleased to see the memorial with the French skeletons on it etc but I was disappointed in the lack of activity in the windows overlooking the square. It should be a hive of activity not just a short cut to Old Hall Street. Boo Hiss to Bill Davies.

Isn't Exchange Flags already being re-developed as apartments?

It's a beautiful building and a fantastic square, and the sooner it is taken out of the hands of gangster features the better. Davies is just a filthy con man who obviously would rather make money the dirty way than do something to be proud of. It's a shame so many of the city's assets ended up in his claws. I don't know how such a man could have done so well for himself, he comes across as the type who'd steal hub caps.

steal enough hubcaps blab and it soon adds up to a pretty penny.
he bought all sorts of things at the height of the city's recession... another horrific consequence of that time we are still suffering.

Does the group have a website? I couldn't find anything on Google.

Tony, do we know of all the properties that are still in Davis`s grubby little hands?????

I'm afraid I don't chaps... I imagine that his wife and accountant don't even know!

The group is really low profile as well... about 9 layers to get through before you even get a phone number for Walton Gp.

I feared, and we said so on the downtown site at the time that the proposals for the flats would likely be just another vehicle to stick an extra few bob on the value of the building. It was explained to me how firms like this make money keeping buildings empty for years on end... about remortgaging again and again to the latest price, shifting markets and pay back deals... utterly nasty as it is more profitable to do this than to put firms in that pay rent... all sorts of costs to doing this health&safety and stuff, and of course tenants have rights.

How could such an obvious wideboy get his grubby hands on so much? Does he still own the festival site?

Lol,

I bet amongst those 'layers' of businesses there are taxi firms, and mechanics garages.- The sorts where you get about 50 cars outside that never get repaired. Yeah, one of those money laundering ones. I bet he even has a finger in the cockle picking business. He is a blatant troll of the property market. :puke:

No, he sold that onto those people who proposed the tallest building in the world... who sadly, rather than doing it then resold it to some Wigan firm I think?

No, he sold that onto those people who proposed the tallest building in the world... who sadly, rather than doing it then resold it to some Wigan firm I think?

You couldn't make it up!

Global branding vital to fruitful breeding grounds Mar 30 2006

A GLANCE at the top half of the Premiership table shows the extent to which English football is dominated by clubs from London and the north west.

Clubs from the north east, Midlands and the south coast barely feature on the radar.

All of the top 12 places in the Premiership table are occupied by clubs from London or the north west of England. By contrast, the bottom five places are occupied by teams from outside the two success zones. This pattern is nothing new. It's been with us for decades.

Only one club from outside London and the north west has won the Premiership (or top division title) in the last 25 years and that was Leeds United in 1992.


Only two clubs from outside the 'success zones' finished in the top 10 of the Premiership last season. Similarly, in each of the three previous campaigns only two or three from outside the two dominant areas made it into the top half.


This season could well be the first in history when the first 10 places of the Premiership are filled exclusively by clubs from London and the north west.


The same pattern can be found in the FA Cup. The last club from outside the north west and London to win the FA Cup was Coventry City back in 1987.


The last final without at least one representative from either London or the north west was Sunderland versus Leeds in 1973 - more than 30 years ago.


So why should two regions of the country dominate so much? What do London, Manchester and Liverpool have in common that makes them different from Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham?

London, Manchester and Liverpool are internationally renowned for music, fashion and as cultural centres as well as being centres of football excellence. They're global brands.

The international brand of a city and the strong brand of a football club can make a powerful mix. They feed each other. It is one of those situations where two plus two can add up to five. It becomes self-reinforcing.

The stronger the international profile of a city, the better it is for the profile of football clubs in that city. Similarly, the stronger the global brand of a football club, the better it is for the profile of the city it's in.

Cities with global brands are more likely to attract the best players from home and abroad than cities that don't enjoy such a high international profile. They're also more likely to attract investors, sponsors, advertisers and all of the commercial benefits that come with the international development of football.

The success of the two major Merseyside clubs and Liverpool in particular, can be traced back to the 1960s and the emergence of Liverpool as a centre of popular culture. Other factors were at work at Anfield of course. Liverpool FC would not have become the club it is today without Bill Shankly. He arrived at the right place and at the right time to transform the club.

Today in Liverpool we're seeing parallels with the '60s with the regeneration of the city, the development of arts and culture and the approach of the 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations.


European cities that are synonymous with football such as Madrid, Barcelona and Milan are also famous for entertainment, fashion, culture and the arts.


They're cosmopolitan cities and major international brands.


Winning the right to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008 perhaps helps remind us what a powerful international brand the city of Liverpool is and what we have to offer the world.


Outside of any capital city in the world, where is the finest collection of museums and art galleries? The answer is Liverpool.
Liverpool is on the verge of reclaiming its status as a major European city. If a city can offer a great lifestyle, it can attract the better players and commercial opportunities.


Success breeds success.

^^ Where's that from Paul?

^^ Where's that from Paul?

The top sports stories section on the echo page.

Global branding

They've been reading SSC Liverpool again. Particularly the 21CL thread. ;)

They've been reading SSC Liverpool again. Particularly the 21CL thread. ;)

Well if they are reading here they have a resposibility to write stories questioning the strangle hold that the heritage bodies seem to have over Liverpool and the damage they are causing,or are they in their pockets?

Fans to be consulted on Goodison move Mar 31 2006

EVERTON could soon be in a position to make the historic decision to move away from Goodison - but not without consultation with supporters.

Chief executive Keith Wyness has reiterated the club believe they should be able to decide by the end of the year on whether to remain at their home since 1892 or move to a new site.

And with time increasingly against Everton, Wyness has admitted the most increasingly likely avenue at present is to go it alone with the construction of their own facility away from Goodison, with "a number of options" available..

A groundshare with Liverpool remains on the agenda, although it would take a change of ownership at Anfield for that to genuinely become a possibility according to Wyness.


And with the cost of rebuilding Goodison in piecemeal fashion considered largely prohibitive, Wyness insists Everton cannot wait forever for their neighbours to determine their own stadium plans with the club acutely aware they cannot increase their turnover further without the construction of a new ground.


Supporters will be asked for their opinions before Everton make a final decision, with Wyness acknowledging a new stadium would have to be "something special".


"Once we have some serious options, we're going to put them in front of the fans and hear what they have to say," he said.. "That's important. We've already held two polls in the past and the over-whelming mandate in both was for a move away from Goodison.


"However, we promise there will be further consultation with supporters before we make any final decision.


"I understand the soul of football fans, I am one myself. We do not want to regurgitate another bowl. We'd have to do something special for Everton, and we have to make sure the site had the right type of feeling."

The chief executive added: "I hope to make a decision by the end of the year, I absolutely do. There comes a time when we have got to start taking our destiny in our own hands and move on.

"This is a big decision that you have to live with for 50, 60, 70 years, so you can't just make it because of a timetable that might have been set. But I believe things are starting to fall into place that would allow us to make a decision by the end of the year."

Of the three choices available to Everton, Wyness added: "The first is the redevelopment of Goodison; we have a few options on the table, but I still think that would be very hard to finance.

"Rebuilding Goodison is not impossible, but with there being various losses during the renovation it's whether it can be financed or not.

"The second is the shared stadium; but that would take a change in ownership at Liverpool for that to happen and I think we'll have a decision on whether it's a 'yes' or 'no' once and for all in the very near future.

"We have had the chance to wait and see what has happened across the park. But I hate not having my own destiny in my own hands, so we might have to make a decision on that ourselves soon.


"And the third is our own new stadium on another site. We do have several options, and people do come to me with plans on a regular basis. But if we are going to go down this third route, we'll have to make some decisions on that pretty quickly, sometime during this year."


Everton have concentrated on reorganising their business following the collapse of the Kings Dock project in February


2003. And with the financial position having dramatically improved over the last 15 months, Wyness believes, in terms of increasing revenue, the time is right to depart Goodison.


"There's no doubt we are being handicapped financially by the ground at present, particularly in the hospitality areas," he said.


"Despite the changes we have made, we are still in the bottom half of the Premiership in that respect.


"But I don't think we're losing out, because we are at Goodison. You only had to be at the Blackburn game earlier this season to know what a special place this is. There's no doubt there will be some tears shed should we ever move, because it is a spectacular stadium and has a lot of positives irrespective of the corporate hospitality.


"But if we're going to get the turnover up, then we'll have to move stadium."

liverpool massively improves its business ranking from 14th in the country to 5th
coming only behind london, leeds glasgow and manchester.. things are cetainly looking up
http://www.omis.co.uk/Downloads/BBC06.pdf

No doubt I'll be accused of trolling for providing you with some good news...

http://www.omis.co.uk/Downloads/BBC06.pdf

Liverpool up to 5th best city for business in the country ( from 14th last time!!!)

Maggies beat by a gnats widgie there Metro.

Ta all the same.

Interesting. Thankyou Metro.

City top in north west say businesswomen Mar 31 2006

LIVERPOOL is the best place to do business, say female entrepreneurs according to online support service provider Everywoman in a north west poll with NatWest bank.

The city came out ahead of Manchester after women entrepreneurs said Liverpool offers help and guidance and its status as 2008 European Capital of Culture provides an attractive centre for start-ups.

Warrington, Preston and Chester were the other top locations. Stoke and Blackpool were the least attractive.

No doubt I'll be accused of trolling for providing you with some good news...

http://www.omis.co.uk/Downloads/BBC06.pdf

Liverpool up to 5th best city for business in the country ( from 14th last time!!!)

"Manchester and Liverpool are the country's boom towns at the moment"
Congratulations boys, I think Liverpool will be even higher next year.

These surveysare dubious in the extreme. Couldn't it be that the Liverpool business women are just less fussy?

Sounds good though. :cheers:

I think Liverpool will be even higher next year.

I can almost guarentee it won't be :D
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The survey is only carried out every two years :D

"Manchester and Liverpool are the country's boom towns at the moment"
Congratulations boys, I think Liverpool will be even higher next year.

How the hell did Newcastle go from being 3rd to 12th (-or whatever it was)? It gives the impression they've drastically changed the criteria since last year.

Fans to be consulted on Goodison move Mar 31 2006



"The second is the shared stadium; but that would take a change in ownership at Liverpool for that to happen and I think we'll have a decision on whether it's a 'yes' or 'no' once and for all in the very near future.






Answer: NO.

It's done by surveying the local businesses, to see how businesses feel there local environment is 'business friendly'.

Hence the London score being so 'low'.

Realistically London is always going to be most attrcative, however, those companies there obviously don't think that things such as cost, and transport are as good value for money as the rest of the country.

Answer: NO.

It was 'NO' years ago. It was 'NO' from the beginning really. It'll still be 'NO' in the very near future.

The only good thing about Liverpool dordling so much is that they at seem to be after a deal that is just right. Better that than rushing into a duff deal. But why has it taken this long? They need this new stadium badly.

Groundshare is the kind of shit head idea I'd expect from a filthy quango like the NWDA. It goes in the opposite direction to trends through out the western world. The Milanese are desperate to go their separate ways, and apparently, sharing has always meant the place has a kind of subdued atmosphere with no sense of ownership.

Answer: NO.

LFC have the money in place now. Parry has sorted it and it'll be all LFC.

It was 'NO' years ago. It was 'NO' from the beginning really. It'll still be 'NO' in the very near future.

:applause:

The only good thing about Liverpool dordling so much is that they at seem to be after a deal that is just right. Better that than rushing into a duff deal. But why has it taken this long? They need this new stadium badly.

Groundshare is the kind of shit head idea I'd expect from a filthy quango like the NWDA. It goes in the opposite direction to trends through out the western world. The Milanese are desperate to go their separate ways, and apparently, sharing has always meant the place has a kind of subdued atmosphere with no sense of ownership.

:applause:

LFC have the money in place now. Parry has sorted it and it'll be all LFC.

Loans or sponsoship?

Is this genuine Bam Bam?

Liverpool in talks with investors 31 Mar 2006

Liverpool have been seeking new investment

Liverpool Football Club has said it is in talks that could lead to a takeover offer for the European champions.

In a statement, the club said that it was in "continuing discussions with a number of parties regarding a potential investment of new funds".

Liverpool added that such an investment "may include an offer for the entire share capital of the club".

The club's advisers said chairman David Moores might sell some of his majority stake for the right level of funds.

The club said that it was in talks with a shortlist of fewer than 10 possible investors.

The Reuters news agency cited an unnamed source close to the situation as saying that Liverpool's board expected a share valuation of about £200m ($348.5m).

Spanish link

But chief executive Rick Parry has tried to play down rumours of an imminent takeover, saying that the statement was released in order to confirm that the club had been talking with Spanish tycoon Juan Villalonga.

"Due to the reports over the weekend, we are obliged to make a statement and write to shareholders," Mr Parry told the Liverpool Echo.

"It's a formality, but there has been no change to the situation."

Mr Villalonga has been linked with the club in recent days.

The board wants new investment into the club. If that means the chairman selling some of his stake, he would consider it

PricewaterhouseCoopers (Liverpool's advisers)

A former president of Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, he received a reported £14m payoff when he left the firm last year.

Recent reports have suggested that Mr Villalonga could head a consortium looking to pump money into Liverpool.

The club has been seeking additional investment for some time.

It is looking to fund a £170m ground move and is also keen to raise cash to help it bring in new players and take on the financial power of Chelsea and Manchester United.

"It has been well-known that Liverpool has been after someone to come in with a cash injection over the past two or three years," Rogan Taylor, director of the Football Industry Group at Liverpool University, told the BBC.

"When you consider that Manchester United is making up to £3m more in match revenues per game than Liverpool, and when you multiply that by 17 games, then it shows how far behind Liverpool is falling in that source of income.

"The club has to move forward. Perhaps it is time to create the biggest fans' trust in the world and let the supporters take over."

Search for funds

In the past couple of years, local building magnate Steve Morgan has failed in his bid to buy into the club, and in 2004 reports that Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was looking to buy a stake in Liverpool came to nothing.

The club has also been linked with US billionaire Robert Kraft. Last November, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry held talks with Mr Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots NFL team.

Whoever comes in has to come up with a good stadium plan

Dan Jones, Deloitte Football Money League

Liverpool's advisers, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said chairman David Moores might be persuaded to sell some of his controlling 51.5% stake in the club if the right level of investment was made available.

"First and foremost, the board wants new investment into the club. If that means the chairman selling some of his stake, he would consider it," a PwC spokesman told Reuters.

"I don't think he would sell his entire stake - it would depend on the amount of new money, the [share] price and [ownership] structure, and who the parties were."

In February, the latest survey from Deloitte of the world's biggest football clubs found that Liverpool had the eighth largest income in the 2004/5 season, taking in £122.4m.


Liverpool FC is keen to move to a bigger stadium

Dan Jones is the author of the annual Deloitte Football Money League, which each year records the income of the world's richest clubs.

"Anfield stadium, with its current capacity, is holding them back in the same way that Highbury has been holding back Arsenal," he said.

"Whoever comes in has to come up with a good stadium plan."

United will take £3m per game in gate reciepts from next season, so hard to see how it is £3m per game less for Liverpool.

Also, there are 19 home league matches per year not 17.

That article says precisely fuck all.

Gate receipts are biggest differential between Man United and Liverpool, maybe £3 million is the difference in matchday revenues - corporates, sponsors etc as well has ticket money?

That article says precisely fuck all.

Yeah! So where the fuck has Bammy Wammy got his info from then? Tea and scones with Parry?

I think Liverpool have secured funding on 2 seperate occassions but the terms, interest rates etc. are unfavourable, it would pay for the stadium but not realise a cash benefit for years. Ronnie Rumour also suggested Liverpool had the money in place for a spring start but were jostling for a more advantageous position with the NWDA, corpy etc in the grand scheme.

Bam Bam works in a field where he's mixing with people who would be in the chain when Liverpool FC give the go ahead, he'll know very quickly when the thumb goes up.

thing is, over the amount of time they spend trying to save a bit of money here and there, the price of all the raw materials has gone up loads! sorry if this has been mentioned, but it just means they are spending more and more money

also, don't the dealys also mean more games with lower gate reciepts?

If this will raise reciepts, by say £1m per game, then over 10 games (3months???) you've lost £10m.

Not exactly time to be delaying things I'd have thought???

Yeah! So where the fuck has Bammy Wammy got his info from then? Tea and scones with Parry?

I'm on the masterplanning team... any more questions you poor, sad troll?

Cash flow.

Bam Bam works in a field where he's mixing with people who would be in the chain when Liverpool FC give the go ahead, he'll know very quickly when the thumb goes up.

5 mins before the rest of us Toady woady.

So can Bam Bams confirm his earlier statement, or was it just an idea?

5 mins before the rest of us Toady woady.

So can Bam Bams confirm his earlier statement, or was it just an idea?

Eh?

LFC have the money in place now. Parry has sorted it and it'll be all LFC.

Just wondering, out of interest, whether this is confirmed.

Just wondering, out of interest, whether this is confirmed.

I'm sorry blubber, but why do you need me to repeat myself...

I'm sorry blubber, but why do you need me to repeat myself...

So who has the deal been made with? When? Where are the funds coming from? Has the Moores sold of his share?

So who has the deal been made with? When? Where are the funds coming from? Has the Moores sold of his share?

AAAahhh, blubber. You're a strange fish aren't you.

I have simply confirmed something for Gareth... Don't believe me? Time will tell....

If you really NEED to know the financial dealings of private individuals give em a call... its none of my business, so I wouldn't dare. But I reckon you could get away with it. Go on, get on the phone and hassle em... dare you.

Now, what time is it.... oh.... going home time. And another weekend of hedonism beckons me blubber.

Enjoy your keyboard x

AAAahhh, blubber. You're a strange fish aren't you.

I have simply confirmed something for Gareth... Don't believe me? Time will tell....

If you really NEED to know the financial dealings of private individuals give em a call... its none of my business, so I wouldn't dare. But I reckon you could get away with it. Go on, get on the phone and hassle em... dare you.

Now, what time is it.... oh.... going home time. And another weekend of hedonism beckons me blubber.

Enjoy your keyboard x

So basically, the amazing sage doesn't know any more than the rest of us. You have merely made the unexceptional prediction that Parry (and I agree, he probably will) find the funds and give the go ahead to an LFC stadium at some point. Except you dress it all up like you genuinely know what's happening before everybody else does.

:applause:

Have a nice weekend, smack head.

Have a nice weekend, smack head.

Yes, I have had tea with Rick. And, just to rub it in.... I've got 4 season tickets as well!

Cheers, but I prefer beer and sex and chips and gravy with my weekend.

I'm gone as soon as I hit that big fat return key..................
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Still at your keyboard, wimp?

Yes, I have had tea with Rick. And, just to rub it in.... I've got 4 season tickets as well!

Cheers, but I prefer beer and sex and chips and gravy with my weekend.

I'm gone as soon as I hit that big fat return key..................
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Still at your keyboard, wimp?

LOL.

I'm starting to feel guilty for ever taking you seriously.

Say hi to Rick for me, and tell him to get a move on with the stadium.

:cheers:

Bammy, your little green light is still on, so you're still online! Go home!

I know... I know.... See ya on sunday x

....

Now, what time is it.... oh.... going home time. And another weekend of hedonism beckons me blubber.

Enjoy your keyboard x

What a bitchy little post that is. Nasty bam bam.

The integral roof concerns me as it means we are stuck with the capacity or faced with another massive redevelopment if we need to increase.

From earlier renders the ground also looks a little 'heavy'. Too many concrete walls rather than rails etc around the exit points.

personally I feel that the colour identified seating that most clubs now have is pretty infantile. I was asked in all seriousness how we could share a ground with everton because of the colour seating conflict that would arise!

Make them Green....or gold, or white,

So basically, the amazing sage doesn't know any more than the rest of us. You have merely made the unexceptional prediction that Parry (and I agree, he probably will) find the funds and give the go ahead to an LFC stadium at some point. Except you dress it all up like you genuinely know what's happening before everybody else does.

:applause:

Have a nice weekend, smack head.

Blabs, I've no idea who this Bam Bam Troll is, or what he knows or doesn't know or anything else. But, not specific to the Bam Bam Troll but generally,
if someone had an inside track, they probably wouldn't advertise it here. Generally, it's people who are desperate to have an inside track (but who don't have, or get everything second or third hand) who go around boasting and name-dropping.

There is the coffee-point syndrome thing, named after a junior technician at NASA Mission Control during an Apollo mission - he chatted with the more senior mission controllers and technical experts when getting coffee, and developed a delusion that he himself was responsible for the success of the mission. He mistook proximity to those with knowledge / people making decisions, to actually possessing equivalent or similar knowledge himself, or making decisions. What he heard was always partial, he didn't fully understand it, and he had no real grasp of the situation going on around him. Of course, to gullible people he spoke to, they might believe him, or believe he had great knowledge of how the mission was going. Not saying Bam Bam Troll has any syndrome, just talking generally here about the difficulty of measuring the quality of information presented in such a form.

Personally, I would be wary of anyone who came on here name dropping, gobbing off about what and who they know etc. It's not simpy that it's not a cool way to behave (it's embarrassing) but it woudl be a sign that they probably don't have good quality information to share anyway. Especially in matters of commercial sensitivity, I think you just don't discuss things in public. Again, not saying Bam Bam Troll is doing anything like that, I don't have any knowledge of this topic, but in general I think those close to confidential information and decisions tend to be tight lipped.

The integral roof concerns me as it means we are stuck with the capacity or faced with another massive redevelopment if we need to increase.

From earlier renders the ground also looks a little 'heavy'. Too many concrete walls rather than rails etc around the exit points.

personally I feel that the colour identified seating that most clubs now have is pretty infantile. I was asked in all seriousness how we could share a ground with everton because of the colour seating conflict that would arise!

Make them Green....or gold, or white,

A few years ago LFC stated that they would not fall behind MUFC in ground capacity and that 70,000 was the minimum they were looking at for a new ground.
Then with costs rising they settled on a 60,000 capacity.
The problem with the new design was that as you say there is no room for expansion should it be needed in the future.
MUFC are planning to have a capacity in the future of about 85,000.
We are planning to spend at least £160 million and probably a lot more after inflation to end up 25,000 behind them.
Surely if we can't afford a bigger stadium now we should at least design something that can be expanded when required.

Just a quickie, apparently Wyness's comments with reference to Goodison/groundshare etc. today, little birdy is suggesting they have been made in the knowledge that Liverpool will formally proceed with Stanley Park and the announcement will be made in the next few weeks. Wyness positioning Everton again for another bloody nose?

Whether that suggests any major rights deals, disposal of unissued shares, sale of club, external involvment etc. I haven't got a clue but maybe Bam Bam should have been cut a little slack earlier.

On the size of the place, 60,000 fixed is wholly inadequate. The roof is the key here, why not put a cheaper roof on, OK it won't look as good but it'll allow the flexibility to expand in future without costing as much. I'd like to see less oppressive concrete as well, it breaks the crowd up visually too much.

Again I think it this fucking obsession with 'architecture'

Old Trafford has taken 40 years to reach the current style and capacity and it can just keep going!

I like the idea of the upper tiers forming a circular bowl, but surely that is enough 'architecture' for the ground? we could build another circle over what is currently planned when we can afford it and the extra fans would be there to fill it.

I have also said in the past that maybe a ground that LFC can't fill on it's own every week would open up markets for football tourism in a big way. Inter can't fill San Siro every time they play... this gives the hoteliers in milan an extra market... LFC or the city can't really do that now, not in a big way anyway as the tickets have all gone!

And many of you thought that having a mayor would be pushing the changes a bit far!

Take a look at our historic 'exclusive' on the downtown site
http://www.downtownliverpool.org

Blinking heck, To - I thought you'd added that piece after getting back from the pub, until I remembered what the date was.

Another bit of news: finally, David Henshaw has left the building. The council didn't waste time in updating the website: http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/News/City_leaders/index.asp. Hooray!

Yes great pity about the date.

A couple of pics from yesterday.

A very quiet Dale St.

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3038/dsc016773gl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Mersey Tunnel ventilation tower in North John St. a brilliant piece of art decco architecture housing what is just a bloody big fan, sheer class. If this was built today it would probably be just an ugly concrete block.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3912/dsc016760zx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I had to leave it on the front page past mid day as well, so, by tradition... I'm the fool also!

The Spy Who shagged Me: How Mike Myers' hit film has its roots in
Liverpool

HE is the world's most unlikely sex symbol, a goofy-toothed, flop- haired throwback to the psychedelic 60s. But Austin Powers star Mike Myers has a real-life love affair that's as strange as his magnetic appeal to beautiful women on the big screen.

In the first Austin Powers movie he paired up with Liz Hurley, while leggy Heather Graham provides the female interest in the blockbuster sequel Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Yet Mike's real obsession is a city...Liverpool.

In Powers speak, he reckons just about everything to do with Merseyside is "groovy baby".
Every year, the Canadian-born comic visits the city and makes regular pilgrimages to the Beatles museum. He took away a clump of turf from Liverpool's Anfield football ground and once put on disguise so he could go unrecognised to one of their matches. ""If he wasn't such a success in Hollywood, I honestly believe Mike would have moved here to Liverpool years ago," says his 80-year- old Aunt Amy.

Mike was brought up in Toronto, but his Scouser dad Eric made sure he never forgot his Liverpool roots and was a major influence in shaping his son's off-the-wall humour.

The comic's greatest regret is that his dad died before he achieved major movie success with Austin Powers. He was so overcome with grief that he fled the premiere of the first film in tears.

And, in a poignant tribute, he and his brothers flew back to Liverpool with his father's ashes and sang The Beatles song Yesterday as they were scattered on the River Mersey.

"Mike is just like his father and has stayed loyal to Liverpool," adds Aunt Amy.""He is fascinated with its history and loves the people.

""It is a great shame that Eric is no longer alive because he would have been very proud of Mike. He would have been delighted to see Mike taking such an interest in Liverpool.

"I look out for things to send to Mike in Los Angeles, anything connected with his family here."He likes us to keep him informed about what is going on.""

Eric Myers married Mike's mum Alice, known as Bunny, in 1953 at All Saints Church in Broad Green followed by a reception at Knotty Ash Village Hall. But within a week Eric, who saw action as a sapper on D-Day was heading for a new life in Canada with his bride.

But Eric never forgot his Liverpool roots. The couple even returned to the city in 1958 to have their eldest son Peter christened in the church where they married.

Mike, born in 1963, had to wait until 1974 for his first visit to Liverpool. "His uncles James and John took him out to show him how to play snooker," said Amy. "He was a natural apparently."

Three years later his family returned to Liverpool again and Mike stayed at the home of his aunt and uncle, Cecelia and John Myersin Childwall.

For a fortnight, the couple took Mike around Liverpool, visiting all the landmarks of his parents' native city. Cecelia, also 80, said Mike instantly fell in love with the place.

""He had heard so much about the place he appeared a bit awe- struck ," she said. "He was absolutely thrilled.

""We took him to all the usual attractions, like the Beatles' old haunts in Matthew Street. "Mike wanted to go to Anfield, so we stopped by. They were re-laying the pitch in the close season and he took home a clump of the turf.""

His Aunt Amy said her son Jimmy and Mike had remained close friends. "They go out together to the pub when he is over. Everyone makes a big fuss about him. He feels as if he was born here because of the warmth he gets. Even his wife Robin, a New Yorker, says she thinks of Liverpool as his second home: "As both his parents were born in England, he holds a British passport and he is very proud of the fact.

"In 1995 he arranged a big family get-together in a big hotel in the city. "We all turned up and Mike rolled out the red carpet for us. It was a great event and we all sat around chatting, but unfortunately that was the last time he met his Aunt Molly.

"She died not long afterward and he was really upset. They had become close because of the strong bond between her and his dad. Molly virtually brought up Eric as her own son because she was 21 when he was born."

Mike, 36, has dedicated the Austin Powers sequel to his father, saying: "My dad would definitely have appreciated it." So have his fans. The film, released here next month, broke box office records in the United States, taking more than pounds 30million in its first weekend and knocking Star Wars off No1 spot.

"I had no idea that anybody would respond to Austin Powers at all. I thought it was an in-joke that no-one would get as they didn't grow up in my house.

"I've always felt I was given these emotional casino chips which had no value until I went home and told my dad about things.

"My father was like my spiritual cash window. I would tell him about stuff, just to hear his reaction. He just had a fun way about him.

"My experience of my father is of him laughing. I can still hear him laughing now. He just had a fun way about him. My strongest recollection of my childhood is hearing my father laugh through the walls. Mike recalled that once his father would not allow a visitor into their home in Canada because""he's not bloody funny".

His father would wake his three sons at any hour, sometimes after midnight, to watch old British comedies on the television. And he would always end burps with the same saying: "Brrp... sweet mystery of life I'm so glad I found you."

ONE of his father's pet hates was being asked what he did for a living. His response was never the same, varying from making the metal tips in shoelaces to playing the bongo drums on the theme to TV's Mission Impossible.

"He sold insurance and Encyclopaedia Britannicas, but he used to say, 'I'm not my job'." His father was also an eccentric, refusing to have a pineapple in the house as he held a grudge against the Hawaiians for killing Captain Cook.

"They bloody murdered him, mate," he'd say. "They bloody murdered him in his sleep."

"I'd say, 'Dad, that's, like, the 1700s. The Hawaiians are basically a good and just people'. But he'd say, 'Not after they killed bloody Captain Cook'."

His father first became ill when Myers was working in England in 1984 as a stand-up comic on the fringe circuit.

He moved back to Canada to be near his father and remembers clearly the day Alzheimer's disease was diagnosed. "I felt like I'd been hit in the chest with a pile driver." he said. "I was working as stand-up comic and Dad would sometimes come to shows I was in. But he was starting to heckle the performers. He'd say things like, 'Get off the stage, Michael's the funny one'. Dad always had a gallows sense of humour, but this was the disease talking."

His father started losing memory, and on one occasion scalded himself badly when he got into a bath with only hot water in it. "But he would find his forgetfulness funny," says Mike. "That was the most life-affirming and at the same time most heartbreaking part of it all."

Mike's career by now was taking off, as a writer on the hit US TV show Saturday Night live, where one of his characters, rock dork Wayne, led to the Wayne's World movies.

But in 1991 his father died aged 69. Along with his brothers Peter and Paul, Mike flew back with his father's ashes to Liverpool. "Mike organised everything and it really was a touching occasion, it was so poignant," says his Aunt Amy. "They chartered an old boat and we sailed out into the middle of the river.

"Mike's brother Paul sang the Beatles' tune Yesterday as Eric's ashes were scattered across the water. It was a beautiful thing to do and something Eric would have dearly wanted.

"The boys were all naturally upset but it was the perfect way of letting go of their father. We all came away thinking he would be left at peace after finally coming home."

Two years later Mike married Robin Ruzan...yet even then part of his Scouser dad was with him.

"My wedding band is the salesman of the year ring my dad got from Encyclopaedia Britannica in 1957. Wearing that ring keeps my dad close to me."

This film Dead Mans Cards (http://www.deadmanscards.com/) was filmed in Liverpool last year and is to be released in May,there's a trailer to watch on this link and a rundown of what it's about,it looks alright and might be worth seeing. :)

Doug that's an impressive cooling fan, pity the new ones aren't as impressive in terms of quality of materials.

Wirral Tunnel vent, wouldn't like to see this on North John St. It is quite unique and impressive though
http://img322.imageshack.us/img322/6129/ztunnelventshaft11ra.jpg

^^

There is one like it on the Liverpool side as well, Justa.

Used to call 'em the space rockets when I was a kid, peering out of Northern Line train on the way into town for shopping with my mum.

Maybe these should be well lit up, with rocket effect lighting at the base, and dry ice to give the impression of lift off. :)

This is effectively a large blank advertising space...!

I always thought they were symbols of the Mersey rivalry:

http://www.weirdnessandstrife.com/knowledge/gestures/images/upyours.gifhttp://img322.imageshack.us/img322/6129/ztunnelventshaft11ra.jpg

?

Out now (http://www.businessliverpool.co.uk/liverpool_spring2006.pdf) (.pdf)

http://www.**************************/outnow.jpg

Juxty, do you think those ventilation buildings for the new tunnel would look better if they were painted?? not sure what colour but I think any colour would be an improvement. Agree they should be lit up!!

It's a shame it can't be given a metallic finish and some colourful lighting effects so it looks like a big space-aged scultpture at night. At the moment it is a bit too brutal and industrial looking.

Out now (http://www.businessliverpool.co.uk/liverpool_spring2006.pdf) (.pdf)

http://www.**************************/outnow.jpg


Cheers Dave for the info, a good read and some very useful news items.

Doug that's an impressive cooling fan, pity the new ones aren't as impressive in terms of quality of materials.

Wirral Tunnel vent, wouldn't like to see this on North John St. It is quite unique and impressive though
http://img322.imageshack.us/img322/6129/ztunnelventshaft11ra.jpg

It looks absolute crap. It is clearly cheap and nasty and somthing should be done to improve the looks.

Some form of cladding, which would be durable and modern, or possibly solar cells, to generate some green energy.

It looks great in a Tracey Island type way, keep them maintained with fresh paint, good lighting etc.

Toxic ships may head for the Mersey to die (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16895750&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=toxic-ships-may-head-for-the-mersey-to-die-name_page.html)

Apr 3 2006

Exclusive By Rob Merrick, Daily Post

Remember the fuss made by the monkey hangers a couple of years ago? What's your opinion? Should this be allowed, bearing in mind:
"it is estimated the industry could be worth £3.5bn in the coming years, with 30 warships and nearly 400 EU-flagged single-hulled tankers due to be scrapped"

I wouldn't know the risks etc.

The fact is that it will need to be done and I'd rather have people with a lifetime of maritime engineering experience carrying out the work than people who think chimps are French spies.

I wouldn't know the risks etc.

The fact is that it will need to be done and I'd rather have people with a lifetime of maritime engineering experience carrying out the work than people who think chimps are French spies.
I think they've moved on a bit since then, Toad. Mind you, that doesn't mean I'm against hanging the French :)

Aye that Bruno Cheyrou would be near the top of the list.

What facilities and expertise would this scrapping operation require and would it really be feasible here?

What facilities and expertise would this scrapping operation require and would it really be feasible here?
Don't know much myself. Just taking quotes from the article to answer your question:
"A consultant's report to Defra identified several sites "in and around" Birkenhead that were suitable for dismantling ships.

Only Tyneside and Teesside, in the North East, could rival Wirral for their vital experience in "shipbuilding and other heavy industrial activity", it said.

The study concluded: "There is scope to utilise these skills at the opposite end of the lifecycle, to recycle ships"."

Only Tyneside and Teesside, in the North East, could rival Wirral for their vital experience in "shipbuilding and other heavy industrial activity", it said.

The study concluded: "There is scope to utilise these skills at the opposite end of the lifecycle, to recycle ships."

"A shipbuilding yard first opened in Birkenhead in 1824, the forerunner of the world-famous Cammell Laird yards which stretched down the Mersey."

The Mersey had many shipyards on both sides, and until last year made ships until McTays closed down in Bromborough. The last yard to close on the Liverpool side was Graysons in Garston in 1920. Only ship repairing is now undertaken on the Mersey, as the Far East make ships cheaper. Even McTays would have hulls made cheaply in Poland, towed over and they would fit it out.

All these skills they are on about, have dwindled away and will not return. Also the Mersey has no history of ship breaking. The Scots were masters of that breaking up the old battleships. Toxic ships should be broken up well away from large populations.

James Troop building caught fire and collapsed last night, looks like the new development will be on site quicker than we thought.

James Troop building caught fire and collapsed last night, looks like the new development will be on site quicker than we thought.

I often wonder how many of these fires are actually accidental myself just to get the developers plans approved?It was mentioned that someone had left an entry gate unlocked and arsonists had got in which sounds suspicious to me,but this time I don't mind because a new and exciting development is going to replace it,and I'm hoping this will move things along with a bit more urgency now.

KEEP THOSE SHIPS AWAY. I have lost 3 uncles in the last 5 years through lung cancer. Medical opinion beleives it was caused by asbestos from the ships they worked on. They all served their apprenticships at Camel Lairds and worked for Lairds for many years. I was offered an apprenticship at Lairds but turned them down-thank f**k I did.

James Troop building caught fire and collapsed last night, looks like the new development will be on site quicker than we thought.

About 18 months ago James Troop moved to Runcorn and left Liverppol 8. They were on the same site since the 1860s. Which place burnt down the old or new? Also, they are ships engine people (well any industrial engine), not repairers as such.

It was the old wharehouse that was destroyed.

You are invited to the Private View of ReNew06: A Collaboration

curated by Martyn Coppell & Vicki Maguire

featuring artworks by: Jane Anderson/Kenneth Ashton/Rob Davies/Neal Dawson/Graham Gorman/Kevin Hunt/Matthew James/Sally Kidall/Alan McKernan/Jamie Reid/Matthew Verdon/David Wightman.

To be held from 6.30 - 8.00pm Tuesday 18th April 2006
at
68 Hope Street Gallery, Liverpool School of Art & Design

ReNew06: A Collaboration is an exhibition exploring regeneration and renewal, not only within Liverpool but in its broader context. The artworks featured in the show comprise photography, painting, video and installation pieces. Each exploring different aspects of progressive change.

We look forward to seeing you there

The Gallery,
Liverpool Art School,
68 Hope Street,
Liverpool,
L1 9EB, United Kingdom

Thats the first thing I thought, what a co-incidence!....yer right. Its happened before and will happen again

The left hand part of the James Troop building was the one burnt down, this was the part they were going to renovate. The right hand side was due for demolition as it was too far gone to repair. So looks like conveniently the entire site can be redeveloped. Is a bit dodgy, who is the developer, anyway at least a sparkling new development will be replacing a derelict site, assuming no arson court case crops up to delay the development...!

Toxic ships may head for the Mersey to die (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16895750&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=toxic-ships-may-head-for-the-mersey-to-die-name_page.html)

Apr 3 2006

Exclusive By Rob Merrick, Daily Post

Remember the fuss made by the monkey hangers a couple of years ago? What's your opinion? Should this be allowed, bearing in mind:
"it is estimated the industry could be worth £3.5bn in the coming years, with 30 warships and nearly 400 EU-flagged single-hulled tankers due to be scrapped"

I hate to see the demise of any ship but if it has to be done - I say let it be done at `Birkenhead`.

I would rather they did the job than anyone else. (Besides just think of the items that could be salved for the `Merseyside Maritime Museum`.....

My only concern is that it should not reflect badly on the environmental regeneration of the `Mersey` aka `Mersey basin campain` and the further regeneration proposed in the `Mersey regional park`.

It would however be a fasinating `though very sad` sight to see these ships on their final journey `RIP`. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: "Hip Hip....."

I always thought they were symbols of the Mersey rivalry:

http://www.weirdnessandstrife.com/knowledge/gestures/images/upyours.gifhttp://img322.imageshack.us/img322/6129/ztunnelventshaft11ra.jpg

?

Steve,

Do you not think a few `nose` cones would enhance them?

ie, Like `Thunderbird 3` perhaps.

Think `Spaceport` maybe......and illuminated at night with billowing vapours .....

http://www.spaceport.org.uk/space-visit/school_visits.aspx

"Let it be - so"

:eek2:

Steve,

Do you not think a few `nose` cones would enhance them?

ie, Like `Thunderbird 3` perhaps.

Think `Spaceport` maybe......and illuminated at night with billowing vapours .....


Those ugly structurers should never have been put on the riverbank in the first place - whoever thought of that had brain damage. They should be moved and rebuilt with some sort of pleasing aethetics.

Those ugly structurers should never have been put on the riverbank in the first place - whoever thought of that had brain damage. They should be moved and rebuilt with some sort of pleasing aethetics.

But they are ventilation shafts to suck out fumes from the tunnel below them... they need to be where they need to be..... or people will snuff it. Could this be the worst 'heritage over practicality and funtion' thinking yet?


"Why did you build a tunnel with no vetilation shafts"

"We did build shafts M'lud (at the inquest) but EH said that such modern contraptions where inappropriate for World Heritage site based on the 19thC, so we built the shafts out in Speke"

What do some of the photographers on here think about compiling some of their best shots, or going out to take some new images and making an updated Liverpool skyline pics thread on the skylines forum? I always enjoy looking at pics of other cities on there but Liverpool rarely features on it...

But they are ventilation shafts to suck out fumes from the tunnel below them.


We know that.

.. they need to be where they need to be..... or people will snuff it. Could this be the worst 'heritage over practicality and funtion' thinking yet?


They don't need to be on the riverbank at all.

After a recent visit to cambridge with some of my school to visit the university i have come to realise that we do not have to go mad on all the new buildings. I am not denying that they are wanted and severly needed in our city, becuase they are, but we have to ensure we protect what we already have. I am not against modernisation, i think sometime English Heritage are pathetic and stupid (Central Tower). However, in cambridge, there are soo many beautiful buldings, set in lovely gardens and without the hint of a new building or skyscraper in sight.

I really think to help liverpool in this respect that we have to link St Georges hall, and the other buildings around William Brown Street and around the CBD, town hall etc all into the city centre. If we can do this, then this will be very good for the city overall

Also, if the cathedrals were linked in better, but i find that hard to perceive how we can do that now

John, anything is possible if you have unlimited resources... and a pressing need to do something... we had neither with regards to the ventilation shapfts for the new tunnels. They could have been built somewhere else, though not so far they would not have been seen from the river, but the extra costs would have been enormous. I am no engineer but I imagine that the ongoing costs of needing more powerful fans to exrtract fumes out from further away etc....but!

There was absolutely no real need to do this. they look fine just where they are. they need tidying up, but then so does Church St. we have discussed on this forum loads of ideas for lighting them or using them as hoardings for plasma screens etc and these sorts of things should be done, but, to move them?

Dups.. that is exactly why EH push the programme that they do.. they want everywhere to look like cambridge... but how should we do that... and just like Johns vents... why would we WANT to?

Just think what we would have to remove to take on this mantle of what ever city landscape you would like to see... then how much it would cost to build the replacements... to say nothing about who would pay for this... and al for nothing other than some notion that Liverpool should look like something that it is not.

Just incase you think that this woould be impossible and nobody in their right mind would actually propose to strip out most buildings and look for 'suitable' replacements, this is exactly what the heritage loons did as soon as we got WHS... they went out and drew up a fucking list of buildings to get rid of.. and 6 out of 10 buildings downtown found their way onto it... fucking madmen!

Please drop the idea that Liverpool could work its development so that it could craft the identity of some ideal... if it was tried then it would kill the place.. another half finished project for the city... but the one that finished it off!

For all of the above I would aask the simple question.. why on earth would we want to do any of this? What possible advantages could we derive?

I noticed today that Canning dock is filled with water again, thought you might like to know! :)

With regards to heritage and preservation etc, what I love about Liverpool is the mix of architecture and buildings from different times not just buildings from one period. I see true modern buildings adding to that mix whilst I also agree we should keep the good old stuff we have. It's great to look back at what has been achieved but we should look to what we can achieve now, theres nothing more unatural than keeping the city in the past.

That's exactly what we should do Liverdude... and look firmly to the future as well.

Liverpool - A City of Change and Challenge ...... :runaway:

:) :cheers:

or is it a Liverpool City - a Challenge to Change .....heee hee heee.

Too many landmarks in Liverpool to take individual photos of, so here's an attempt at fitting most of them into one:

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/7439/liverpoolpan16me.th.jpg (http://img456.imageshack.us/my.php?image=liverpoolpan16me.jpg)

Click for bigger version.

So much for only having a skyline visible from the waterfront eh?

Please drop the idea that Liverpool could work its development so that it could craft the identity of some ideal... if it was tried then it would kill the place.. another half finished project for the city... but the one that finished it off!

For all of the above I would ask the simple question.. why on earth would we want to do any of this? What possible advantages could we derive?

Tony, Liverpool was the last major city to redevelop after WW2 – as a kid I recall a Victorian city. I would look at pictures of American with all the tall modern white buildings and look around at the soot blacken Victorian dross - to me at that age it was dross, although when they cleaned them I appreciated what was behind the soot. Liverpool’s excuse for development delay was that it could learn off others. Of course they learnt sweet FA and made some horrendous mistakes. The obliteration of the old St. John’s market area was a massive mistake to be replaced by a soulless mall with a raw concrete chimney on it called a tower. Recently the obliteration of the very old Cases St was another mistake - I would have shot the sods who authorised that. That Street had character. The area the new market replaced was thriving with life. The old curve of Lime St with Guinness clock on it was well worth keeping and was replaced by cheap tat. Some very bad mistakes were made.

Liverpool evolved in the 1800s/early 1900s and some fine large buildings appeared. No restrictions and away they went. Some of those old buildings and areas were fine and were certainly worth keeping. But post WW2 only one modern iconic building stands out, the Metropolitan cathedral. The Royal Court extension is about the only other decent modern building, but small and tucked away.

Immediately after WW2, Lord St was replace by well…. another Lord St. No high buildings or anything. Liverpool had some strange ideas – limiting height was and still is the biggest odd idea – what are they attempting to achieve by this? All it has done is make Liverpool a backwater. Imagine the 50 floor tower being built on Canning Place in the 1950s. What would have that said to the world post WW2? Stopped the decline? Attracted more investment? Probably.

My point, the new has to compliment the old and not smother it. The new should not obliterate the old either. Some things are just old and nothing else. Some things are old and well worth keeping. It is knowing the value not the price. Some fine old buildings have disappeared and virtually a whole area around Canning/Upper Parliament St of Georgian houses went too.

Bring on the new, the big and the tall, but know how to blend it in and most of all know the value what you already have.

The Walker Art Gallery celebrates the bicentenary of the death of Liverpool's greatest painter George Stubbs in a small exhibition of about 25 masterpieces from this Friday to July 30th.It might be worth checking out.

George Stubbs :cheers:

The Most Original and Searching of All Animal Painters
Stubbs, labeled `Mr Stubbs the Horse Painter,' was undervalued for far too long. Now he is recognized as the equal of his contemporaries, Gainsborough and Reynolds. He is the most original and searching of all animal painters, whether his subject is a brood-mare and foal, a monkey or a poodle. He is also a portraitist, as much a master of the art of class-distinction in eighteenth-century England as he is of the anatomy of the horse. This is a unique record of the most important exhibition of Stubbs ever held, described by the Times Educational Supplement as `wild, exotic and modern.'

Nice picture Steve.... if you go back and read my post I listed the buildings that make up the 'skyline' PLUS those that define the city's look from the river!

Would you not agree that the city would look bettrer with even more icons though? I hope that you don't take the attitude that the skyline is perfect and can never be improved or any of the other dangerous notions that permeate current building policy?

We should not be complacent about the quality of our architecture.. yeh, we've lots of good stuff, but harldy anything new for decades. I would not go so far as some and say that only the catholic cathedral is good since WWII. There's plenty in the uni campus and things like the RSA should be added to the list of quality.

A real problem we have in Liverpool is that though the city is unrivalled in 'top end architecture' we assume that every other brick is world class too. If you remove our top ten buildings, say... no other city apart from London has those numbers of 'icon'... beyond them other cities are actually better. For example Glasgow has dozens of streets as good as castle St.

It is wrong to say Liverpool doesn't need improving..or even worse, cannot possibly be improved, we have a skyline to craft... I think that your picture actully proves this!

Nice picture Steve.... if you go back and read my post I listed the buildings that make up the 'skyline' PLUS those that define the city's look from the river!

Would you not agree that the city would look bettrer with even more icons though? I hope that you don't take the attitude that the skyline is perfect and can never be improved or any of the other dangerous notions that permeate current building policy?....

Not sure which post you mean Tony, my post wasn't a direct response to you if that's what you mean?

I just posted it here as I didn't know where else to put it.

I'm certainly not suggesting Liverpool's skyline is perfect, far from it. I'm all for change and progress.

Good.. apologies for the confusion!
I wrote about 5 posts below that the city hasn't actually got a skyline, more a blank horizon with a few buildings protruding...if we want a skyline then we're going to have to craft one ...etc... I assumed you put your cool pic up in response to that!

Good.. apologies for the confusion!
I wrote about 5 posts below that the city hasn't actually got a skyline, more a blank horizon with a few buildings protruding...if we want a skyline then we're going to have to craft one ...etc... I assumed you put your cool pic up in response to that!

Haha, I see now. No, just a coincidence. I should pay more attention to the direction of the thread!

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9394/pink15rj.jpg

Superb shot M.O.

There was a great sunset last night, with the sun looking blood orange. Youre on the best side for taking such photo's :cheers:

MO, Super photo

Cracking shot. What a beauty!

Yes great shot MO, i really think liverpool has such potential, more so than any other regional city, lets hope that some of the better proposals are approved, from that image you can really see (sea!) how amazing it could look, am however not sure about unity but thats my opinion, where abouts would the lime street towers be on that photo???

Slightly to the right of St. Johns tower, just behind the church spire.

Slightly to the right of St. Johns tower, just behind the church spire.

Yes, that would look good, i like those projects very much and wouldn't encroach onto the historic region from that view.

am interested to know whats your fav proposal???

Hopefully King Edwards tower, if built. 48 floors just to the left of City Lofts.

Yes probably mine too, ialso like central station tower too, would you know where this would appear on the skyline??? my knowledge of the area is poor i'm afraid, only been a couple of times.

Probably behind the Liver buildings. If you check out the SKYSCRAPERS +SKYLINES thread, LIVERPOOL WATERFRONT, MOs exellent pic. #26, from this angle Lime street and Central towers will really stand out.

Cracking pic MO.
Here's a couple taken further west
http://www.**************************/egremont001.jpg

http://www.**************************/egremont002.jpg

yes nice, now we need some renderings......

Probably behind the Liver buildings. If you check out the SKYSCRAPERS +SKYLINES thread, LIVERPOOL WATERFRONT, MOs exellent pic. #26, from this angle Lime street and Central towers will really stand out.

What you will also find is that on the skyline they will look exactly the same height.... can you all see a horizontal plane becoming more sharply defined on the pic below?... this is what they are obsessing about.. and why the boxes on Unity had to be built the way they are..... uniform corniceline with 'iconic bits' slightly higher.

What you will also find is that on the skyline they will look exactly the same height.... can you all see a horizontal plane becoming more sharply defined on the pic below?... this is what they are obsessing about.. and why the boxes on Unity had to be built the way they are..... uniform corniceline with 'iconic bits' slightly higher.

Not sure i would call the box on unity 'iconic' surley some funky feature would have been more appropriate?

can't believe how many pages thread has run into, surley another is due?

also, if they're worrying about a flat line then does this mean they're more inclined to approve the large towers?

I think Beatham West has broke the mould though Tony. Its probably the bigest mistake the planning commitee have ever made, thats why some of them fought so hard to have it stopped. Once its up ordinary people will love it, not just skyscraper anoraks like ourselves. I'd also love to know what Peel managed to squeeze out of the council regarding access to hte cruise liner facility.

taken yesterday
http://www.**************************/oldhall001.jpg

Wasn't sure which thread to post it to.
Central Docks? Alexandra Tower? What buildings and other structures would it be good to light up? King Eddies?
When in doubt, bung it here :)
http://www.**************************/mmm.jpg

taken yesterday
http://www.**************************/oldhall001.jpg

That says sooo much in one little shot.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9394/pink15rj.jpg

We are in real danger of having a modern growing city..... :runaway:

I think Beatham West has broke the mould though Tony. Its probably the bigest mistake the planning commitee have ever made, thats why some of them fought so hard to have it stopped. Once its up ordinary people will love it, not just skyscraper anoraks like ourselves. I'd also love to know what Peel managed to squeeze out of the council regarding access to hte cruise liner facility.


Agreed, once it's finished it should make the planners realise that they can build higher than the RLB without ruining the skyline.
Maybe then they will have the courage to start questioning English Heritage and their illogical objections to tall buildings.
Better still,maybe they will tell them to go away altogether.

I hope so men, the gossip I am hearing though is that there is a huge reaguard action to ensure that West does NOT set a new precident... i.e the only one allowed. remember these people are not just semi objective and have come to a wrong notion about the skyline that can be rectified once the evidence is there... they are ideologically opposed to meodernity and skyscrapers in particular... in principle!

We cannot win these folk over, they are still appalled at what is happening in London... we need to get rid! Hopefull that is precisely whay will happen once those who are not heritage nuts see the new skyline and realise that tall is not an abomination to impose... but rather, an improvement to what we have now.

I hope so men, the gossip I am hearing though is that there is a huge reaguard action to ensure that West does NOT set a new precident... i.e the only one allowed. remember these people are not just semi objective and have come to a wrong notion about the skyline that can be rectified once the evidence is there... they are ideologically opposed to meodernity and skyscrapers in particular... in principle!

We cannot win these folk over, they are still appalled at what is happening in London... we need to get rid! Hopefull that is precisely whay will happen once those who are not heritage nuts see the new skyline and realise that tall is not an abomination to impose... but rather, an improvement to what we have now.

That's why we must continually bombard English Heritage with letters,emails,anything to show how much they and their ideas are loathed.
Collective thought is a powerfull weapon.

nice to see we have more posts than any other threads in the UK part

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9394/pink15rj.jpg
:eek2:
Great picture. Its amazing how much that view has changed over 5 years, despite the best efforts of planners to not allow it to change.

tall is not an abomination to impose... but rather, an improvement to what we have now.

Thats poetry, and very right it is too, the liverpool waterfront and the area to the west and to the north of the current beetham would look beautiful with some more towers, would really compliment the historic architecture further down and bring a wonderful contrast to a vibrant city where the mordern and classical sit harmoniously.

Thanks. Like your statement too. One of the main reasons that I object to planners trying to craft an 'appropriate' skyline is not only do these folk have terrible taste, but even if they shifted policy and allowed clusters to the North of the Pierhead, but banned them from anywhere else, this would cause huge problems of shifting the centre of gravity downtown. The major stations etc would be even further removed from the main flow of people coming to work and there would be a complete sepetation from the 'retail zone' undermining the efforts to get more uses into the 'old town'

god, does no-one look after ur threads lol..... u should be thread 8 by now!