Words: Hazel Walker, Glenville Walker and Partners
The scene for the Mersey Power Town breakfast event was set as the panel took to the stage with Max Steinberg drawing on his vibrant experiences as the chair of Shakespeare of the North in Knowsley. He highlighted how important it is for the Liverpool City Region to clearly define its own unique offering as a destination to attract both visitors and investors to every borough. Max indulged the audience with stories of how Prescot has used its connections to its historical marketplace and the Shakespeare North Playhouse as a catalyst to establish a brand for the region opening the door to 140,000 visitors a year and £10 million pound additional spend in the area.
Discussions lead to the need to level up the entire region rather than just concentrating on the city as Frank Mckenna, the founder and chief executive of Downtown in Business placed Birkenhead and the Wirral sharply into focus.
This opened up the floor for Alan Evans, the Director of Regeneration and Place at Wirral Council, who brought the audience up to speed on the developments across the Mersey with Wirral Waters growth plans now being fast tracked with the launch of the Hythe, sustainable office facilities. All alongside the exciting plans surrounding Eureka! Mersey a new national attraction focusing on sciences and further housing development schemes in the region. Thus, connecting community, creativity, and the regions commitment to net-zero carbon emissions in an organic way whilst not forgetting the businesses.
The limelight quickly shifted to Steven Young, chief executive of Halton Borough Council, with his insight into how Halton continues to push forward with its infrastructural developments since the completion of the revolutionary Mersey Gateway Bridge in an active effort to close the physical boundaries between Halton and Runcorn. Steven then tilted his hat towards the success of the innovative businesses in Sci-Tech Daresbury which is internationally recognised for world-class science, innovation, and enterprise and how there is still work to be done to maximise the borough’s brand to its full potential.
The audience made sure that the panel returned for their curtain call to ask challenging questions around how to create one universal brand and attract investment into the Liverpool City Region. They astutely focused on the need to package the region ready for investors, through dynamic strategic planning outside from the bureaucracy of the public sector, making it more accessible for businesses to build and invest in the area.
