The ACC Liverpool event campus is currently being used as a logistical distribution hub, supporting Liverpool City Council’s efforts to ensure the most vulnerable people within the city are supported during the coronavirus outbreak.
The operation is being led by the local authority in the city and is expected to continue for the duration of the government restrictions relating to coronavirus.
Using space across both the M&S Bank Arena and the convention centre, the operation has seen thousands of items a week distributed to shielding and vulnerable households across Liverpool, including essential food and household goods. Deliveries of PPE equipment have also been received through the venue, going on to be distributed across Liverpool, the wider Merseyside region and Cheshire to NHS trusts and other front line settings.
Bob Prattey, chief executive of The ACC Liverpool Group, operators of the Liverpool event campus, which includes ACC Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena and Exhibition Centre Liverpool, said: “As a city owned venue, we operate within the heart of our local community, and we will always stand ready to support in the health and wellbeing of the residents of Liverpool city region.
“Since the outbreak of coronavirus, we have been working closely with our owners at Liverpool City Council to scenario plan for various ways in which our venues could be used to support with its response and recovery efforts. We are pleased to have been able to support its operation to ensure the distribution of vital products and equipment across the local community and city region and we will continue to stand ready to support in any way we are required.”
Pullman Liverpool hotel, owned by The ACC Liverpool Group, has been on standby as a social care recovery centre. The facility is unlikely to be activated as capacity in established venues is meeting demand requirements but the hotel stands ready to be used if needed.
Councillor Wendy Simon, deputy mayor of Liverpool, added: “Ahead of lockdown, teams in the city council were looking at ways in which we could support the most vulnerable in the city and we needed a location where not only a newly established volunteer team could be managed and based, but where we could also carry out the logistical side of the operation.
“The ACC Liverpool campus has been the perfect site in terms of its size and location. For more than eight weeks a dedicated city council team, in partnership with Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services, has worked around the clock to meet the needs of thousands of people across the city. More than 6,000 emergency food parcels alone have been packaged in the arena and sent to residents who had no other ways of accessing food.
“This partnership work has been a shining light in these dark and challenging times and I’d like to thank The ACC Liverpool Group for its ongoing support.”
