The next phase of a major city centre street renovation project could now be resumed almost three years after it first began.
A contract was awarded for a phased revamp of the Ropewalks area by Liverpool Council in 2020. It is situated within the city Riverside ward to the south of the city centre and is characterised by its long straight streets packed with vibrant food, drink and live music venues.
Many of the streets within this area suffer traffic issues, particularly related to safety, congestion and failure of the existing pavements and footways. It is the city council’s ambition to rejuvenate these streets with a series of public realm improvements.
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The first section of the revamp, in Wood Street and Slater Street, were completed in 2021 and 2022. However, as Liverpool Council did not have the required funding available for the next stage, progress was halted.
Now, more than £5.1m is to be spent through grant funding from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for the next phase to get underway. However, delays in obtaining funding have resulted in the expiry of original bid prices by contractor Graham Construction, submitted in 2020.
As a result, cost increases are said to have risen by 20% with Graham Construction informing Liverpool Council it could not keep to its original price. According to a cabinet report ahead of its meeting next week, there have been “significant increases in the cost of materials, in particular granite, due to inflation and supply chain pressures.”
A revised bid for the next phase of the works - comprising Fleet Street, Colquitt Street, Back Colquitt Street and Ropewalks Square - have now been submitted totalling £4.8m. The scope of the works include strengthening and replacement of the existing carriageway and footway construction, replacement of the existing natural stone setts and slabs with the aim of reducing trip hazards, and upgrading the existing street lighting and street furniture including bins, bollards and benches.
The revised bid has been benchmarked against rates used by the city council’s highways investment programme contractors to ensure that the prices are competitive and represent best value. A contingency fund of more than £1m is also available to be used in certain circumstances.
In November last year, more than 1,000 residential and business properties that could potentially be impacted by the next phase of Ropewalks project, received a letter notifying them of planned start of works early 2023. A further half a million pounds is also being made available the council, subject to cabinet approval, from the combined authority for pre-development work for three transport schemes, as part of the St George’s Gateway Project.
The scheme aims to improve active travel facilities between Liverpool John Moores University and the City centre, alongside improvements to the Kingsway and Queensway Tunnel approaches in order to alleviate traffic congestion.
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