Plans to transform part of Liverpool’s historic waterfront have taken a step forward.
In November, it was announced that National Museums Liverpool (NML) and Tate Liverpool had tabled a joint bid for the first round of the Government's Levelling Up fund. The joint bid, overseen in partnership with Liverpool city council, was successful in securing £20m to spent on a range of projects focussing on Liverpool’s waterfront.
At Friday’s cabinet meeting the Government's Levelling up money was waved through and has paved the way for the works to take place over the next two years - undertaken as two separate schemes led by NML and Tate Liverpool. At the meeting, Assistant Mayors Cllr Sarah Doyle and Cllr Harry Doyle explained that both schemes are central to the City Region’s economy and that cultural “added-value” attracts both business and talent to the city.
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According to council documents, Tate Liverpool’s scheme will use its £10m to go towards new signage, reorientation of its entrance and two new galleries on the ground floor. The money will also go towards moving the shop and cafe from the ground floor among other refurbishments.
In January the Tate also revealed that it was seeking an architect to lead on the ‘major reimagining’ of the gallery. A tender has been advertised for the works.
Speaking about the scheme and successful bid, director of Tate Liverpool, Helen Legg, said: “The money from the Levelling Up fund will be invested in remodelling our gallery spaces to meet the scale and ambition of today’s most exciting artists, while also creating social spaces that better connect with our city and the communities we serve.
“When Tate Liverpool was established in 1988 it was a pioneer for arts-led regeneration of industrial cities. This investment will enable us to remain at the cutting-edge for the next 30 years and beyond.”
NML’s scheme will also include refurbishment of some of its gallery spaces, but the core part of its project will involve changes to the Canning Dock area. This includes the installation of new pedestrian bridges which, according to a council report, will become “an attraction in their own right.
In October, following a public competition, NML revealed the winning team that will be leading on design of the Canning Dock side of the project. Asif Khan Studio, Sir David Adjaye OBE, Mariam Kamara and artist Theaster Gates will collaborate on the public realm bridge infrastructure with the plans still in the consultation stage.
Speaking to the ECHO, director of NML Laura Pye outlined that the majority of the works will begin on the site in 2023 but some changes will be noticeable in the coming month. She told the ECHO: “The Levelling Up money is quite a quick programme and has to be spent by 2024.
“In terms of physical change, you'll see us building bridges and changing how the public realm looks next year. We want people to be able to use the space in a way that they see fit.
“It's also going to be a place of memorial. It will have that point of reflection to acknowledge it's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. It’s a space with a huge historical significance.”
Ms Pye also said the overall project will be delivered to make aspects of the city's history more accessible and become an “extension” of the nearby museum sites.
She added: “Canning Dock and the surrounding docks are a very unique feature in Liverpool's landscape. Most people will walk past them and know nothing of their history.
“Part of this project for us has to be about telling that history in a better way so that people can see it - and making that connection between the international slavery museum, the maritime museum and the museum of Liverpool. We want the [scheme] to be seen as a positive example of where we are investing in our heritage and valuing our heritage and telling that story as a city.”
