Liverpool regeneration board imagines better future for city

A team of 12 has been tasked with supercharging a regeneration plan in Liverpool. The partnership, called Imagine Liverpool, will oversee the development of the city over the coming decade. It will be chaired by Patrick Nolan, former vice chairman for global banking and markets at HSBC. The move follows the end of the commissioner-led intervention in the city last year, which concluded that Liverpool has become “well-governed, with ambitious leaders who are committed to long-term change”. The establishment of the regeneration board was a key recommendation of the Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel, chaired by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram with support from Baroness Judith Blake and the late Sir Howard Bernstein. Recruitment for the board was launched last Autumn with a brief to “provide strategic leadership to drive forward regeneration opportunities, accelerate development, and enhance the quality of life for the city’s residents”. Among the key focus development areas will be Liverpool’s waterfront and docks, with Imagine Liverpool overseeing the establishment of the emerging Locally Led Urban Development Corporation for the city’s North Docks to support and accelerate development. The board will also input into the New Town bid which aims to create an urban extension in North Liverpool. Developed jointly with Sefton Council, this long-term vision to revitalise this key part of the city includes plans to develop 10,000 new homes.   In addition to having oversight into an existing pipeline of major projects, the board will have a strategic overview on regeneration city wide. They will also advise on the city narrative to build an investable proposition to secure private and institutional investment, foreign investment, and future allocations from government. The Imagine Liverpool team, which includes former economic adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Lord Stewart Wood, and Liverpool-born, BAFTA-winning producer Jimmy Mulville, will be supported by the Council’s City Development Team. Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, said: “Through our Plan for Change we are building the 1.5m homes and vital infrastructure that communities such as Liverpool are crying out for. Imagine Liverpool is exactly the kind of ambitious, locally-led transformation we want to see, and we’ll work hand in hand with the city to make it happen.” Imagine Liverpool board members Patrick Nolan, ex-Vice Chairman HSBC and Director Delfina Advisory Ltd Stewart Wood, The Right Honourable Lord Wood of Anfield Louise Shepherd, Regional Director (North West) for NHS England and former Chief Executive of Alder Hey children’s hospital Mitchell Silver, Former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Emma Frost, Director at Fern Consulting Services Ltd & Chair of UK Innovation Districts Group Ana Nishnianidze, Director of Trade and Investment for the City of London Corporation Bronwen Rapley, Chief Executive, Onward and Chair of Homes for the North Deirdra Armsby, former Director of Place Shaping and Town Planning at City of Westminster Nic Byrne, Entrepreneur and Founder of Urban Calm Andy Hunt, Senior Director of Quod Jimmy Mulville, Co-Founder of Hat Trick Productions Dr Susie Mitchell, Programme Director for Glasgow City of Science and Innovation Image: Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram (L) and Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson (R), with the city’s new Imagine Liverpool regeneration board