The heart of Liverpool’s LGBT quarter is to undergo a radical makeover influenced by the Wizard of Oz.
Starting today (Monday, 25 April), Eberle Street will be revamped with a unique paving and lighting scheme that will pay homage to the mythical Emerald City, Yellow Brick Road and Judy Garland.
The works, funded by Liverpool BID Company and Liverpool City Council, represent the biggest investment in the city’s ‘Stanley Street Quarter’ for a decade and should be complete in time for the city’s annual Pride celebrations in late July.
The aim of the innovative renovation is to celebrate Liverpool’s LGBT heritage and community with the designs also inspired by the rich cultural history of businesses in the area such as the Artist Club, Gbar and Garlands.
The current footway material of tarmac, with concrete kerbing, will make way for a levelled street featuring contemporary paving consisting of high quality stone which works sympathetically with the existing buildings.
As an important part of Liverpool’s vibrant night life, the stunning lighting scheme will be suspended 20 feet above Eberle Street featuring bespoke LED fixtures.
The project is a creative collaboration between Liverpool BID Company, the City Council, Liverpool based award winning designers BCA Landscape, Amey and numerous stakeholders from Eberle Street.
The Eberle Street scheme is part of a £1.6m programme to improve walking connections north-south between the Commercial District and the retail core of the city centre.
The Commercial District BID, which recently won a new 5 year mandate, has invested £1.1m in the two-year programme, raised via a BID levy on businesses with the remainder funded by the City Council.
This has led to the renovation of several key streets with improved footways and kerbs, road resurfacing, tree planting, street lighting and rationalising street furniture. Improvements to footways and lighting on nearby North John Street are almost complete and further pavements works are planned for Hackins Hey.
Additional Street lighting will also be introduced to: Exchange Street East, Earle Street, George Street, Moorfields and Prussia Street.
Jim Gill, Chairman of the Commercial District BID, which represents more than 550 businesses, said: ”The Eberle Street scheme is a real highlight of this programme of works and I’ve no doubt it will prove to be a great attraction when it is completed.”
Bill Addy, Chief Executive of the Liverpool BID Company, added: ”We’ve been delighted with the improvements made so far in the Commercial District and the feedback from the business community and the public has been overwhelmingly positive. The Eberle Street scheme has required a great level of thought and design and the fact that local businesses have had a great amount of input has been hugely gratifying.”