Arts and Culture Group
The Arts and Culture committee was formed following the announcement that Liverpool had been awarded European Capital of Culture. The aim is to support members engaged in arts and cultural activity, both by direct engagement and by encouraging other members of the chamber to become involved in cultural activities.
The Arts and Culture Committee is chaired by Hilary Burrage of Live-A-Music
Current Issues:
Cultural Strategy
Media City UK
Capital of Culture
West Coast Main Line
Cultural Strategy
The Committee is currently coordinating a response to Liverpool City Council's Draft Cultural Strategy.
Download the Draft Cultural Strategy from the right.
Media City UK
Media City UK is based in Salford, and is a new hub for new media creative industries. It is estimated that it will contribute £1.5 billion to the regional economy and provide 15,000 employment oppertunites.
Media City UK website
Capital of Culture
The Committee is monitoring the progress of Capital of Culture and its impact on the city.
The committee has been pleased to note that the North West Regional Development Agency has predicted a region wide £50 million increase in visitor spend, on top of the £50 million in Liverpool. It is anticipated that Liverpool will benefit from 14,000 jobs, £2bn of inward investment and 1.7 million new visitors as a result of the European title.
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is a vital transport route, linking Liverpool with London in the South, Holyhead in the West and Glasgow and Edinburgh in the North.
The route has been subject to significant engineering work to improve journey times. Liverpool Chamber is supportive of infrastructure improvements as a high quality transport system is vital for business. However, it is also vital that engineering works are scheduled to keep disruption to a minimum. This is particularly important given the failure of Network Rail in December 2007 / January 2008 to relinquish its possession on time.
In March 2008, Network Rail published its West Coast Route Modernisation Plan. This document proposed continuous closure at Rugby for the two weeks on either side of the August Bank holiday, as well as a significant number of weekend closures. Liverpool Chamber believes that this would detrimental during the European Capital of Culture when Liverpool is expecting record numbers of tourists.
In response to the consultation document, Liverpool Chamber wrote to both Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation to request that the series of closures be reconsidered.
Download Liverpool Chamber's response from the document box to the right.
Our press statements were also reported in the media - Click to read the Echo article
