Pier Head Area

[Paul D]

Well i love the paving,steps & surrounding areas,but sorry folks i think the building looks totally hideous & out of keeping with the rest of the area.I realise we are now in the 21st century & things cannot stand still,but this!!!.
Im with Lindy lou on this one.I like the look of everything else mind you & i think it would be a real asset to have a canal running through there as there is definatly a rennaisance currently with respect to canals across the country as people are seeing the potential benefits both socially & enviromentally.
I hope you will take my comments with a pinch of salt particularly as iam not from your neck of the woods but i would rather give you my honest opinion (for what its worth) i just hope this isnt the final design,although i'm sure it will have its fans,but i wouldn't be a fan of it.
Hope i havn't muddied the waters too much folks.

It's not the greatest design in the World Terry but what this picture doesn't really show is that the building itself is made from the finest marble and is made to reflect the sun so it will always look different according to the sunset.It will cost £65 million which is more than double the cost of the imperial war museum so you can see it's not done on the cheap and it has the added bonus of the canal running beneath it.The giant window at the end will frame the three graces also so that should be an amazing site,one minute your looking at the exhibits the next you'll have this view,I think everyone will come to love this but we'll have a couple of years to prove my point,I love it.

[Paul D]

Those buildings you were concerned about losing seem to have survived Kev.

[Kev]

Nice pic Paul, it looks very odd in that render though and too close to those older buildings.

[Paul D]

Nice pic Paul, it looks very odd in that render though and too close to those older buildings.

I'm sure that everything has been taken into consideration and it will turn out okay in the end.

[Howie]

Take a walk on the mild side
Jul 31 2006
Liverpool Echo

KEEN walkers are being invited to join a sponsored event walking along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.

But people do not have to tackle the entire 127-mile length, and can take on varying legs of the route.

Family walkers can tackle short sections around the Parbold and Appley Bridge area.

The walk will take place over the weekend of August 11-13 and money which is raised will be shared between Prescot Methodist Church's development and Willowbrook Hospice in St Helens.

Further details and sponsorship forms are available on 0174-481 6806 or 0151-426 6964.

Source: icLiverpool

[Howie]

Free fish on the menu along canal
Aug 10 2006
Liverpool Echo

FREE fishing on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal will be a big boost for local youngsters during the school holidays.

An 'admin blip' by Liverpool & District Anglers' Association meant that fishing licences have not been printed for 2006, so for the first time there's no charge for fishing.

It means that any anglers of any age or ability can go along and try their luck anywhere along the 26 miles of waterway from Liverpool to Plex Lane at Haskayne.

More...

[Gazzab]

Couldn't find a thread for this topic. If there already is one then can one of the mods delete this one.

I was reading the Development Summary earlier re the proposed start of the canal link through the Pier Head. According to the summary, the works should have started in the Pier Head area back in February.

Has anybody got any further info on this.

[Howie]

See Museum of Liverpool and Canal Link and The infill is back threads.

[Gazzab]

See Museum of Liverpool and Canal Link and The infill is back threads.

Cheers Howie

[Kev]

so a massive arcaelogical dig starts on the site......

[Kev]

Oh, here u go.....

ONE of the biggest archaeological digs in Liverpool's history is to start next month to clear the way for construction of the city's controversial new X-museum.

Part of the existing Museum of Liverpool Life is to be demolished and excavated to uncover the city's earliest surviving lock gates, which date back to 1803.

The seven-week dig will pave the way for construction of the £65m Museum of Liverpool, which has caused controversy because of its unconventional shape, to start in December.

It comes as the Victorian Society last night urged the council to reject plans for Neptune's multi-million pound development on adjoining Mann Island.

They fear three proposed granite-faced buildings designed to house futuristic apartments, leisure and commercial units, would seriously harm the historic Pier Head waterfront. The museum excavation will be the second largest the city has seen. The largest was Grosvenor's Liverpool 1 development, which exposed the city's oldest dock wall, dated 1715.

Archaeologists employed by NML will dig four metres deep to reveal the former Manchester Dock, which dates back to 1780 and uncover an ancient set of lock gates inside. (I'd love to see that!!) It is also hoped to unearth the adjoining Chester basin, built in 1795, and nearby quaysides.

The team of six hope to discover artefacts including sugar moulds, ceramics and tools that should reveal secrets about Liverpool's history as a port in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The site currently lies buried under the white 1980s extension to the museum's red-brick Pilotage building, which closed in June but will be preserved as offices.

Last night Mark Adams, lead archaeologist on the project, said it could shed light on commercial production in Liverpool during the Industrial Revolution.

"This is going to be a really exciting dig for us," he said. "It's about the second biggest excavation ever done in the Liverpool docks.

"It's the last chance for us to see the site before it's covered up again. These things haven't been exposed since the 1930s and so it is a pretty big deal in terms of the city's heritage."

The entrance to the Manchester Dock wall is one of the earliest surviving lock gates in Liverpool, and currently lies under the museum's existing car park.

It was initially a tidal basin, opened in the 1780s, and so could only be used in high tides. The lock gates were added sometime between 1803 and 1813.

The entrance lock measures about 12 metres by 50 metres, and the dock covers about 5,000 square metres. It lies about 100 yards south of the Chester basin, constructed in 1795.

Mr Adams said: "They used to take river traffic, mainly barges that were transporting all sorts of goods, mainly coal and other goods manufactured in Liverpool like sugar and pottery, but also for corn and cotton.

"We may well discover some exciting things about the city's past that we didn't know before."

He said evidence so far suggests the locks lie intact under the existing museum, in the open position.

Other examples of 18th and 19th century locks have already been either modified or destroyed.

A spokeswoman for NML last night confirmed the entire dig site will eventually be covered up by the museum.

She said there was no option to keep even a small area exposed for the public to view, because of the design of the new building.

But any finds will be displayed in one of the museum's key galleries, Port City.

It will explore Liverpool's role as a port city and the development of its architecture, infrastructure, people and commerce.

It will follow the story of the Industrial Revolution, the development if the dock system and the people living and working underneath the city's overhead railway, which will be re-created.

The spokeswoman said: "Hopefully we'll keep the artefacts, as far as we can we will interpret what is underneath the museum as much as possible inside."

National Museums Liverpool is expected to announce a start date for the excavation as soon as contracts are signed with its internal archaeology department.

The Daily Post understands excavation work is hoped to start in early October, and the museum will be on track for completion in autumn 2008, ready for its scheduled opening in 2010.

In April NML managed to secure agreement from funders the North West Development Agency to release £32.7m.

That unlocked a further £5m Objective 1 funding to finance the exterior build - despite having been turned down for 11.4m Heritage Lottery Funding to fund the interior build.

NML lodged a repeat bid to the HLF in June and expects an answer in January, and staff are currently seeking a further £20m from other sources to pay for the interior fit-out.

Management are adamant the scheme will go ahead despite concerns raised that the low-slung X-shaped design, could lose the waterfront its World Heritage status.

The spokeswoman said: "NML has not altered the design, which was produced for us by Danish architect Kim Neilssen.

"The brief was to produce an iconic building for the city's waterfront, and that has been approved by both English Heritage and CABE."

deborahjames@dailypost.co.uk

[Paul D]

I'm glad this looks likely to happen now I'm a big fan of the x-building,another piece of the jigsaw falls into place.

[kenotoole123@msn.com]

I read in the 'Echo' this afternoon....the part of the old Museum to be demolished is the 'White' 80s Extension...the original 19th Century Buildings are being kept.

[Kev]

THE future of Liverpool's controversial X-museum is under threat because world heritage officials fear the plans are too dominant for the historic waterfront.

A delegation is being sent to the city to look at the impact the building would have on the Three Graces. If they object to the design, it would either mean the £65m scheme has to be pulled, or Liverpool could lose its World Heritage status.

Dr Mechtild Rossler, head of world heritage in Europe and North America for Unesco, the organisation which bestows the prestigious title, said: "The committee has requested a mission to visit the site to look at the impact of the plans.

"In terms of world heritage, we want to preserve the values on which the site was inscribed.

"I cannot make any statement about the future until the committee has taken its decision.

"I would recommend that they don't proceed with any buildings that don't meet the values of the inscription."

Unesco's World Heritage Committee ordered the visit after noting "with great concern that the new museum building, next to the Three Graces, does not comply with the recommendation as it is designed to be dominant rather than recessive".

It has also called for strategic plans covering future development that set out clear policies for the skyline and river front.

The Daily Post revealed on Friday that one of the biggest archaeological digs in Liverpool's history is about to start to clear the way for construction of the museum.

Building work is due to start in December ready for completion in autumn, 2008, but the museum will not open until 2010.

Last night, Wayne Colquhoun, from the Liverpool Preservation Trust which wrote to Unesco calling for it to intervene, said it was the beginning of the end for the museum.

He added: "This is the same as trying to build next to the Taj Mahal. It just would not be allowed to happen there and it should not be allowed to happen here.

"What people want on that site is some gentle landscaping or maybe a park, not monstrosities like this.

"The goal has always been to stop the ruination of our skyline. This is not finished yet, but it is the beginning of the end."

But David Fleming, head of National Museums Liverpool, insists that building will go ahead as planned.

He said: "We are confident that there will not be any problem.

"Some people in Liverpool respond to any kind of development with criticism.

"The problems come when buildings are put up that are not great quality, but this is.

"You cannot freeze a city in aspic. I'm confident that when the delegation come over they will see that the plans are in keeping.

"We have done everything right the whole way along. The building has gone through the planning process and has the backing of English Heritage. We have not been contacted directly by Unesco. We are proceeding as planned."

Liverpool City Council insists it will be able to demonstrate the city is complying with Unesco guidelines.

Council leader Warren Bradley said: "I am absolutely delighted that the World Heritage Committee and ICOMOS (which advises Unesco) are coming here, as it is a great opportunity for us to show them the fantastic plans we have for the waterfront.

"We will use it to demonstrate that the concerns of a comparatively small number of people who oppose any development at the Pier Head and other parts of the waterfront are completely without foundation.

"The Government's own statutory advisers, English Heritage, are extremely supportive of the proposals for the museum, as are the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

"When we were awarded this accolade in 2004, the World Heritage Committee were very well aware that a number of developments were planned in the vicinity of the site.

"We have been at pains to make it known that the World Heritage status does not mean that development comes to a full stop - far from it, it is a spur to investment but only for those developments which have a high quality design.

"We were very proud to become a world heritage city and do not intend to lose that status."

The city was granted World Heritage status in July, 2004. The site incorporates the waterfront, the commercial district and the cultural quarter surrounding William Brown Street, Pier Head, Stanley Dock, Waterloo Dock and Wapping Dock.

Cllr Berni Turner, executive member for heritage, said: " We shall ensure that the delegation see all of the excellent conservation work that has been, and is being, carried out in the site, such as the restoration of St George's Hall, Bluecoat Chambers, the Cenotaph, the Nelson Monument and many other historic buildings in the commercial district and RopeWalks.

"I am concerned that some people who purport to be interested in protecting the city's heritage seem determined to sabotage the World Heritage status simply because an individual development is not to their particular taste.

"In cities which are regenerating, there always has to be a balance between preserving architectural heritage and new development.

"We think we are getting the balance right and can demonstrate that the management plan we have agreed for the World Heritage site will preserve its unique architectural flavour while allowing other developments of the right quality to go ahead."

samlister@dailypost.co.uk

[Kev]

Please continue the World Heritage discussion here.