Pier Head Area

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Originally Posted by Kev

LIVERPOOL'S multi-million pound waterfront canal could be re-routed at the last minute, leading to West Waterloo dock being filled in.

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This should be opposed at all costs

Enough is enough. Far too many docks and waterways are being filled-in destroying our heritage and history. City on the water? How? With no water?

All in-filled docks should be excavated and have apartments, retail and leisure buildings on the quays. There should be navigation along the docks and waterways for substantial vessels, not just tiddly canal narrow boats, from Harrington Dock in the south to Seaforth in the north. This idea is ludicrous. The anti-dock/waterway wedge gets rammed in yet again.

Other cities crave for water areas to build around. Stupid Liverpool fills them in.

Liverpool should stop thinking like an inland city content with narrow boats, recognise what it has, value it, develop it and keep it for ever.

http://www.liverpoolpictorial.co.uk/...s/image022.jpg

The above. In front is East Waterloo Dock. To the left is West Waterloo. From West Waterloo to the basin just before the Victoria Clock Tower, the basins of Victoria and Trafalgar Docks ran - is was all one stretch of water. Why this was filled in I don't know, as the land is not sound enough to support anything. The Victoria and Trafalagar Docks ran from east to west from the Dock Road behind East Waterloo Dock to the basins, where the blue buildings/portacabins/containers are.

Beyond the Victoria and Trafalagar Docks was Clarence Dock which ran north/south, which was filled in, in 1927 to build a power station on. It would obtain its oil from ships at Trafalgar Dock. I did a tour as a kid - a scuffy horrible place. Clarence Dock graving docks still exist, and used, and are just near the large red brick tobacco warehouse - runing east to west. They are a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site, so cannot be filled in.

John I agree with you on this,I think the council are not happy with the idea either so I can't see it happening personally.Changing the plans so late in the day will surely hold up this project further.:disgust:

Yes. This is absurd. There is no need to fill the docks north of the Pier Head. There is amble space forthe canal and 'landscaping'.

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Originally Posted by Kev

West Waterloo Dock is a dock, on the River Mersey and part of the Port of Liverpool it is situated in the northern end of the dock system, connected to Victoria Dock to the north and Princes Half Tide Dock to the south. It opened in 1834, the dock was named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

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Look at Google Earth. Victoria Dock has already been filled in, along with Trafalgar Dock and Clarence Dock.

All these Docks should be excavated and developed around the quays giving us the promised water based city - the city on water.

How can we have a city on water when there will be no water.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. THIS OVERT VIOLATION OF OUR HERITAGE & HISTORY HAS TO STOP.


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Originally Posted by Paul D

John I agree with you on this,I think the council are not happy with the idea either so I can't see it happening personally.Changing the plans so late in the day will surely hold up this project further.:disgust:

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The whole length of West Waterloo and the parts of Trafalgar and Victoria Docks that run parallel with the river wall should be excavated at least - preferably all the original docks. This means only partial excavating of Trafalgar and Victoria Docks.

Look at the link below. Note Trafalgar Dock which is now filled in (with the Royal Iris moored). Have these people no shame? They have no sense of history that is clear. Does British Waterways care about Liverpool history and heritage? Appears not, as only Liverpudlians do. They are only after a quick buck, or saving money, at our expense.

Liverpool Docks were compared to the building of pyramids - and rightly so. Imagine what would happen if the bulldozers moved in at pyramids.

http://www.waterways.org.uk/wcc/Liverpool%20Link.pdf

Here you go John.
Disgraceful.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4345/jmk9rw.jpg

Yet more nonsense. It is time that this scheme was put on hold, to be properly evaluated. It's obvious they are making it up as they go along, and I have no confidence at all in them. What will their next trick be?

The economics are rubbish, there is no evidence of the regeneration benefits they promise, which in themselves are very poor. It cannot possibly meet normal value for money criteria for schemes receiving European funds.

The practicalities make a nonsense of it. It's going to take hours to get from Princes' to Albert Docks, so its not as though will support anything useful like a tourist boat. It won't. Tourists won't wait hours in locks.

It threatened to ruin the Pier Head, and now that damage is mitigated with a plan for a fair bit of it to be covered. But that means the odd holiday maker who sails past on a canal barge won't see much anyway. Even that element wasn't thought through, with a crazy plan for temporary coverings that was ludicrously expensive and obviously just made up at the last moment to see them through a difficult decision.

I bet if this scheme was reappraised, independently, and without the sleazy mediocre culture of Liverpool regeneration funding surrounding it, it would just be turned down flat. It's a bad idea that has gone far too far already. It just doesn't offer anything of use or benefit. The canal should end at Princes Dock, which could do with something in it, so canal boats would be nice there.

I am sure in 30 years there will be a public fund to help pay for the costs of filling it in, a campaign to turn the Pier Head back into the greatest English public space outside Trafalgar Square.

Well said Pol. We are not the Scotch Piper, or Tarleton, and we need more then Derek and Maud trundling past in their floating caravan to sustain hundreds of acres of derelict dockland.

And Squirrel (aka awayo) claims there are hygeine issues, with a potentially deadly problem with faecal contamination. The Daily Post don't dwell on such unpleasant matters. BWB sort of admit its a problem, because it's expressly and specifically amongst the things they prohibit, and there is a big fine for it - and why would you ban something and fine people if they didn't actually do it? Nothing was ever banned that no-one ever did. :unibrow: :shock: :eek:

Poor Squiggle has spent enough time in the YMCA to lecture us 'decent' folk about hygiene issues. Daniella Westbrook was apparently fined for doleing out nasal sex for tenners...

The new Museum of Liverpool is to receive £5m in European aid.

Work on the museum to replace the Museum of Liverpool life, is expected to be completed in 2008.

The Merseyside Objective One award for the £31m Pier Head construction project follows £26.8m from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWRDA).

The European grant was welcomed by Culture Minister David Lammy who said it would help provide a "fitting showcase" for the city.

The new X-shaped building at the Mann Island site will provide more exhibition space.

Planned exhibits will include a 19th Century locomotive that ran on England's first passenger railway line between Liverpool and Manchester.

A £6M plan to transform land at Pier Head into a world-class square is expected to be approved next week.

Plans were drawn up to make the area around British Waterways' canal extension a visitor attraction in its own right, as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment.

New features will include seating walls within the basin areas with access to the canal side, a raised central lawn in front of the Cunard Building and a double avenue of trees.

New lighting and steps up to major statues will also be installed.

It emerged last month that the waterfront canal could be re-routed at the last minute, leading to West Waterloo dock being filled in, despite the plans being drawn up two years ago.

British Waterways wants to change the route to improve the appearance.

Work will be carried out in two stages with land by the canal basin starting early next year and contracts going out for the rest next month.

Cllr Mike Storey said: "The Pier Head should be the focal point of a lot of activities but for much of the time it is deserted.

"British Waterways' canal scheme and all the other development taking place there offer a great opportunity to bring life and animation to it.

"We are aiming to make it an attractive and welcoming area which will bring in a lot of visitors to the city."

The project is being funded by the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund.

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Originally Posted by Kev

A £6M plan to transform land at Pier Head into a world-class square is expected to be approved next week.

Plans were drawn up to make the area around British Waterways' canal extension a visitor attraction in its own right, as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment.

New features will include seating walls within the basin areas with access to the canal side, a raised central lawn in front of the Cunard Building and a double avenue of trees.

New lighting and steps up to major statues will also be installed.

It emerged last month that the waterfront canal could be re-routed at the last minute, leading to West Waterloo dock being filled in, despite the plans being drawn up two years ago.

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Does anyone have the planning submission number?

I advise all to write letters into the planning Dept opposing filling in West Waterloo Dock. These people hold Liverpool's history and heritage in contempt. These people are playing on the time factor that is clear – they are underhanded. They know Liverpool wants this canal link by 2008, so at the 11th hour throw in that a historic dock be filled in as a part of their scheme, knowing that the city will be pushed to say yes just to get something done in time. If it is rejected then more time and maybe nothing complete by 2008.

It would rather the whole scheme was rejected - I am not keen on the whole idea anyway. British Waterways looks after canals, that is their mentality, so they want to fill in docks and build a canal for bearded Little Middle England real ale drinkers in narrow boats. Does that reflect our deep sea maritime history? Canal boats?

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All of this stinks. The closing date to object to the filling in of West Waterloo Dock is the 14th June. The date has gone. Yet the Echo reported the proposal to fill in the dock after the 14th June.

The Planning Department said it is worth sending a letter of objectiion even though the date has passed.

Details:

Proposal Number:
06F/1421

Jon Woodward
Planning Department
Liverpool City Council
Municiple Buildings
Dale Street
L69 2DH

I advise all to make an objection by letter or email ASAP to the filling in of West Waterloo Dock

Email for objection:
jon.woodward@liverpool.gov.uk

Some point for objection. I'm sure you can think of more:

1. West Waterloo dock is historic nearly 200 years old, dating from 1834.
2. The historic dock is a part of the rich heritage of Liverpool
3. The dock forms a water environment for the flats between West Waterloo Dock and East Waterloo Dock. The residents bought those flats because of the water environment the locale offered. This will be obliterated.
4. Filling in of the dock further “obliterates the City On The Water”, which the city was promised the redundant docks would be, transforming the city to world renowned Amsterdam or Hamburg.
5. Dock being filled in as a convenient dump for waste material for the canal developer.
6. Filling in the dock degrades the water based environment of the area for future developments.

I'm really keen to see this built and that's starting to look more and more likely now,Liverpool needs more modern buildings like this.

Vauxhall ... my family landed there in 1841....,me ald fella was born in 1930in court off Scottie, he lived in a cellar on Epsom st one of 12 children, me Granma and Granddad died on Commercial rd........... after Hitler and the post war government demolished the slums...... and youse talk of historical significance of a redundant dock........ my god gang, get your priorities sorted here... who will this benefit, skyscrapers for those with the money ?, we seen what happened to the say the highrises.. turned into luxury flats, WTF ... Waterways lad, have you invested in property mate, and when was the last time you was in the town?

Seriously, what is the agenda here?, at whose expense is it at, and whose heritage ... ?

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Originally Posted by FKoE

Vauxhall ... my family landed there in 1841....,me ald fella was born in 1930in court off Scottie, he lived in a cellar on Epsom st one of 12 children, me Granma and Granddad died on Commercial rd........... after Hitler and the post war government demolished the slums.

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I was born in the cellar of a condemned house near Brunswick Dock. The above is pointless.

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..... and youse talk of historical significance of a redundant dock........ my god gang, get your priorities sorted here... who will this benefit, skyscrapers for those with the money ?, we seen what happened to the say the highrises.. turned into luxury flats, WTF ... Waterways lad, have you invested in property mate, and when was the last time you was in the town?

Seriously, what is the agenda here?, at whose expense is it at, and whose heritage ... ?

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It is clear you hate the middle classes for having money and being able to build high quality high rises and improving the city. You will not be satisfied until of Liverpool is a huge vandalised council estate full of Philistines.

As for the significance of redundant docks, read my posts on them. Here is a cut for you…


The waterways and docks should be left alone and any in-filled docks excavated. Harrington, Toxteth, Victoria, Trafalgar and Clarence Docks can all be easily excavated and the water and quays reinstated as they are still there. Parts of the Heculanuem can also be excavated too. It is criminal what has been done to the dock waterways. Many were laid down in the 1700s – historic to say the least - and now have car parks on them.

The pyramids served no useful purpose – although the Great Pyramid is said to be a large ram-pump. Raising millions of gallons of water from a now dried up lake. Not 100% proven though. The other pyramids were just tombs – gravestones.

Also the pyramids were just large, well, err, pyramids in shape. The Great Wall of China was a defence mechanism. The Liverpool dock waterways is a highly useful construction that created wealth and advancement.

In construction terms and size Liverpool docks (and Birkenhead Docks – let’s not forget them) is equal to these ancient structure. Apart from the Herculaneum and Stanley Docks, all were built out into the river on wooden piles and granite rock from a special quarry in Scotland owned by MDHB, for the sea walls and quays. Liverpool docks were the first and only large scale interconnected dock waterway system in the world. Ships could travel 5 miles within the dock complex without entering the tidal river.

It was the key to the industrial revolution – without the docks raw materials and finished goods could not be efficiently handled into and out of the country. Liverpool made Manchester and all the other industrial towns – without the efficient deep water Liverpool docks these places would still be villages.

The steam engine made the docks into a giant complex. The engines pumped water in and out of locks and impounded the docks when high tide levels were low.

The Docks were key in peopling America as ¾ of all immigrants that went to the North America went via the Liverpool Docks. Even the Landing stage was the world largest floating structure. The docks were key in people migration in world history.

Few appreciate these points – and sadly few in Liverpool as well. We have something equivalent to the pyramids but fail to realise it and treat the waterways with contempt.

I always think of the millions of emigrants who passed through Liverpool when near the river , it really is quite a remarkable and significant part of world history. Liverpool should be flooded with US and Canadian tourists looking at where their ancestors sailed from. Elements of my own family arrived here from Ireland. The river IS EVERYTHING to the city, and I do think it would be marvellous to shift some gravity towards the waterfront, and preserve the water elements, partially as a memorial to all those who passed through.

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Originally Posted by bazzacat

I always think of the millions of emigrants who passed through Liverpool when near the river , it really is quite a remarkable and significant part of world history. Liverpool should be flooded with US and Canadian tourists looking at where their ancestors sailed from. Elements of my own family arrived here from Ireland. The river IS EVERYTHING to the city, and I do think it would be marvellous to shift some gravity towards the waterfront, and preserve the water elements, partially as a memorial to all those who passed through.

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Great Post!!!!

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Originally Posted by FKoE

The river is everything to the region, dilapidated docks are'nt.

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Agreed. But no one lives in the docks now anyhow, how about a mix of housing for all sorts? People that buy apartments arent all millionaires

Off Subject:

Waterways, you aren't Scouse if you think the term is derogatory. No true Scouser would ever be ashamed to call themselves this.
Would you mind explaining to me why you think this?

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6...24281og5ha.jpg

The new museum and canal link are going to bring this area back to life and I can't wait for it personally.I was happy to see the canal link finally getting under way at the weekend and hopefully the new museum will start in October as predicted.:celb (23):

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.:snf (41):

Yes, I still say it looks like the Showcase cinema on a retail park :neutral:
but as Terry says, the paving and steps look nice.

Hoping it will look much better in the flesh so to speak. :)

I'm still split on this one, I truely hated it at first, probably because it was in the back of my mind what might have been (just commented on this one in a different thread) the Foster designed 'forth grace'. But I'm sort of coming round to the idea, maybe it could be our version of the Sydney Opera House, maybe I'm going mad?

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Originally Posted by Terry

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.:snf (41):

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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.:celb (23):

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4989/1ux5.jpg

Those buildings you were concerned about losing seem to have survived Kev.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

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

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Originally Posted by Kev

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

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

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

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...

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.

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

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Originally Posted by Howie

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

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Cheers Howie

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

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

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.:celb (23):

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.:)

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

Please continue the World Heritage discussion here. :)