Destiny dawns for Capital of Culture

Regeneration & Renewal, 11 January 2008

Liverpool: Capital of Culture year is underway

Another month, another squabble. Last week, it emerged that Jason Harborow, chief executive of the Liverpool Culture Company - set up by Liverpool City Council to deliver the 2008 European Capital of Culture programme - was on the brink of leaving his job (R&R, 4 January, p1). The revelation is the latest in a string of controversies to hit the Capital of Culture hosts. These include bitter infighting at the council, a £20 million funding shortfall for the event, and a string of departures from the Liverpool Culture Company. Hardly ideal preparations for an event that, like the 2012 London Olympics, has been pitched as a catalyst for regeneration.

That's the sceptic's view. On the other hand, a supporter could point to some rather cheering numbers. This weekend's opening show, featuring former Beatle Ringo Starr, has sold out all 10,600 seats of the Echo Arena, a venue completed just days ago. And it is reported that passenger flights to the city's John Lennon Airport rose by 11 per cent last year, in no small part because of the momentum created by the Capital of Culture. So what does 2008 hold for Liverpool - an embarrassment of riches, or more embarrassment? And when the last of 2008's tourists have gone home, what sort of city will they leave behind?

There is no doubt that Liverpool will be a different place, physically, than when it won the Capital of Culture contest back in 2003. Among the new developments are the 17ha Paradise Street retail scheme, which is due for completion this year, the Echo Arena and its neighbouring convention centre. In this way, some say, the festival has already done its job. "If it's a very good event, it will make the place feel better about itself. If it's a disaster, which it won't be, Liverpool would still be on a roll," says Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool John Moores University.

When it comes to the tourist trade, the forecast looks fair. Official tourism website VisitLiverpool.com received over a million unique visitors in 2007, up 40 per cent on 2006. When tourists arrive, they can see a Klimt exhibition at Tate Liverpool, go to the MTV Europe awards at the Echo Arena or attend the Paul McCartney concert at Anfield stadium (if they have tickets already, that is: the show is sold out). Councillor Steve Munby, a member of the city's opposition Labour party, says: "As a programme of events, I think we'll have a fantastic year."

But others believe that the Capital of Culture programme still has much to do. Physical and economic regeneration in the run-up to the event have focused on the city centre to the detriment of the outskirts, according to Frank McKenna, director of business lobby group Downtown Liverpool in Business. "Some of the (housing market renewal) pathfinder areas still have problems," McKenna says. "Some of the highest unemployment rates in the country are in Liverpool, and some of the housing is still of poor standard. While we have seen an increase in the number of jobs available, people from disadvantaged communities are not taking that up."

Munby adds: "There's a big feeling in large parts of the city that they've been left out of large parts of the ceremony, and that it's very much focused on the city centre," he says. "That exclusion won't help get broader buy-in for the regeneration process."

Then there are those two old terriers, leadership and debt, hanging on Liverpool's heels. Few can remember a time when local politics wasn't tumultuous, but the Capital of Culture preparations seem to have brewed feuds all of their own. Last year, the cancellation of the city's Matthew Street Festival led to rows between councillors and officials. Eventually, Labour councillors complained to council watchdog the Standards Board, claiming that Liberal Democrat council leader Warren Bradley and executive member for regeneration Mike Storey had overstepped their authority by seeking to oust Harborow from the Liverpool Culture Company. Now, Munby claims, a forthcoming report from public sector watchdog the Audit Commission will identify major problems with the city's financial management and governance. If he is right, policy-making could take a back seat as infighting grows.

The council says it is working out ways to make good its £20 million Capital of Culture shortfall, perhaps by selling land or mortgaging its buildings. Both these methods require government permission, but, in any case, the council says it has guaranteed funding for all Capital of Culture programmes. But that raises the question: if the council fails to raise the money, what will have to be cut instead?

That issue should be scrutinised closely, because whatever Capital of Culture status does for Liverpool, there will be plenty more to do in 2009 and beyond. As Parkinson says: "Nobody's saying Capital of Culture will sort out Liverpool's longer-term problems. It's a piece of the jigsaw, and it's a good piece. But we shouldn't expect it to do everything."

CAPITAL OF CULTURE TIMELINE

June 2003: Liverpool named as 2008 European Capital of Culture.

July 2004: Plans for The Cloud, Will Alsop's planned complement to the Three Graces, fall through after rising costs and repeated redesigns.

July 2006: Liverpool Culture Company (LCC) artistic director Robyn Archer leaves "for personal reasons".

February 2007: Liverpool faces having to borrow £20 million to pay for the Capital of Culture celebrations.

August 2007: Matthew Street Festival is cancelled at short notice.

August 2007: Events boss Lee Forde leaves the LCC, followed two months later by operations director Chris Green.

December 2007: Standards Board begins investigations into allegations against council leader Warren Bradley and executive member for regeneration Mike Storey.

January 2008: Culture Company chief executive Jason Harborow in severance negotiations with the council.