Liverpool heads the way for Listed Buildings
English Heritage is beginning to turn it's focus on the city of Liverpool as it attempts to preserve the cities heritage. In recent years, Liverpool has undergone much regeneration and the landscape of the area is changing greatly.
It is thought that dozens of historic buildings are presently under consideration for achieving a listed building status and this should help insure that much of Liverpool's past is preserved for future generations.
Reports suggest that experts from English Heritage are examining around 60 properties in the area to ascertain if they deserve listed building status. This latest move follows hot on then heels of a report commissioned by English Heritage and Liverpool City council last year. A spokesperson for English Heritage stated, then report states then case for at least 60 buildings, which may possibly be listed and contained within the Liverpool World heritage site.
In July 2004 Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City was inscribed on to UNESCO'S world heritage list at it's committee meeting in Suzhou near Shaghai. Liverpool City council and it's partners are now positively managing the World Heritage site. They have given a definite commitment to look after the site and this latest move by English Heritage is seen as a partnership agreement to afford certain buildings a better degree of protection.
The World heritage city includes that part of then city which is authentic and relates to Liverpool's historic role as a port. For easy of description, the area has been divided in to 6 areas.
1- The Pier Head
2- The Albert Dock Area
3-The Stanley Dock Area
4- The Commercial Centre of Castle Street/Dale Street/ Victoria Street/Old Hall Street
5- The Cultural Quarter around William Brown Street
6- The area of warehouses and merchants' houses around Duke Street.
It is understood that English Heritage has spent a good deal of time looking at individual buildings and it is hopped that by listing certain buildings, protection from development which is rife in the area can be achieved whilst being sympathetic to the buildings. It is understood that final decisions should be made by early 2008.
Buildings can achieve a listed status for a variety of reason, not solely based on architectural merit, recently, the Casbah coffee club in West Derby was given grade II listed status because of it's importance in the birth of the Beatles.
At the present moment, the city of Liverpool has 26 Grade 1 listed Buildings, Grade 1 listed is the most important Grade and these structures are considered to be of nation and international importance, these include the Albert Dock, Liver Building, St Georges Hall, Bluecoat, and Toxteth Chapel.
After Grade 1, Grade 2 * is considered to be the most important and Liverpool has 85 grade II* listed buildings, including St Lukes Church, the Regent Road Sugar Silo and West Derby Courthouse, and almost 2,500 grade II buildings one of the highest number outside London.
