Church Street regeneration, Liverpool city centre

Challenge

When it was announced that Liverpool would receive the prestigious award to be the ‘European Capital of Culture 2008’ it was vital that the dated shopping and entertainment areas were regenerated and improved.

Along with schemes to bring out the culture of historic Liverpool, plans to regenerate the city included a new shopping and leisure district the size of 28 full-size football pitches. The new area was to include 160 shops, cafes, restaurants, two new hotels and a 14-screen Odeon cinema along with more than 600 stylish apartments.

With over 2 million extra visitors expected in Liverpool city centre in 2008, Liverpool City Council required a hard landscaping solution that would add to the character of the area and be robust enough to withstand heavy trafficking.

Marshalls was brought in to work with the main contractor, Balfour Beatty, to advise on the most suitable hard landscaping materials to ensure its vision of regeneration was realised.

Solution

Granite paving and setts were selected for Church Street, the main shopping street in Liverpool, to give a contemporary and aesthetically pleasing appearance with a tough and resilient finish.

Marshalls Natural Stone specialists were involved in the scheme from the outset, offering advice on the finishes available on the granites to aid with bond strength to both the bedding and jointing materials.

The scheme was designed to manage water run-off with cambers and falls, negating the need for linear drainage. Point drainage units were used at intervals with Marshalls’ flush granite channels to carry the water to destination.

It is comprised mostly of silver grey and black flamed granite. The black was used to create a swathe the length of the street to representing a river of life, a concept that was developed by the architect with the client.

Marshalls’ granite was also used to stunning effect in The Met Quarter undercover shopping complex, close to Church Street.

Planter/seating units were required for each tree on the project. Marshalls specialist CAD designers sourched finished units that were delivered cut to size for easy of installation direct from China. This helped to reduce waste and cost on site.

Marshalls and Balfour Beatty co-ordinated a complex programme of deliveries. All the materials were pre-ordered by Marshalls and delivered to site early in the morning, allowing the contractor flexibility over which materials to call off at the appropriate time.

Outcome

Approximately 15,000m2 of paving, setts and channels was supplied for the project. Marshalls offered extensive technical advice at an early stage of the design and in doing so created a greater opportunity for change to maximise value for money.

This was done through sourcing alternative materials to fit with the architect’s vision whilst remaining within the client’s budget and improving design details to make them more efficient and robust.

By understanding the difficulties encountered with site access and sequencing of works, it was able to precisely schedule contents of individual crates to maximise laying efficiency and avoid unnecessary double handling or wastage. This benefited Balfour Beatty and minimised the impact on local business and the general public, which was one of the client’s key aims.

The benefit of the finished scheme will be felt by the retail outlets and the public who now have a facelift to the main area which adjoins the new Paradise Street scheme as well as other Marshalls schemes across the City such as Whitechappel, Williamson Square and The Cavern Quarter.