St Paul’s Square symbolises "transformed" Liverpool, says Heseltine

ENGLISH Cities Fund’s new £32m No. 4 St Paul’s Square building in Liverpool is “an example of the transformation” that has taken place in the city over the past 30 years, according to Lord Heseltine.

Speaking at the building’s launch event yesterday, Lord Heseltine said that when he was first given permission by Margaret Thatcher to leave his cabinet duties and visit Liverpool in the wake of the Toxteth riots 30 years go, he spent a lot of time “listening to people explain why someone else was at fault” as opposed to suggesting methods for improving the city.

“The transformation that pervades Merseyside is that (it is) full of people who have ideas, who know they have a contribution to make.”

Lord Heseltine added that he was “privileged” to have been asked by the Prime Minister to embark on a fact-finding mission alongside former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy to identify the threats and opportunities facing the city.

He said that the brief was “not to hark back but to look ahead for the next 30 years”. “One of the first things that Sir Terry and I did was to say we have to build on the strengths, see what’s gone right and see what the opportunities are. Thirty years ago, you’d have just gone home in despair because there weren’t any.”

Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of English Cities Fund said that it had worked on No.4 St Paul’s Square since the inception of the £100m fund – a joint venture between Muse Developments, Legal & General and the Homes and Communities Agency – ten years ago.

“There wasn’t a great deal of competition for St Paul’s Square when we arrived on the scene. It was a complex project to put together and we’ve done that through challenging times.”

He added: “We’ve seen a significant reshaping of the city in recent years. It is still work in practice but we’ve moved a long way from the darkest times and we think St Paul’s Square is an important component of the future.

“We’re very confident that No. 4 St Paul’s Square will attract the best of Liverpool and those who want to come and do business here. It also critically represents a potential gateway to the Pall Mall development which, as time permits, I am sure will come forward.”

Darran Lawless, development director for Muse Developments, said that the 109,00 sq ft building was the first speculatively-built BREEAM ‘Excellent’ office in the city and that its striking facade provided a “fitting completion to St Paul’s Square”.

The building was designed by architects RHWL and built by Shepherd Construction.