sceneMAY/JUNE 2012The newsletter for businesses and employees in the City Central BID area

Win a mealfor four

Keep Britain tidycampaign targetscigarette litter incity centre.

Behind the scenesnewcomer engineer’sfeel good factor atMarriott hotel.

Regal 1st prizefor new artcompetition inQueen Square.

Enjoy a Champagneladen night outcourtesy of Ludusin Bold Street.

Employee ofthe Month

Liverpool smokersto bin their butts

Jubilee Art Prizefit for a Queen

what’sinside

thisissue

Summer ofLove heats up

City Central BID has officiallylaunched its Summer of Lovecampaign – and is delightedwith the support its receivingfrom members.Just weeks into the campaign morethan 20 businesses have already signedup to provide discounts and promotionsvia the www.loveliverpoolcentral.com website – which isreceiving more than 7,000 uniquevisitors a week.

Clayton Square is currently running a£1,000 competition on the site andbusinesses from national retailers like

Boots, Clas Ohlson, Thomas Cook,McDonalds, Subway, Dawsons,Greenwoods, Up and Running and WokN Go to independents such ase-Cosway, Smiffys, Looks, Cake ShopLiverpool and Voodou all on board.

Their offers can be accessed via a validMerseyrail Ticket, pass or the Summerof Love pocket guide, 100,000 copiesof which are now being distributedacross the city.

Ged Gibbons, Chief Executive of CityCentral BID, said: “These arechallenging times and many businessesare being severely affected by theclosure as we knew they would be.

“I’m delighted with the response theSummer of Love campaign hasreceived and would urge businessesnot yet on board with theloveliverpoolcentral promotionsto do so now as it will enableyou to reach thousands ofpotential customers.”

The Summer of Love is also beingpromoted with a huge on-line marketingcampaign via Radio City, Juice FM, OneCard, Visit Liverpool and Echo ArenaLiverpool and City Central BID has alsocommissioned city centre flags and agroundbreaking advert inside MoorfieldsStation to raise awareness.

The Summer of Lovewww.citycentralbid.com/summer-of-love will feature dozens offree live cultural and sporting eventsfrom 1 May – 30 September. Therecent four day LightNight Market onBold Street was the first of manyhighlights which will span the summerfrom the Diamond Jubilee through tothe London Olympics and beyond.

It has been devised by City Central BID,with support from Merseyrail,Merseytravel, Network Rail andLiverpool city council to minimise theimpact of the six month, £20mredevelopment of Central Station.

To promote your business throughwww.loveliverpoolcentral.complease email or call Emma Heylingson 0151 293 0505 or emaile.heylings@claritycreation.com

IN BRIEFA big hearted CityCentral welcome to:Poundland – Williamson Square.Trialfinders – Whitechapel.

New Ticket HQ atQueen Square

A new ticketoffice for ECHOArena and otherNorth Westattractions has

opened in the MerseytravelTravel Centre, Queen Square.TicketQuarter, which is run byEcho Arena’s team of ticketingexperts, will sell tickets for music,comedy, theatre and arts, familyentertainment, exhibitions andsport for a variety of regionalvenues, such as ChesterRacecourse and KnowsleyLeisure & Culture Park.For more information go towww.ticketquarter.co.uk

Trio scoopcustomer award

Three CityCentralindependentbusinesses arecelebrating after

scooping a national customercare award.Utility, Boudoir Boutique andThe Italian Club have each wonthe Customer at the Heart awardafter a mystery shop exercisescored them on a range offactors including store layout,service and branding.The nomination for Customer atthe Heart is free and submittedonline. Any independent retaileris eligible. To nominate your candidatego to www.insightwith passion.co.uk/customer-at-the-heart

Forever 21 constructorappointed

McLarenConstructionhas won a £4mcontract tobuild the new

Forever 21 retail outlet on‘Holy Corner’.The Church Street store willcomprise five floors covering48,000 sq ft.Site owner, the Royal LondonMutual Insurance Society, hasawarded the contract to McLarenand the firm will start work on thebuilding this month.It is scheduled to complete thescheme in early 2013.

‘Get back’ to boom timesBusinesses in the CavernQuarter have cometogether to make the mostof the area’s famouscreativity and “get back”to the boom times.Renowned as the place fromwhere the sound ofMerseybeat made billionstap their feet, business andproperty owners havenow been asked to bandtogether to make the area abig hit again.

The inaugural meeting of theCavern Quarter StakeholdersGroup, held at the famousFlanagan’s pub on MathewStreet and organised byLiverpool Vision was attendedby representatives from theCity Council; City CentralBID; Hope University;Liverpool CommunityCollege; Liverpool Guildof Students andMerseyside Police.Matt Biagetti, LiverpoolVision’s Area InvestmentManager, said: “Thiscollaboration is the first stepto develop a strategy topromote and maximise thearea’s potential. By workingtogether we believe we canmake the Cavern Quarter theplace it deserves to be.”Gregory Abrams, SeniorPartner for Gregory Abrams

Davidson Solicitors attendedthe event, said: “The meetingclearly demonstrated CavernQuarter’s creative and quirkycharacter with lots of ideasbouncing around. Ideasincluded pop-up shops, streetmarkets and performancespaces and there was a realunderstanding betweenstakeholders and a will tomake this work.”The next Cavern QuarterStakeholder Groupmeeting will begin todevelop a plan of actionfor the area and will beheld on Wednesday,13 June at 5pm.For more information or tojoin the Stakeholder Groupcontact Matt Biagetti onmbiagetti@liverpoolvision.co.uk or call0151 600 2900.

It takes a lot of people to runa hotel smoothly.Especially one set in the heart ofa major city centre with 146rooms, a conferencing suite, aleisure club with pool and sauna,a restaurant and a bar.At the four star Marriott Hotel inQueen Square, the receptionists,concierge, porters, chefs,waiters, cleaners, bar stewardsand managers all have theirpart to play in maintaininghigh standards.As do their engineers, wholargely go unnoticed. Unlessthere is a problem.But Paul Manley has not goneunnoticed. Or more to the pointhis smile and service has not.Despite holding a behind thescenes role, guest satisfactionhas risen at the Marriott sincehe arrived – just 8 months ago.He’s even managed a majorissue – while his boss was away– with such aplomb the guestswere able to carry on unaffected.David Thomas, Manager at theMarriott, said: “Paul’s interactionwith the guests is fantastic andhe has a great can do attitude. “He’s made a big impact in avery short space of time both onhis colleagues and guests. He isa real asset to the hotel.”And an asset to Liverpool – whichis why Paul is deservedly CityCentral's Employee of the Month.

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Employee ofthe Month:Paul Manley Engineer at theLiverpool Marriott Hotel

As City Central Employeeof the Month, Paulhas won:• A pair of tickets to

Reds and Blues at theRoyal Court

• A meal for two atCarluccio’s, Metquarter.

Do you know a colleaguewho deserves to beCity Central Employeeof the Month? If so, email:citycentre.pr@liverpool.gov.ukor call us on 0151 233 2213.

City Central BID hasjoined forces with KeepBritain Tidy to encouragesmokers across the cityto kick the habit ofdropping their cigarettebutts in the street.More than 10,000 portableashtrays are to be issuedacross the city centre tocomplement a high profileadvertising campaign urgingsmokers to ‘Do The StubbyOuty Binny Thing’ and keepLiverpool’s streets clean.The campaign has beenlaunched in partnership withthe Commercial District BIDafter new statistics fromKeep Britain Tidy show that49 per cent of smokersdrop their cigarette buttsin public spaces.Further research carried outby the national anti-litteringcharity shows that morethan half of those smokersdo not regard cigarettebutts as litter, claiming theyare small and insignificantcompared with other littersuch as crisp packets and fastfood cartons. Many smokersalso mistakenly think buttends are biodegradable.

The findings from the2011 survey show thatcigarette butts rank as themost common form oflitter dropped onEngland’s streets.The results have promptedLiverpool BID to encouragesmokers to bin their cigaretteends as part of Keep BritainTidy’s Love Where You Livecampaign.The national initiativelaunched in 2011 with theaim of encouraging threemillion people and threethousand businesses to takepride in their local area andchange their litteringbehaviour, which will reducethe amount of litter inEngland by 2020.Ged Gibbons, Chief Executiveof City Central BID, which isthe UK’s only private sectorAmbassador of Love WhereYou Live, said: “The amountof cigarette litter dropped onour streets is shameful.“If most smokers don’t eventhink their cigarette butts areclassed as litter thensomething needs to bedone to educate them andchange attitudes.

“We’re very proud to beworking with Keep BritainTidy to help clean up thisform of litter and we ask ourmembers to help encourageall smokers to stub out theircigarette butts and properlydispose of them by puttingthem in a bin or by using aportable ashtray.”To find out more visitwww.lovewhereyoulive.org

Liverpool smokersurged to bin theircigarette butts

IN BRIEFMerepark welcomesHarvester toCentral Village

Liverpool’s£160 millionCentral Villagescheme hasattracted

another big name brand.Mitchells & Butlers, whichoperates some 1,600 restaurantsand pubs across the UK, hastaken 4,446 sq. ft. across twolevels within the former Lewis’sbuilding for their Harvester brand.The restaurant chain, famous forits family-friendly service, will bespread across the Plaza andUpper Plaza Levels in Merepark’smulti-million pound development,and will sit alongside the 14,000sq. ft. independent pan-Asianrestaurant Cosmo and a 135-seatPrezzo restaurant around thenew public realm.

Theatres flyingthe flag

Liverpool’sEveryman andPlayhouse arecurrently flyingthe city’s flag

away from home in style.The 2009 Everyman productionof The Caretaker withJonathan Pryce has just openedto unanimous acclaim atNew York’s Brooklyn Academyof Music, where it runs until17 June.After its five Olivier Awardnominations, the Playhouse co-production of The Ladykillers withFiery Angel will embark on a 26week tour of the UK and Irelandbeginning on 14 September. And the 2010 Playhouseproduction of Antony andCleopatra, starring Kim Cattralland directed by Janet Suzmanwill be remounted at ChichesterFestival Theatre in September.

Liverpool leaps intoUK Tourism top 5

Liverpool hasmoved upthe nationalrankings as the5th most visited

city by overseas visitors.Overtaking Glasgow, Liverpool isalso more popular thantraditional tourist hot spots suchas Oxford and Bath.London remains the mostpopular city but 40% of visitorsare now spending time outsidethe capital – the highest numberever recorded.

Jubilee Art Prizefit for a Queen

Metquarter shoppers willbe surprised to see a lifesized London black taxicab parked in theshopping centre fromWednesday to Friday,6-8 June. With its vintage Union Jackupholstered interior andcushions; it’s no ordinary

black cab, but a Jubileephoto booth!Customers can hail the taxibetween 12 noon – 3 pm fora free Jubilee photographtaken with family and friendsin return for a £1 donationfor the Liverpool TaxiDrivers’ Children in CareOuting fund.

The charity has beenresponsible for taking locallylooked after children in careto Camelot Theme Parkin a convoy of taxis formany years.

The Metquarter black cab willbe officially opened at11 am on 6 June, by BernieBuxton, Treasurer of theLiverpool Taxi Drivers’Children in Care OutingFund, who will be celebratinghis first official engagementas an Olympic Torch bearer,in honour of his many yearsof tireless charity work.

“We wanted to offer ourcustomers a specialJubilee keepsake and what

better than a photographwith family and friends,”said Jennina O’Neill, CentreManager, “We also took thisopportunity to recognise thefantastic charity work ofLiverpool taxi drivers, likeBernie, in selflesslysupporting local childrenin care.”Metquarter’s Jubileecelebrations include achance to win a familypass to see the DisneyLive! Mickey’s Magic Showat the Liverpool EchoArena, together withdaily events for thewhole family such ascup-cake decorating andcraft workshops.

Inside Metquarter’s Jubilee Taxi

Queen Square is to host a new art competition– inspired by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.Carrying a regal £1,000 first prize, courtesy of Queen SquareCar Park and City Central BID, the competition will be held overthe double bank holiday on 4 & 5 June.Artists are being invited to create a new piece of work fromscratch, inspired by two themes – Royalty and Liverpool.The winner of what is Liverpool’s first live art competition will bechosen by a team of judges including Director of Art Galleriesfor National Museums Liverpool, Sandra Penketh.And surrounding businesses in Queen Square, such as theMarriott Hotel, will also be providing runner up prizes fit for a royal.Open to artists over the age of 16, the event is one of thehighlights of the Summer of Love campaign –www.citycentralbid.com/summer-of-love – which featuresdozens of free live cultural and sporting events during the sixmonth, £20m redevelopment of Central Station.

Daniel Hynd Project Director at Neptune, which owns QueenSquare, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Queen’sDiamond Jubilee art prize at Queen Square. We felt it wasimportant given the regal name that we offered the square tohold such an event.“We look forward to seeing some great pieces createdover the course of the competition, and hopevisitors enjoy seeing them created live righthere in Queen Square.”

St Johns ShoppingCentre is invitingprimary schools inMerseyside to join in itsDiamond Jubileecelebrations and boostschool funds.The shopping centre isasking school children todesign a brand new crownto celebrate the Queen’s60 years on the throne.

The crowns will bedisplayed in the centrethroughout the Jubileeweekend from 1 to 5 June.One will be declared awinner and fit for Her RoyalHighness with the schoolthat created it winninga £500 donation toschool funds.Ian Ward, centre directorat St Johns, said:

“We want local schoolpupils to help uscelebrate the DiamondJubilee by designing abrand new crown fitfor a Queen.“We’d like children to beas creative as possible byusing whatever materialsthey like to designfabulous crowns.We can’t wait to see

what they will come upwith and we’ll reward thewinning school witha donation to theirschool funds.”

Metquarter takes Jubilee Taxi with a twist

St Johns’ new Crown Jewels are child’s play

Artists invited to follow Rolf’s Royal lead.

Bold Street’snewest bar –Ludus – isoffering

one lucky Scene reader anight to remember.The winner of this great prizecan start off the evening in thewarm and sophisticatedsurroundings upstairs and withthe choice of platters, mezzeboards, olives, squid or choice ofciabatta breads. Main coursesrange from fish and chips, surfand turf, slider burger andcaesar salads, all freshlyprepared on the premises byexperienced chefs.When you are ready, you canhead on downstairs to‘Prohibition’, where you will feellike you step back to the 1920sspeakeasy with a classic vibeevident for all to see. Ludus,dubbed the city’s “best keptsecret” with the music andcocktails taking you back to thedays of Al Capone. Sit backand relax in the luxurious andvintage surroundings.To enter this prize draw,answer this question. Whatera is the Ludus basementbar ‘Prohibition’ themed to?Email your answer toCityCentre.PR@liverpool.gov.ukDeadline for entries is 5pm,Friday, 9 June.

As the Olympic flametravels through ClaytonSquare on 1 June,I wonder how many will beaware that just a fewhundred yards awayin Bold Street marksthe birth of themodern Olympiad. Pierre de Coubertin isrecognised as the founder ofthe modern day Olympics,the first games being held inAthens 6 – 15 April 1896.However, Liverpool wasahead of the game wellbefore 1896.John Hulley, born inGloucester Street, on19 February 1832, if notthe actual founder of themodern games, wascertainly the spiritual one.

Hulley from an early age wasan enthusiastic supporter ofphysical activities, educationand fitness; on leaving theCollegiate Institute ShawStreet in 1850 he wouldbecome the uncrowned kingof the local gymnasts.By the mid 1800s a revival ofphysical exercise was takingplace in Europe and America– an ideal time for John.With Charles Melly (relationof the late George Melly jazzsinger and entertainer)John founded theLiverpool Athletic Club inthe Rotunda Gymnasium,Bold Street – situated justpast the Lyceum.As Honorary Secretary of theClub he organised eventscalled Olympic Festivals, the

first being held in 1862with the fourth festivalheld outside Liverpoolin Llandudno.Due to its unparalleledsuccess, having attractedtens of thousands of peopleand numerous world recordsset, on 6 November 1865the National OlympianAssociation (NOA) wasformed, with John Hulleyelected chairman.The NOA was the forerunnerof the Modern OlympicAssociation and Coubertinreceived numerous lettersof support from Hulley andco in his aim to re-establishthe Olympics.For over 12 years JohnHulley was in the public eye,he then appears to have

taken a step back frompublic life.John stayed in Liverpool forthe winter of 1874-75, sadlythe weather was so severe itaffected his chest complaintresulting in his prematuredeath at the age of 42.You won’t hear his nameduring the London 2012games but what better timefor Liverpool to proudlycelebrate his life?

HHHStar Event HHHComing up...

City Central BID, c/o Rapid, Williamson Square, Liverpool L1 1EATel: 0151 233 2213 Fax: 0151 233 2218 www.citycentralbid.comEmail your latest news, views and pictures to: mike.doran@liverpool.gov.ukYou can now follow City Central on and

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Terry Allenwww.terrys-liverpoolwalks.com

• The Norman ConquestsLiverpool Playhouse25 May – 23 June

• Arriva Family Fun Day –with Juice FMWilliamson Square – FREE26 May

• Moroccan Market ofHandicraftWilliamson Square 28 May – 3 June

• Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream TourQueen Square – FREE30 May

• Olympic Torch RelayLiverpool city centre – FREE1 June from 5pm-5.30pm

• Ye Olde Medieval JubileeSt Johns Market2 June

A £1,000 prize is up for grabs assome of the region’s best artistsconverge on Queen Square for theDiamond Jubilee.The two day competition, sponsoredby Queen Square Car Park and CityCentral BID, will see a series of brandnew artworks created on the themes

of royalty and Liverpool.This live art spectacle is a first for Liverpool – and anearly highlight of the Summer of Love.Watch masters at work in this historic and lively square.Runs from 10am to 6pm. Judging will begin at 4pm onTuesday, 5 June.

Terry’s times past

• Jubilee Taxi boothMetquarter6-8 June, 12 noon-3pm

• StreetWise SoccerWilliamson Square – FREESaturday – 9, 16, 23 June

• Live Tennis – inc. demos& public sessionsWilliamson Square – FREEMon, Wed, Sat 25, 27, 30June & Friday, 29 June inClayton Square

• Ping! Liverpooltables throughout city centre– FREEJune 29 –July 26

• Reds And Blues –The MusicalRoyal Court29 June to 11 August

COMPETITIONH H

BID businessesback Beatles PlayA play about legendary Beatlesmanager Brian Epstein hasreceived vital backing fromtwo City Central businesses.EPSTEIN the Play, which runs15 November until 1 December,is being sponsored by MathewStreet based Gregory AbramsDavidson LLP Solicitors andsupported by The Cavern.Charting Brian’s illustrious career,the play will also feature the dayhe famously ‘discovered’ the fabfour while at NEMS onWhitechapel. www.epsteintheplay.com

How to appeal for a temporary reduction in your ratesThe closure of CentralStation, which wouldnormally handle 40,000people a day, has clearlymade a difference tofootfall in the vicinity.

City Central BID wouldencourage members whohave seen a drop in takingsas a result of the closure tobid for a rebate.

Here are a few guidelines onhow you can appeal for atemporary reduction in yourrateable value while CentralStation is closed.

You need to obtain an AppealForm from either:

1) Liverpool branch ofValuation Office Agency (VOA)at 72 Church St (by the TSB)

2) Download it from thewebsite www.voa.gov.uk

3) Ring for them to send oneto you 03000 501 501 – a24 hour call back system iscurrently in place.

When filling in the form,for reason choose“circumstances affectingrateable value”.

For further assistance youcan also call the citycouncil revenues team on0151 242 1251.

Please note:The Wirral Line will re-openon 25 August.

The Northern Linere-opens on 22 October.

Queen Square DiamondJubilee Art Competition

Monday 4 – Tuesday 5 June

Win a mealfor 4...with a bottle ofChampagne at LudusLounge Bar.