A new £1.65m hospitality and entertainments venue on the Leeds-Liverpool canal has been given the go-ahead and there will be a test event during the August bank holiday. Tony McDonough reports
Council planners have approved a £1.65m hospitality and entertainments venue on the canalside in Bootle.
Sefton Council is behind the project to create a multi-purpose open air venue that will sit alongside the waters of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. This will include a food and drink offer, new events spaces and an urban garden.
During the August bank holiday later this month a temporary pop-up event at the site will see local food and drink traders serve food and drink from around the world from refurbished shipping containers, in a nod to Bootle’s industrial history.
The event will be an opportunity to test the site with the community and gather feedback on what people in Bootle want to see from the new venue.
In a bid to improve the quality of life for the local community, the space will bring new activity to the under-used land. It will stimulate the local economy, transforming the look and feel of the town for residents, businesses and visitors.
Canalside site is one of a number of projects planed for Bootle. The development of an Area Action Plan in the coming months will ensure the views of the local communities and businesses who want to see significant and transformational changes in Bootle are reflected in the plans.
Alongside this, work continues on the future of the Strand Shopping Centre and the Council’s bid for the government’s Levelling Up Fund has been submitted.
The £14.5million bid – if approved by Government – will see construction and launch of a new, hi-tech digital and Virtual Reality (VR) venue hosting a visitor attraction.
Bootle’s ‘Flying Theatre’ will use a robotic hydraulic platform to create the feeling of flying through the British Isles and a VR Time-Travel Tunnel will take visitors on a journey through the ‘History of Bootle and Liverpool’, including an experience of the Blitz.
Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council said: “We are proudly and passionately committed to the regeneration of Bootle which has been hit hard by the pandemic and has too often been overlooked.
“Our plans for transformation will contribute positively to the local and regional economy through job creation and act as a catalyst for wider investment, bringing interest and much needed focus to an area of our borough that is filled with opportunities.”