Liverpool launches five-year masterplan to build on Capital of Culture success

Liverpool is launching a five-year masterplan to build on the success as the UK's European Capital of Culture.

The city's new Cultural Strategy, which makes recommendations such as further waterfront animation, developing the role of parks in the city and a new public art programme, has today opened for consultation.

The 45-page draft document, devised with the help of more than 70 cultural organisations and networks, is seen a key contributor to the city's vision of creating a 'Thriving International City of World Status' by 2024.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Chair of Liverpool First Executive Board and Leader, Liverpool City Council, said: "This strategy demonstrates our commitment to ensuring culture continues to play a central role in Liverpool and how it can contribute to our ongoing renaissance as a quality international destination.

"Collectively we can be proud of delivering an outstanding European Capital of Culture. Maximising the legacy of '08 for the benefit of Liverpool's citizens and cultural sector will undoubtedly prove as challenging as delivering '08 itself.

"But we can only achieve this by listening to what people have to say."

Available at www.liverpoolfirst.org.uk/consultations/stakeholder-sept2008 the public and stakeholders are invited to provide feedback over the next 6 weeks until Friday, October 31.  A questionnaire accompanies the document.

The Cultural Strategy will then be driven by Liverpool First's newly created Culture Task Group, chaired by Councillor Gary Millar, Liverpool's Executive Member for Enterprise and Tourism.

The group will assess deliverability of recommendations and set out an annual cultural strategy action plan which will spell out what needs to be delivered, where, when, by whom and with what results. This will be monitored by an annual performance review.

With an initial five-year period to cover until 2013, the group will work on five key themes:

• Cultural Vibrancy
• Access and Participation
• Creative learning and skills development
• Economic growth
• Image, identity and sense of place

These themes are based upon those developed by Liverpool's Impacts 08 research model, which is also monitoring the city's year as European Capital of Culture.