Liverpool launches consultation on public realm strategy

LIVERPOOL City Council has launched a major public consultation on how future development schemes can improve their surrounding environment. A statutory 6 week consultation on the Council's draft Public Realm Strategy begins today and runs until Monday, 9 May 2022. The public can go online to read the document and give their feedback on:- Liverpool.Gov.UK.

The draft strategy, which has been devised in collaboration with local communities, businesses and major stakeholders across the City, aims to ensure the delivery of high quality public realm across the whole City.

The strategy also sets out a major shift by the City Council to embrace the idea of:- "20 minute neighbourhoods" and by being more inclusive it's also a key aim of the Mayoral Triple Lock, which is focused on:- people, planet and equality.

With amenities a short distance away, this strategy will encourage more walking and cycling and will help support Liverpool's ambition to become a UNICEF Child Friendly City.

The City Council will also seek to ensure developers deliver quality schemes that fit the City's vision through the introduction of a:- 'design 'toolkit' for different types of spaces including streets, parks and squares. Developers will in future be required to show how these design requirements are embedded into their proposals.

Following the consultation the Council will aim for the strategy to be formally adopted. It will then be used to guide all future planning applications and will ensure developments are designed with these key principles embedded.

If adopted, the strategy would be legally binding as a Supplementary Planning Document and would also underpin the city's recently approved Local Plan.

The Public Realm Strategy is seen as a key part of the City Council's placemaking programme which is focused on 3 major priorities:-

► To attract inward investment.

► To encourage healthy and active lifestyles.

► To improve climate resilience through increased green infrastructure.

The strategy also sets out how it will connect neighbourhoods across Liverpool by introducing:-

► A City wide network of connected green spaces driven by movement, safety and activity.

► A Community Network; shaping neighbourhoods around public realm to create a community driven and walkable and cycle friendly City, including a proposal for 20 minute neighbourhoods.

► A City Network; a distinctive and green City Centre shaped by world-class public realm designed for people over vehicles, including reducing the dominance of the car.

► A 'live' schedule of public realm projects will also be included to ensure a strategic and co-ordinated approach in how developer contributions are spent and that also fit with the overall vision for the economic growth of the City.

►A series of projects have been identified as:- 'exemplar' projects to illustrate how the strategy's principles could be applied...

► Monument Place - the vision is for a creative hub within the City. The square could be used as a space for markets and events, with enhanced planting and routes.

► Dale Street - to become an iconic pedestrian-led street, and for it be re-imagined with enhanced green infrastructure including trees and rain gardens.

► St George's Gateway - create new and enhanced public realm within an iconic site that will bring nature and landscape into the heart of the City centre

► Town Hall/Castle Street - to create a beautiful and highly active linear square at the confluence of Castle Street and Dale Street.

► Baltic Green - to create a highly distinctive and inclusive community space for the Baltic Triangle.

There will be many options for residents to get involved with this consultation. They can go online at:- Liverpool.Gov.UK/PublicRealmConsultation or they can go to the Central Library or The Cunard Building to request to read the draft strategy and make written comments there. The Council's planning team is also seeking to hold 2 virtual consultation workshop events. Details of these are to be announced shortly.

Councillor Sarah Doyle, Cabinet member for Development and Economy, said:- "I want Liverpool to be defined by how inclusive our neighbourhoods are; every bit as much as we are renowned for our world class cultural heritage. Liverpool's future should have quality public realm written right through it and it's vital our residents help shape the spaces they live, travel, work and play in. I urge all residents to have their say and get involved in our public consultation. We want Liverpool to be a thriving, sustainable, and fair City for everyone and if adopted this Public Realm Strategy would be a key tool in how we go about achieving that, by creating and improving the city's physical environment with quality embedded in design right through to delivery. The City's public realm is the place where the spirit and energy of our people is harnessed; it's the canvas to make, participate, and play in beautiful surroundings. By creating clean, accessible and integrated infrastructure, we can help ensure everyone plays their part in responding to the climate emergency and the city's transition to zero carbon. By creating streets and spaces that are fun, inclusive, safe and exciting places to be we're putting the building blocks in for Liverpool to be a greener, healthier and more welcoming City fit for the environmental and economic challenges and opportunities the 21st century is presenting. I hope everyone gets involved in this consultation because their feedback will be vital to ensuring Liverpool is a City for the people, by the people and of the people."

Failing landlords to be named and shamed as Government steps up support for social housing tenants

THE Government will:- "name and shame" failing social housing providers as part of major reforms to give residents a stronger voice and drive up standards. The move means social landlords providing sub-standard housing and services would be publicly called out on the Government's website and across social media channels. Measures announced also include a Resident Panel that will allow tenants who live in social housing to be heard directly by Government. Around 250 social tenants from across England will be invited to share their experiences and help us ensure our reforms work to drive up standards.  As set out in the Social Housing White Paper, our reforms; due to be delivered through legislation; will transform the experiences of residents, with a major reform of the way in which social landlords are regulated and held to account for the homes and services they deliver. The Government has already set out a wide range of measures designed to drive up standards and fix a broken complaints system including by strengthening regulation of the sector, improving the Housing Ombudsman Service, and empowering residents to know and exercise their rights.

A package of measures announced today goes even further. It includes:-

► Publicising on social media where landlords have breached the Regulator's consumer standards or where the Housing Ombudsman has made its most serious finding; severe maladministration; against them.

► The launch of a Resident Panel, inviting residents to have their say on how to improve the quality of social housing. The Panel will allow residents to scrutinise and influence measures to strengthen the Decent Homes Standard, training and qualification for staff, a new Access to Information Scheme and other planned reforms.

► Publishing draft clauses to legislation that will reform the regulation of social housing through tougher consumer powers, greater enforcement tools to tackle failing landlords and new responsibilities on social landlords.

► A new factsheet explaining the role of the Regulator of Social Housing and Housing Ombudsman Service.

► A single Gov.UK page, setting out our progress on implementing the measures in the Social Housing White Paper and further measures being introduced to improve quality of social housing.

Minister for Social Housing Eddies Hughes MP said:- "Everyone in this country deserves to live in a safe and decent home. It is unacceptable that anyone should have mould covering their walls, risk slipping on a wet floor or have water dripping from the ceiling. We have published draft legislation today to toughen up regulation of social housing landlords. This includes naming and shaming those landlords who fail to meet acceptable living standards and giving tenants a direct channel to raise their concerns with Government. This package will help to deliver on our commitment in the Levelling Up White Paper to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030."

The new panel will be a way for tenants across the country to get involved in our work to drive up social housing quality. The Resident Panel will be supported by a national survey. Around 5,000 residents will be asked to share their views about their landlord's services. The survey will be used to monitor the impact our reforms will have on social housing residents. The announcement follows the Government's campaign to help people secure improvements to their living conditions. Any social housing resident can submit an application to join the Panel, which will close on Friday, 29 April 2022.

The Government's:- 'Make Things Right' campaign helps residents raise complaints if they are unhappy with their landlord's services and struggling to get problems resolved, with clear advice on how to progress issues to the Housing Ombudsman if necessary. Adverts have run on digital and social media channels, as well as music streaming sites, to raise awareness of the complaints process and barriers to these being progressed. We will also publish on social media where landlords have breached the Regulator's consumer standards or where the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) has made its most serious finding; severe maladministration; against them.

If you are not already aware, The Housing Ombudsman is focused on helping to resolve individual complaints made by tenants, shared owners and leaseholders about their landlords. They can consider complaints and disputes and may help mediate to find a resolution. The Regulator of Social Housing is focused on ensuring that the landlord meets the standards set for social housing providers. This includes that the landlord is well managed and financially viable, provides tenants with quality accommodation, choice and protection, and that its tenants can hold their landlords to account.

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