THE people of Liverpool were today urged to treat their city with respect and pride.
The call came after the man in charge of the £1bn Paradise Project talked of his disgust at the state of Liverpool’s streets.
Grosvenor project director Rod Holmes described to a meeting of business and arts leaders how he had picked his way through “broken pavements, filth, grease, vomit and litter” to reach the event.
He told the meeting at FACT, organised to talk about the run-up to Capital of Culture: “The next few weeks are more critical than most of us realise.
“We’ve got to sort out these issues, and we don’t have long to do it.”
Mr Holmes said it was vital for Liverpool’s continued resurgence after 2008 that people attracted to the city to take part in Capital of Culture wanted to come back.
He said the state of the city’s streets would have a major impact on their decisions and added: “People might have a good experience in 2008 but might decide not to come back again unless for a major event.”
A city council spokesman said today: “The Business Improvement District (Bid) has provided five additional sweeping machines for the city centre and we’ve reviewed and improved our cleaning programmes.
“But the message is that it’s everybody’s responsibility. It’s a question of not dropping litter and taking responsibility and showing pride in the city.”
Liverpool’s assistant executive director Mike Burchnall told yesterday’s meeting the city needed to make sure visitors saw it as attractive, safe and clean and would recommend it to their friends.
In addition to the five extra sweeping machines, Liverpool has a “deep” cleaning programme to rid streets of chewing gum, and a special sealant to protect new paving in Lord Street and Church Street.
There are also four teams to keep key routes into the city clean.
Mr Burchnall added: “The focus is on primary routes into the city but Capital of Culture celebrations are city-wide and the quality of the environment and cleaning within the neighbourhoods is absolutely vital.”
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