Liverpool ONE is a vast and vibrant leisure complex in the heart of the city centre. With over 200 shops, bars, and restaurants, a fifteen-screen cinema, and even a five-acre public park, the multi-functional development has completely regenerated the area over the last decade, and provided the people of Liverpool with an incredible multi-functional leisure and hospitality venue.
In their efforts to increase footfall once non-essential leisure and retail reopens on the 12th of this month, Liverpool ONE have revealed plans to double the outdoor seating capacity available at bars and restaurants in the development.
The sites’ developers, Grosvenor Britain and Ireland, are adding 610 canopies to the complex to essentially ‘weather-proof’ the outdoor seating area. Their alterations will be completely in-keeping with social distancing measures. The re-opening plans include the return of ‘safe circles’ in the five-acre public park, after their first introduction in July 2020. This will ensure and safety and well-being of all their customers.
Grosvenor is one of the worlds’ largest privately-owned international property businesses. For 340 years, Grosvenor have developed, managed, and invested with an eye to improving the places that we congregate and share in our communities. Grosvenor Britain and Ireland take what they call the ‘Living Cities’ approach to their developments.
In a statement on their website, they say that this involves promoting “local expertise to foster a deep appreciation and understanding of local markets and communities, engaging with them to implement bespoke and innovative solutions that are commercially successful and that respond to local needs”. This takes on added significance today, during a time where the high street is under increased strain and consumers are constricted in their movements.
Liverpool ONE are not the only leisure complex investing in their capacity for al fresco dining. In London, both Covent Garden and Soho will be opening their doors once more and providing consumers with a wealth of outdoor seating. After the success of last year, Westminster Council have announced that over 60 streets will be closed to cars, taxis, and public transport; this is to make room for the hundreds of bars and restaurants that will make up this huge push toward the viability of outdoor dining over the coming summer months.
This is exciting news for both consumers and the businesses that have struggled so much over the last year. Leisure and entertainment venues are becoming increasingly creative in the ways that they respond to the pandemic and ensure the survival of their trade.
Words by: Rebecca Clayton
Feature image – credit: @placenorthwest