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| Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool, and the Cunard Building ECHO picture |
Liverpool is likely to abandon ambitious plans to convert
its famous Cunard Building into a cruise terminal.
One of the Three Graces – alongside the Liver Building and the
former headquarters of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board – it was bought by
the City Council for £15 million.
The Mayor, Joe Anderson, hoped its ticket hall could be used
to check in passengers embarking cruise ships at the nearby Pier Head. Other
plans included a restaurant and heritage centre.
But in order to meet border control and customs
requirements, the passengers would have had to be transferred using a secure
system, possibly a monorail.
According to consultants, the total cost of refurbishing the
building and meeting security demands could have doubled the total cost, taking
it to what has been described as “an astronomical” £30 million.
It is now likely the building will be used to accommodate
council staff moved from other offices in the city, and the council would also
consider offers to convert its upper floors into a hotel.
Mayor Anderson admits: “It is unlikely we will be able to
deliver on putting the cruise terminal into the Cunard Building. The cost is
astronomical; not only will it cost a fortune, [the pedestrian link] would take
up space and blight the waterfront.
He denied that the council had bought a white elephant. “In
seven years’ time, people will say ‘what a wonderful opportunity the mayor
took.’ The purchase will be a success, not a millstone around my neck.”
