A message from Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson

As 2024 draws to a close, Council Leader, Cllr Liam Robinson, looks back on the last 12 months and looks ahead to 2025.

I am really pleased with the progress that the Council has made over the past year.

We have made huge inroads into getting our house in order and tackling the root causes of our biggest challenges.

The Commissioners’ leaving may not have been a big talking point in your house, but it was a big deal for the City. It means we are trusted again to manage our own affairs and their departure has sent a powerful message to the region, and the Government, that we’re on our way back.

We’ve secured our involvement in a Government innovation programme designed to make public services better and more efficient, which is a fantastic vote of confidence in the progress we have made over the last 18 months.

I am pleased to say that we now have a Government that is more sympathetic to the challenges big cities such as Liverpool face. We have now received an improved financial settlement from Whitehall which, although it won’t reverse the impact of austerity, will give us more stability to plan for the longer term. I was pleased, for the first time ever, to welcome the Prime Minister to our City in September for the Labour Party Conference. It was a great opportunity to meet with ministers and local leaders to discuss how Liverpool can be at the heart of the Government’s mission driven plan for change.

In 2024, we’ve been concentrating on getting the basics right, such as upping our Council Tax collection rate to a level that compares well with other similar cities, as well as relentlessly chasing down money we are owed by those who lease land or buildings from us. Every pound we secure goes towards delivering valued services for you.

We’ve committed to investing more money in neighbourhood services, and are bringing what we call Streetscene services – bin collections and cleansing – back to the Council to give us more flexibility in how we operate. This will be closely aligned with our 13 neighbourhood areas. We now have staff on the ground across the City, liaising with Councillors and residents, you are what I like to describe as one of our half a million ‘bosses’, and we need to tackle the issues that are blighting your lives.

The next stage is to make our improvements visible to you. We’re investing in new technology and processes that will enable you to find out at the push of a button where any issues you have raised with us are in terms of being resolved. We will also be launching a new waste strategy to drive up recycling rates and reduce our incineration costs.

One of the big issues that consistently gets raised by local residents is inconsiderate parking, and this is something we will really be stepping up in the new year, recruiting more than 50 additional enforcement staff to tackle the issue. In tandem with this, we will also be consulting on a new parking strategy to bring us into line with other large cities, and encourage more use of sustainable transport methods such as public transport, cycling and walking.

The work our City Development team has been doing in moving major projects forward is starting to have an impact. We’ve secured funding from the Government for Central Docks at Liverpool Waters; the bioscience sector in Paddington South and Great Homer Street Market. This ‘arc of opportunity’ is complemented by our plans for Chinatown, the King Edward Triangle near the city centre, and a new urban town stretching from the north docks to Bootle on Sefton, taking advantage of the opening of Everton FC’s new stadium at Bramley Moore dock. Plus we are moving forward with our ambition to create a new community at the Festival Gardens site in Otterspool, as part of our commitment to building new homes on previously developed land across the City.

We know how important tourism is, supporting some 50,000 jobs across the Liverpool City Region, so I am delighted that we have been able to hand over the cruise liner terminal to Global Port Holdings, who have big plans for expansion. It will enable more big ships to come to the City, growing the number of visitors who come here to spend their money in local shops, bars and restaurants.

I was immensely proud of the way Liverpool showed its very best side after the dreadful disorder we saw in the city centre and Walton in the summer, following the tragic murders of Bebe King, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and Elsie Dot Stancombe. There is no excuse for the scenes that we witnessed, but it was heartwarming to see how the majority of people responded to the mindless racist and hateful behaviour of a minority. Earlier this month we reopened Spellow Hub, and we will be saying more about how we want to invest in the community in that area in the coming months, including what comes next in and around Goodison Park.

I am also really excited about the work we are doing around Net Zero, after being named as the UN’s first climate action ‘Accelerator City’. This includes helping decarbonise the cultural sector by making events and film and TV productions sustainable.

In 2025, we’ll be launching a Citizen’s Panel, as part of our commitment to make sure we involve communities in the decisions we are taking, and my focus will be on working hand-in-hand with the Government and Mayor Steve Rotheram to deliver improvements to frontline services for communities across Liverpool.

I wish you all a happy and peaceful festive season, whether you are celebrating Christmas or Hannukah.

Cllr Liam Robinson

Leader, Liverpool City Council