Christmas shoppers delay £73m Balfour Beatty project

A £73m contract to improve Liverpool city centre's streets and public spaces has had to be postponed until the new year following protests by local businesses.

Balfour Beatty was originally due to start on the City Centre Movement Strategy (CCMS)scheme on Renshaw and Berry Street in the autumn, but work has now been delayed until early January 2005.

Local businesses had feared that the disruption could adversely affect their trade over the busy Christmas period.

Balfour Beatty's partners in the scheme - Liverpool City Council, Merseytravel and Liverpool Vision - aim to create a world class city centre that balances the needs of cars, public transport and pedestrians.

Primarily a road safety project, the contract involves pedestrian crossing improvements, the widening of footways and the construction of a flush central reservation down the middle of Berry Street allowing pedestrians to cross safely.

Dave Boyer, Liverpool City Council’s Highways Manager, said: “We have consulted widely on all the schemes included in CCMS and our decision to delay the works on Renshaw and Berry Streets shows that we are listening to the needs of the business community."