Liverpool has formally secured more than £2m towards supporting outdoor dining in the city as the hospitality sector tries to recover from the pandemic.
Liverpool Council’s cabinet swiftly approved the acceptance of the grant of £2.3m from the combined authority this morning in order to assist with the continuation of the Without Walls programme.
The initial scheme last year saw major city roads such as Castle Street, Bold Street and Lark Lane shut to traffic to allow businesses to operate outside in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A report to councillors previously said that more than 150 businesses were helped by the scheme.
The funding will see the creation of two new roles to oversee this year’s rollout and attempt to remedy some issues with the temporary nature of the current infrastructure.
The cabinet report had warned that the scheme could fail this year unless changes to the city’s highways were made to adapt to the scheme.
The report said: “The roll out will fail if there is not a better solution to adapt the public highways to support accessible solutions and address the current issues that have been created by the temporary nature of the infrastructure.
“The success of the scheme is based upon ensuring a long-term infrastructure installation, as well as ownership and responsibility from those businesses and communities who will benefit from it.”
Funding is also set to be given to the other five boroughs in the city region, with all of them set to share findings.
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