The city of Liverpool should formally recognise the Stanley
Street area as its gay quarter, according to a new council
study.
The report, which will be presented to councillors next week,
recommends that the area - including Eberle Street and Cumberland
Street - be registered as the centre-point of the gay community in
a bid to boost tourism and encourage spending.
The news comes as Liverpool prepares to host its official Pride
celebration, this weekend.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Cllr Nick Small said: "This is a
very important piece of work on how the Stanley Street Quarter can
develop in the future.
"It shows that the quarter can play an important role in the
economic development of the city as a whole by attracting more
tourists and visitors to the city. Other cities such as Brighton,
Manchester and Birmingham have reaped the economic benefits of
similar quarters and Stanley Street has the potential to more than
match them.
"Stanley Street is a vibrant area but it has nowhere near
reached its full potential. The proposals set out in this report
have many interesting and original ideas about how its appeal can
be extended and how it can be prompted.
"We now need to look at what is achievable and how best we can
go about that. What is important is that we have the support of the
various interests in the area about how we go forward."
Other recommendations in the report include opening a gay hotel
and demolishing a building to create a public, community
square.
The full report will be made available on the city council's
website.
