sceneOCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011The newsletter for businesses and employees in the City Central BID area

Win a fibre opticChristmas Tree

Aspiring actresstakes centre stagefor PlayhouseCentenary.

Major developmentson way forCity Central’slandmark square.

Mathew Streetwelcomesnew musicalresidents.

Light up yourhome or office,with this Rapidcompetition.

Employee ofthe Month

New look forWilliamson Square

Singing Bin hitsthe right note!

what’sinside

thisissue

Liverpool’s biggestever mystery shopsurvey hasrevealed customersatisfaction is at arecord level.

The survey, commissioned byCity Central BID, wasconducted across 178businesses during July andAugust with the city scoringan overall rating at 82.1% –compared to 79.8% when the

first survey took place in2009 when just 95 storeswere shopped.Equally shops that scoredbelow 50% has dropped to arecord low with just 1 in 20achieving a poor rating –

compared to 1 in 10 last year.Of those assessed 16companies scored top marks– and a record 52 scoredabove 90%, all of which werehonoured at an awardsceremony in The Athenaeum.

This year’s mystery shopexercise also assessed the citycentre’s lunchtime offeringfor the first time – with someexcellent results.Turn to page 3 for moredetails.

Mystery shoppers givethumbs up to Liverpool

First-class: Mystery shop winnersshow off their awards.

The western side ofWilliamson Square isundergoing a multi-millionpound major overhaul.

Work is to start in Novemberon a 15,000 sq ft newdevelopment at the rearof M&S to create 3 newretail units on the formerStoniers building.

The three-storey development,undertaken by M&S, is totake 12 months, with the two

top storeys let for commercialoffice space.

On the other side of TarletonStreet the unit formerly let toSayers is to open as a newItalian deli – P&D Deli.

P&D are Paolo and DonatoCillo, whose family runbusiness will specialise inhome made pizza, cakes andice cream. It is expected toopen mid-November and willsee the stylish eaterie

(pictured above) operate ontwo levels.

The dining offer in this areahas been boosted bynewcomers Patisserie Valeriewith an Italian restaurant alsocoming to Metquarter in thenew year.

The M&S development will bethe third multi-million poundinvestment in City Central, withForever 21 and Mere Park toboth complete in 2013.

For somepeople, theirjob is alabour oflove.For dramagraduate andaspiring

actress Sarah Kelly, working frontof house at Liverpool Playhouseis exactly that.And this year she’s found herselfplaying a pivotal role – not onthe stage – but on the theatre’scentenary celebrations onFriday 11 November.Her main task has been tosource the theatre’s archivesfrom Liverpool Record Office –with the added obstacle that it’srelocated! – to produce amassive photo-gallery insidethe Williamson Square venue.And she’s done so while meetingthe challenge of managing extraproductions with the closure ofthe Everyman.She say’s it’s been a highlight ofher job, which began in 2003just months after graduating inLondon and Liverpool winningthe race to be Capital of Culturein ’08.Sarah, 31, said: “It’s been aprivilege and a pleasure to trawlthrough the archives. It wasfascinating to see how much haschanged, and how much hasn’t!”And it’s this enthusiasm for thejob which has seen Sarahrightfully chosen as City Central’sEmployee of the Month.Gemma Bodinetz, ArtisticDirector of the Everyman andPlayhouse said: “The phrase“nothing is too much for her”may be overused but it socompletely defines Sarah’scommitment, energy, skill andgood humour. Every organisationshould have a Sarah Kelly.”

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Employee ofthe Month:Sarah Kelly

As City Central Employeeof the Month, Sarahhas won:A meal for two at Ask Italianin Queen Square; A souvenirSuperlambanana; and abottle of Ralph Lauren‘Romance’ from Boots inClayton Square

Do you know a colleaguewho deserves to beCity Central Employee ofthe Month? If so, email:citycentre.pr@liverpool.gov.ukor call us on 0151 233 2213.

New Look forWilliamson Square

Metquarter is set toundergo a radicaltransformation as a resultof securing three newinternational brands.The cult fashion andhomeware name Jack Willshas signed a ten year leaseon over 10,000 sq ft of spacein the upper and lower malls.Meanwhile, Illasmasqua –the fastest growing Britishbeauty brand ever – willtake 1,000 sq ft over thesame period.Illamasqua’s celebrityfollowing includes Courtney

Love, Beth Ditto and LadyGaga. Their new Metquarterstore will be the firststandalone outside London.Both Jack Wills andIllamasqua are expected to beopen for business by the startof November. A high profileItalian restaurant will openits doors early in 2012.Centre Manager JenninaO’Neill said: “This is anincredible development interms of regeneration forMetquarter and great newsfor Liverpool. The nature ofthe unique high quality

brands that we have securedmeans visitors will enjoy acompletely new experience atthe centre.“These brands were notpreviously available in the cityand the fact that they havechosen to base themselves atMetquarter is a hugeendorsement for us. This newssignals an exciting new era forMetquarter and we are reallylooking forward to the lead upto Christmas this year.”

IN BRIEFA big hearted CityCentral welcome to:The Masonic Apartment/Hotel – Bold StreetIchiban – Bold StreetOMG – Clayton SquareShopping Centre

Respect weekMerseysidePolice is toco-ordinate aRespect Week inthe city centre.

The event will target anti-socialissues such as aggressivebegging to street drinking andhighlight how partners areworking together to make the citycentre safe.Respect Week will run fromTuesday-Friday, 1-4 Novemberwith activities focussing in andaround Church Street.

Liverpool hiddengem to re-open

A 1,200capacityperformancespace is toopen in one of

Liverpool’s hidden gems.The Dome, situated in GrandCentral on Renshaw Street,will officially re-open its doorsin November. The new venue in the Grade 2listed building will provide amixed genre of live performancesfrom touring bands, theatre,stand-up comedy andvariety nights.For more information:www.domegrandcentral.com

Plaque unveiledin memory oflegendary Liszt

A plaquecelebrating the200th birthdayof legendarycomposer

Franz Liszt has been unveiledat The Playhouse Theatre.The Hungarian maestroperformed at Liverpool'sTheatre Royal in WilliamsonSquare on 1 December 1840,and the plaque commemoratesthe concert.UNESCO had declared 2011Franz Liszt year because of hiscontribution to classical musicwith many of his tunes used infilms such as Fantasia to WhoFramed Roger Rabbit?

City Centre Marshalled Taxi RanksVisitors to the city centre’snight time economy can nowbenefit from a ‘marshalled’taxi rank service.The scheme is aimedspecifically around the

Matthew Street andStanley Street areas to helpthe public leave the city centrequickly and safely.Commissioned by Citysafe,the scheme uses SecurityIndustry Authority (SIA) traineduniformed staff to allowpeople to catch licensedvehicles in a controlled andsafe environment.Each marshall will be indirect contact with the CCTVcontrol room, the police

and the pubs and clubs.The location of the taxi rank isVictoria Street (corner ofStanley Street) and will operatebetween midnight and4.00 a.m. every Friday andSaturday evening.A secondary rank within thecity centre will also be supportedby the service. The location ofwhich will depend on demand.■ For more info contactSandra.roscoe@liverpool.gov.uk

Hat-trick of new brandsfor Metquarter

IN BRIEF

To celebrate the UKlaunch of the WorldHostCustomer Service Trainingprogramme, City CentralBID has teamed up withAcademy ONE in Liverpoolto offer retailers two freeplaces on the course.Fresh from pushing Canadato number one in theworld for its visitor welcome,for the Winter Olympics,the WorldHost programmehas been launched justweeks after City Centralannounced its mysteryshop results.

Hanover Street basedAcademy ONE – the soleprovider of WorldHosttraining in the Liverpool cityregion – will be runningthree programmes:Principles of CustomerService, Sales Powered byService and FrontlineManagement Solutions.Each is designed to help

businesses gain acompetitive edge, andemployers can choose totake part in one, or all of themasterclasses, dependingon their individual needs.Lorna Dainton, visitoreconomy sector lead atAcademy ONE, said:“WorldHost training is aproven means of improvingthe customer service skillsand hospitality techniquesto frontline visitor economystaff – this in turn willhelp businesses toimprove their bottom line.”

City Central BID memberscan win two free places onthe Principles of CustomerService training simply byresponding in email to:mike.doran@liverpool.gov.uk– closing date for entriesis 30 November.

■ For more informationon the WorldHostCustomer ServiceTraining programmescontact Lorna Daintonat Academy ONE on0151 650 1462.

Eight out of ten people loveLiverpool’s lunchtime offer.That’s according to thefirst ever lunchtimemystery shop in the CityCentral district.A total of 30 diningestablishments were visitedand scored an average of77% – with six scoring above90% and the best beingNandos in Queen Square,which scored 95.5%.But the company whomanaged the survey says citycentral businesses could becollectively earninghundreds of thousands ofpounds more each year

through training on salestechnique alone.Storecheckers, whichassessed the quality ofcustomer service across anumber of factors, found thatthe weakest field was thetechnique of up selling andbasic communications suchas telling the customer theylook forward to their return.Jeff Caplan, ManagingDirector of Storecheckers,said: “This year’s surveyshows shoppers are receivinga good overall experience butwhat struck us is that inareas where stores couldextract more custom is being

overlooked which makes abig impact at the till.”Star performers were –Miltons and David MRobinson – who bothreceived the accolade‘Overall Store of the Year’for scoring 100% for secondyear running.Also singled out for praisewas Rapid, as the bestimproved independentretailer – going from 35% in2010 to 100% in 2011.A special mention also toluggage shop Looks, onBold Street, which scoredjust 43% in 2009 and scored100% this year.

Clarkes butchers onRichmond Street wonBest Food retailer with a94.5% score.Next on Church Streetscooped Best Improvednational retailer award bygoing from a very poor 13%last year to an excellentrating of 87%.Ged Gibbons, Chief Executiveof City Central BID, said:“With Storecheckers we’llbe supporting our membersto take advantage of thetraining opportunitiesavailable to them andhelp push standardsever higher.”

The bin, which sings‘Thank U very much…for binning your litter’, ispart of a national anti-litter campaignsupported by CityCentral BID.A UK first, the bin was‘christened’ by ex-Scaffoldsinger Mike McCartneywho re-recorded his classic1967 hit to promote the‘Love Where You Live’campaign led by KeepBritain Tidy.The singing bin is theopening chapter of CityCentral’s role as anambassador of LoveWhere You Live, and wasconceived after hearingthat a talking bin trial in

Scandanavia filled upthree times more quicklythan a conventional bin.Two versions of the singingbin are on Mathew Street,one opposite The Cavernnext to the city’s WorldCapital of Pop Wall ofFame which hosts 56 No1records including TheScaffold’s 1968 No 1 hitLily The Pink.Mike McCartney, whosefather was a bin inspectorin Liverpool city centreafter WWII, said: “I loveLiverpool and I just lovethe idea of the singingbin. It’s a fun approach toa serious issue andsometimes being quirky iswhat’s needed to make

people stop and think. If ithelps keep this veryspecial part of the citycentre clean then I’ll bevery happy.”City Central BID will alsobe calling on members tomake a pledge to supportthe campaign over thenext 12 months and apublicity campaign willbegin on 14 Novemberfeaturing city centrebusinesses stating theirlove for a clean Liverpool.There will also be ameeting on 2 Novemberwith Keep Britain Tidy andco-ambassador and sisterBID, The CommercialDistrict, to develop plansfor 2012.

Demolition date setThe date forthe first phaseof a multi-million poundcity centre

development has been set.Demolition will begin on Tuesday,10 January of the key site at thecorner of Whitechapel andChurch Street to pave the way forthe new Forever 21 store.The 46,000 sq ft landmark retailunit, which will be set over fivefloors, is scheduled to open inNovember 2013.

ApprenticeshipOpportunities

LiverpoolChamber ofCommerce isoffering a freerecruitment

service to help you growyour business.They can provide City Centralmembers with skilled,enthusiastic apprentices tostrengthen your workforce,costing you just £2.60 anhour (£105 per 40-hourweek maximum).Candidates with level 2 and 3qualifications in BusinessAdministration, Retail, CustomerServices and IT User/Practitionerare available and the schemehas a 89% achievement rate forsuch apprentices.For further info contact0151 224 1869 recruitment@liverpool chamber.org.uk

Special fund-raisingvariety night

The MarriotHotel is to hosta specialfund-raisingvariety night

on Friday 25 November.Guests can expect a belly fullof laughter from comedianCrissy Rock, star from TV showBenidorm. Then dance thenight away with Gemma and theGem Stones, ending the nightwith smooth Motown singerChris Browne, all of this with aglass of bubbly and a table topbuffet for just £30 per person.(Tables are of 10 or 11).VIP tables available too at£50 per person, for all of theabove with front row seats,4 bottles of wine on table anda goody bag each.For tickets call Sue on07595 029150www.walkingwithgiants.org

Mystery shop thumbs up continued

WIN free customer service training

Bin hits the right note!Mathew Street has a new resident – in the form of a singing bin!

Firstly, choose the rightspace for your tree, ensuringyou have plenty of room tomove around it and spreadthe baubles and lights evenly.Start at the bottom andwork your way up ensuringthat each branch is fullyextended and until you getthe desired shape you want.Choose your lights ina colour that matches yourkey baubles and ornaments,

that way they enhancerather than look clutteredand misplaced.Plug the lights in and start atthe bottom of the tree,weaving your lights in and outof the branches, placingthem in the centre of eachbranch. By doing this you willhardly see any wire and youwill see more of the lights.Place the larger decorationson the tree first after the

lights are on, it will give yourtree a more balanced lookand make it easier to placesmaller decorations.Don’t fill your tree with toomany decorations; you willlose the shape of the tree.And finally place your treetopper at the top of your tree,switch off your house lightsand stand back and admireyour beautiful tree.Happy decorating!

Win a 4ft fibre opticChristmas tree plus a VIPfamily visit to Santa’s Grottocourtesy of Rapid.Rapid has been a family rundepartment store since 1971,originally based in RenshawStreet, now located in the formerJohn Lewis Building located atWilliamson Square, in the heartof the city centre. On the 1st floor you will find acomprehensive range offurniture, floor coverings and topbrand quality carpets.The Linen Warehouse is locatedon the 2nd floor, offering asuperb range of curtains,cushions, bedroom linens etc. The 3rd floor has all you need tomake the perfect Christmas withthe best indoor and outdoordecorations around.Santa’s Grotto is returningagain this year on the4th floor, from 5 Novemberto 24 December.Entry, Santa and Gift – £5.Entry only, 60p.To enter into the prize draw,answer this question.What floor in Rapid will youfind the Christmasdecorations?All you have to do is text theanswer to: 0780 145 3918.Deadline for entries is 5pm,Friday 11 November.

Clayton Square may be amodern day shrine ofglass and steel but it has ahuge amount of history –with connections to ashrine of a different order.The story begins with a MrWilliam Clayton; collieryowner, Mayor in 1689 andMP for Liverpool from1698-1714. He left his landand fortune to his daughterSarah Clayton, who laid outthe first square and someof the surrounding streetsin 1775.Leigh Street is named afterElizabeth Leigh, Sarah’smother, while Cases Street,Houghton Street and ParkerStreet are named after hersisters’ husbands. Madam

Clayton’s house stood wherethe present Clas Olson storeis now situated.In 1822 the first of manychanges to the Square tookplace when Elliot Street wascut through from LimeStreet. By 1860 Gore’sLiverpool Directory listsfive hotels in the Square;Feathers, Neptune,London, Brunswick andTemperance Hotel.Madam Clayton’s house wasnow Clayton Hall and beingused as a concert hall.Reconstructed in 1861 itthen opened as the Prince ofWales Theatre which by thelate 1800s/early 1900sanimated pictures werebeing advertised. Later the

theatre was converted to apicture house and becamethe News Theatre showingnews reels, cartoons andtravelogues.More change came in 1922when Owen Owen built adepartment store on whatwas the site of the FeathersHotel and Neptune Hotel(the present site of Tesco). Inthe 1960s the opposite sidewas demolished to makeway for St Johns Market.The News Theatre eventuallybecame the Jacey cinema,gaining an unsavouryreputation for showing downmarket films. The Jaceyclosed in 1972 and thebuilding reopened as TheShrine of the Blessed

Sacrament. After a publicenquiry in 1985, the last ofthe remaining Georgian/Victorian buildings weredemolished.The Shrine moved to itspresent location in DawsonStreet and the current dayshopping mall was built;opened by Princess Annein 1988.

HHHStar Event HHHComing up...

City Central BID, c/o Rapid, Williamson Square, Liverpool L1 1EATel: 0151 233 2213 Fax: 0151 233 2218 www.citycentralbid.comEmail your latest news, views and pictures to: mike.doran@liverpool.gov.ukYou can now follow City Central on and

Send usyour views TM

Terry AllenLocal Historian and Directorof Terry’s Liverpool Walks

• The LadykillersLiverpool Playhouse3-19 November

• Christmas GrottoRapid, 4th floor5 November - 24 December

• EVERYWORD Festival 2011Liverpool Playhouse7-19 November

• Arts & Crafts FairLeaf, Bold Street: 13 November

• Art Lids WonderlandClayton Square: EveryThursday, Friday, Saturday –24 November – 17 December

• Christmas MarketLord Street, Church Street,Whitechapel24 November – 22 December

6pm, Church Street and Paradise Place,Wednesday, 9 November

Liverpool’s countdown toChristmas begins with theswitching on of its biggest everfestive lights display.Glowing under a whole new designwith several new areas illuminated,

this year’s lights are a real team effort with CityCentral, the council and Liverpool One all workingtogether on them for the first time.Liverpool’s Christmas will also be awash with events –many of which inspired by the Alice in WonderlandExhibition at Tate Liverpool, including City Central’sCurious Garden in Williamson Square.See next issue of Scene for more details.

Terry’s times past

• Little Scouse on the PrairieRoyal Court25 November to 7 JanuaryEvening shows only

• Winter WonderlandSimulatorChurch Street26 November – 8 January

• Live ReindeersQueen SquareEvery Thursday– 1, 8, 15 & 22 December

• Curious GardenWilliamson Square1 December – 5 January

• Coca Cola Christmas truckClayton Square2-3 December

Trophy timefor green teamLiverpool will be lifting atrophy in November.No, not the football team – buta team of City Central retailersand partners for their work onthe Big Go and Grow schoolseco project.Representatives from St JohnsShopping Centre, Arriva, CityCouncil, City Central BID andJuice FM will be receiving theprestigious Green Apple Awardin the House of Commons at aglittering prize giving ceremonyon Monday, 14 November.

Christmas Lights Switch On

How to have the perfect Christmas Treeby Rapid’s festivethird floor

WINA FIBRE OPTIC

CHRISTMASTREE!

COMPETITIONH H