Liverpool Lime Street: Firm's collapse prompts review of revamp

Work on Lime Street and St George's Plateau was due to be completed in December

The redevelopment of one of Liverpool's main routes could be redesigned after the scheme's contractor collapsed.

NMCN, the principal contractor behind the multi-million pound redesign of Lime Street and St George's Plateau, went into administration on Tuesday.

Liverpool's mayor and cabinet agreed to review the revamp after an emergency motion was put to council.

Critics have argued the current plan disconnects the city's main train station from all bus routes.

The redesign of one of the city's key gateways has proved controversial, been subject to delays and has run significantly over budget.

The work, which began in October 2020, is part of Liverpool's £47m City Centre Connectivity Scheme.

'Opportunity to reflect'

The scheme set out to see Lime Street reduced to a single lane of traffic in each direction, with a cycle lane and wider pavement added and St George's Plateau extended.

Councillor Dan Barrington said the collapse of NMCN "provided an opportunity to reflect on the design around Lime Street", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Barrington, the council's cabinet member for highways, transport and climate change, said he had "asked our interim highways director to carry out an urgent review of the design".

A number of councillors had raised concerns about the effect of the current designs on bus routes, with many residents saying it made the city centre less accessible.

Interim highways director Karen Agbabiaka said she had flagged a number of concerns about the scheme when she arrived in the summer and had been closely monitoring the situation.

Mayor Joanne Anderson confirmed she and her team will look again at the plans. 

Nottinghamshire-based firm NMCN, which was previously known as North Midland Construction, had been due to complete the work in December.

It is not immediately clear how significant the impact of the review will be on the reopening of Lime Street, which was scheduled for 2022.

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