ALBERT DOCK MDC REGENERATION Albert Dock, Liverpool Lancashire England

The MDC and regeneration of the Albert Dock

The creation of the Merseyside Development Corporation (MDC) in 1981 was part of a new initiative launched by the then Conservative government that earmarked the regeneration of some 800 acres (3.2 km²) of Liverpool's south docks, by using public sector investment to create infrastructure within an area that could then in turn be used to attract private sector investment. Thus the MDC was not directly responsible for regeneration programmes but rather acted as a spearhead, guiding the development process. Upon its formation it immediately created an initial strategy for the area placing a high priority on restoring those buildings that could be restored & demolishing the rest, restoring a water regime within the dock system (including the removal of up to 40 ft (12 m) of silt) and general environmental landscaping. As part of the strategy two flagship schemes were set up: the redevelopment of a site in Otterspool for the International Garden Festival and the regeneration of the Albert Dock.^[27]

In 1982 the MDC entered into negotiations with London-based developers Arrowcroft in order to secure much needed private sector investment. On a visit to the site, Arrowcroft's chairman Leonard Eppel spoke of how the buildings "talked to him" and upon his return to London set about persuading the company's board to take on the project.^[28] In September 1983 a deal was signed between Arrowcroft plc and the MDC leading to the creation of the Albert Dock Company, which could now start the process of regenerating the Albert Dock.^[29]

The former Dock Office was for many years the home of Granada Television

One of the first priorities of the regeneration was the restoration of the dock system, which had deteriorated rapidly since the Brunswick Dock gates had been left open. Contaminated silt was removed from the dock basin, dock gates were replaced & bridges restored, whilst the dock walls were repaired.^[30] The Albert Dock company appointed Tarmac to renovate the dock's vast warehouses and repair war time bomb damage.^[31] Structural surveys carried out by the MDC found the brickwork and foundations to be in very good condition and it was considered a testament to the strict build quality of Hartley's design that a building almost 150 years old was still in such good condition.^[30]

Development within the Albert Dock was rapid and the newly renovated Edward Pavilion (formally north east stack) was ready in time for the 1984 Cutty Sark tall ships race. The race was a big success for the city with over one million visitors into Liverpool over a period of four days, of which 160,000 visited the Albert Dock. In total it is estimated that the two flagship regeneration schemes of the MDC, the tall ships race and International Garden Festival, attracted over 3.5 million visitors to Liverpool in 1984. Also completed in 1984 was the renovation of the dock traffic office, which was fitted out and leased to Granada Television.^[32]

The floating weather map of the British Isles, from ITV's This Morning

Spurred by the success of the tall ships race and the International Garden Festival, Arrowcroft pushed on with the Albert Dock's renovation. With the Edward Pavilion refurbishment a success soon the company started on the Britannia and Atlantic pavilions (formally the south and south east stacks), the latter of which required major structural repairs because of bomb damage it received during World War II. In 1986 the Merseyside Maritime Museum completed its move into the Albert Dock, having moved some exhibitions into the building in 1984. The museum, developed by Merseyside County Council had previously been located in the pilotage building and a salvage shed nearby.^[29] Also in 1986 work began on the largest of the dock warehouses, the Colonnades (formally west stack). Ground floor shops were created with office space on the mezzanine level and apartments on the remaining floors. The first 37 of these apartments were completed by 1988 and the speed with which they sold was likened to 'sales day at Harrods'.^[33]

The Albert Dock was officially re-opened in 1988 by Prince Charles,^[34] the great, great, great grandson of Prince Albert, the man who had originally opened the docks.^[35] It was timed to coincide with the opening of the newly finished Tate Liverpool, which was dubbed the 'Tate of the north' and at the time the only one outside of London.^[36] The decision to locate a Tate gallery in Liverpool was seen as a major success for the city, as it made Liverpool home to the National Collection of modern art in the North of England.^[37]

In 1988 ITV's new morning television show This Morning, hosted by Richard and Judy, began broadcasting from a studio inside the Albert Dock. As part of the show weather presenter Fred Talbot used a floating map of the British Isles to report the forecast.^[38] Two years later in 1990 The Beatles Story museum opened, the only Beatles themed visitor attraction in the world, providing yet another draw to the Albert Dock.^[34]

Throughout the 1990s development continued including a new hotel and the conversion of vacant space for use by larger companies such as Telewest (Now Virgin Media).^[39] Finally in 2003, some 22 years after the renovation of the Albert Dock started, the last remaining undeveloped space was brought into use with the opening of a new Premier Lodge hotel in the Britannia Pavilion.^[34]