Bus station signals start of £920m shopping paradise
LIVERPOOL'S new Paradise Street public transport inter-change opened yesterday, heralding the first major scheme to be completed as part of Grosvenor's £920m redevelopment in the city centre.
The big test will come this morning when thousands of city-centre bound commuters start to get used to the shake-up in bus travel.
The completion of the interchange, with a dedicated travel centre as well as the nearby multi-storey car park, is a triumph for Grosvenor's technical director, Bill Allen.
The completion of the interchange and car park means that Grosvenor has now spent £200m on the Paradise Street Development Area project.
It also means that the scheme is 30% through its 44-month long contract project, and everything is on time.
Mr Allen, who originally trained as an NHS dentist and worked in the profession for two years, gave up drilling teeth for major civil engineering projects.
He joined Grosvenor after working as senior project manager on the highly-successful redevelopment of Birmingham's Bullring.
Last night he said: "It has been a tight schedule in Liverpool but everything has worked well and we are on schedule.
"We needed to finish the interchange and the multi-storey car park because we have to remove the old Paradise Street bus station and NCP car park as soon as possible."
The Yorkshire born surveyor is responsible for ensuring Grosvenor's projects remain on target, from design stage to completion.
"I joined Grosvenor 18 months ago and was delighted to come to Liverpool which is one of the most exciting places in the country in which to work.
"The completion of the first projects does not mean we can relax. We will start demolition work as soon as possible in
Paradise Street and in February we will hand over the new BBC studios in Hanover Street so they can be fitted out by engineers, ready for opening later in 2006.
"Grosvenor's Paradise Street project is the biggest scheme I have worked on, and far different from my original profession as a dentist. I gave that up after two years when I decided I wanted a career change.
"I then qualified as a surveyor and it is a job I really enjoy. Working in Liverpool is a bonus. The place is so beautiful and the people are so friendly."
Grosvenor project director Rod Holmes said: "We are delighetd to have Bill Allen as part of our team. He has done a first-rate job in making sure everything is on time."
By Larry Neild, Daily Post
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