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Council officials are launching a new bid to improve the iconic Mathew Street and the Cavern Quarter in a bid to grow Beatles tourism in Liverpool.

The Beatles legacy already brings in thousands of tourists and millions of pounds every year. But the city council reckons that the city could do more with the Fab Four’s legacy to create more wealth and jobs locally.

The Cavern Quarter is a must-visit for Beatles fans but its popularity as a nightlife spot means it can be intimidating to visitors at night and can be dirty and unwelcoming the morning after. Some of the narrow streets leading into it can be dark and unwelcoming.

Just last month the ECHO reported that tour guides were considering telling visitors to avoid Mathew Street at weekends, saying it was “more like Benidorm than Liverpool”.

So now Liverpool council wants to create a masterplan for the area to make it more welcoming and open to visitors of all ages all day long.

The Cavern Quarter Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF), which is set to be approved by Mayor Joe Anderson and his cabinet next week, could give the council more control of buildings in and around Mathew Street. It would even give the council compulsory purchase powers in the Cavern Quarter area, which sits between Victoria Street, North John Street, Lord Street and Stanley Street.

(Image: Jason Roberts)

The masterplan, which will go out to public consultation in the autumn, will follow the recommendations of an independent panel that in 2016 carried out a review of the Mathew Street area.

It recommended:

* A more diverse mix of complimentary uses of buildings that operate 24 hours a day

* An enhanced and more coordinated Beatles tourism offer with new visitor attractions and information/interpretation points

* The redevelopment of derelict, under-used and undesirable sites

* A comprehensive public art strategy for the ‘Cavern Quarter’

* A way-finding strategy to make the ‘Cavern Quarter’ more legible and permeable

* Active ground floor uses of buildings in the area) to create a more vibrant and inviting environment

* Create a more defined and usable public open space

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A 2016 report commissioned by the council showed The Beatles’ legacy helped support more than 2,300 jobs in Liverpool and added more than £80m to the city’s economy every year. It also showed Liverpool’s Beatles-linked economy was growing at between 5% and 15% a year.

The Cavern Club attracts 800,000 visitors a year and some 80% of visitors to the Hard Day’s Night Hotel, in the Cavern Quarter, are international.

Overall hotel occupancy rates in Liverpool remain high, with recent council figures showing the number of hotel rooms across the city is set to grow by 14% to more than 9,300 over the next two years.

Mayor Anderson said: “The Beatles are known the world over and not just by those who grew up with them, new audiences are discovering their music all the time and wanting to learn about the bands roots.

“The fact is we have a good Beatles tourism offer but it’s not at the level it could and should be – one that has a world class wow factor that reflects the band’s timeless genius and global impact.

“A lot of progress has been made in the past decade and this new masterplan will seek to build on that and give us the tools to enhance the 24 hour appeal of the area around The Cavern and Mathew Street.

“This is a unique opportunity to establish an experience no other city can offer and one which will sustain thousands of jobs in the hotel, retail and hospitality sectors for generations to come.”

The mayor has also created a Beatles Legacy group to try to boost the Beatles sector in the city.