Liverpool’s mayor is green-lighting nondescript buildings at the expense of the very things that make the city great, writes John Keogh

I read with dismay Oliver Wainwright’s article (Fall from grace, 1 July) describing how Liverpool is in danger of losing its world heritage site status. Liverpool’s mayor, Joe Anderson, remarked that people don’t come to Liverpool to see the certificate on his office wall, and he is correct, people don’t come to Liverpool to see the certificate – they come to see, amongst other things, the architecture that world heritage status protects.

People visit cities like Liverpool because they want to see a culture and place that is different to the one they left behind. If development is left unchecked, the city will become a bland place of nondescript buildings and international retail chains, and it is organisations like Unesco and English Heritage that exist to prevent this.

Liverpool was once a beautiful Victorian/Edwardian city, but since the second world war, planners and developers have done more damage than the Luftwaffe – and many buildings with strong links to Liverpool’s belle époque have disappeared for no other reason than they were cheaper to replace than maintain.

When Liverpool won European capital of culture in 2008, it was because of its strong sense of place and identity. If Anderson continues to be swept along on a wave of ill-considered developments he may help destroy the very things that make Liverpool great.

John Keogh

Liverpool

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