Baltic Creative named board to lead £5.2m development plan
The new body leading the £5.2m plan to transform Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle district into a creative quarter has appointed a manager and board of directors to push the project forward.
The Daily Post revealed last year that a new company called Baltic Creative was being formed to help transform the neglected area into a hub for creative and digital businesses.
The company, funded by the Northwest Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund, has bought four buildings and aims to transform them into accommodation for more than 60 businesses.
Now Baltic Creative has named Erika Rushton as chair of its board, with Mark Lawler as creative manager.
The other board members include Jayne Casey, the artistic director for the European Capital of Culture opening at St George’s Hall in 2008 and one of the best-known figures on Liverpool’s music scene.
Several creative organisations, including the New Picket music venue and Elevator Studios, are already based in the Baltic Triangle. If Baltic Creative proves a success, it could spark more development in an area seen as ripe for regeneration.
Merseyside ACME, the creative industries support body that is today part of Liverpool Vision, led the project to set up Baltic Creative.
ACME director Kevin McManus said: “There is already so much energy and enthusiasm in the creative sector in Liverpool, which is already making a significant contribution to both the city’s economy.
“This project will create another asset for the city, creating new jobs and levering in new investment. The vision is to support and increase the sector’s vibrancy by attracting new companies, new ideas and new connections for the sustainable future prosperity of the area.”
Ms Rushton is the enterprise director at housing association Plus Dane Group. She previously worked for Liverpool City Council, where she worked on projects including the creation of the Liverpool Digital technology industry campus.
Mr Lawler is a director and joint owner of the Animal store in Bold Street, Liverpool. Previously he led community projects for Neighbourhood Regeneration and Plus Dane Group.
As well as Ms Rushton and Ms Casey, Baltic Creative’s other board members are:
Fiona Armstrong Gibbs, fashion consultant and associate lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University;
James France, museums consultant and the first Keeper of Conservation to be appointed at National Museums Liverpool;
Anna Heyes, founder of Liverpool PR and marketing firm Active Profile;
Bill Maynard, former Liverpool managing director of developer Urban Splash;
Paul Rice, chief executive of Liverpool Commercial District Partnership;
Lynne Robertson, a business adviser specialising in the creative industries.
Ms Rushton said: “I am delighted the board members have agreed to join at the start of an exciting new chapter for the Baltic area. We will work closely with Mark to carry forward the vision of a dynamic successful creative hub in the heart of the city.”
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