Although I live in Croydon I am pleased to call Liverpool my Home, home is where the heart is. My Dad lives in Edge Hill less than 2 miles from town and I visit frequently. Whilst on the subject of cranes Liverpool City Centre has it's fair share at the moment, not news perhaps for the locals but:
Grosvenor's plans for a £750m Paradise Street development
THESE pictures show for the first time how Liverpool is changing like never before.
Each picture tells the story of ongoing development on a scale unimaginable only a decade ago.
At the heart of this urban renaissance is Grosvenor's sprawling Liverpool One site.
A cog on which Liverpool's retail sector will soon turn, Liverpool One may currently be little more than a 42-acre building site but by 2008 it will be one of the biggest retail developments in Europe.
Seen from the sky, the scale of Liverpool One is breathtaking. Eleven mammoth cranes are towering over hundreds of construction workers. (I counted 17 on May 24th 2007).
Roadworks and traffic jams in the Big Dig may be a bitter medicine to swallow now.
But in the long-term the dream is that Liverpool is doing the kind of work which will close the door on decades of decline and open up a new vista to prosperity.
Liverpool has, of course, enjoyed eras of growth and prosperity before - but never on this scale.
Liverpool council historian Steve Binns believes the Big Dig represents the most intense and significant period of development in the city's history.
He says: "Even if we look back to Liverpool's golden era in the 19th century, there has never been such a concentration of investment and development. We really are witnessing history in the making."
Not everyone is convinced, of course.
Critics have continually questioned all aspects of the Big Dig and will, justifiably, continue to do so.
Doubts have been expressed and fingers pointed at Liverpool's recent inability to shift major projects from the drawing board to the ground.
But the Big Dig is one major project which is undoubtedly happening.
Liverpool One is just one element of an enormous £3bn programme to transport the city centre from here to modernity.
The long-awaited Kings Dock Arena provides the most telling evidence of the progress that has already been made.
From 500ft in the air it is already an impressive sight, even though it remains 15 months away from completion. (A trip up to the roof of the Anglican Cathederal might be worth a look for some ariel views!)
Liverpool is changing like never before. Of that there can be no doubt.
Paradise Project, Completion date: Summer 2008, but earlier for certain parts of project, Cost: £900m
The scale of Grosvenor's Liverpool One development is enormous - 42 acres, six districts, more than 1.6m sq ft of shopping space, gardens and parks, public spaces, hotels and 600 apartments.
Below is a link to the Masterplan page which details the project:
