On Tuesday 27 September, the Branch Committee attended a site visit to the new ferry terminal at Pier Head in Liverpool. The event was by arranged by Branch Chairman, Mike Peet, and was hosted by Merseytravel, who also made the detailed arrangements for the visit. 

 

Shane Fitzpatrick and Brian Kerr, both of Merseytravel, provided a detailed presentation on the background and history to ferry operations at Pier Head and also explained the development and construction of the new facility. 

 

 

Photographs dating back to 1885 showed ferry operations at Pier Head. Changes to the ferry terminal layout and adjacent areas were also outlined over a number of decades. 

 

The Branch Committee also learned of the various design concepts that were developed for the facility and the challenges that these options posed. After considerable discussions and negotiations with a number of parties the design that has now been constructed was finally agreed. Constructing the facility presented a challenge since Merseytravel and their contractors only had access to quite a restricted site due to other projects being constructed at the same time (public realm improvements and the canal alignment works). 

 

 

The building not only operates as a ferry terminal but also has a number of uses (bar, restaurant, cafÇ, tourist attraction and 4D cinema). After the presentation the Committee went on a tour of the building to gain a greater appreciation of the size, scale and design features of the project. 

 

The Branch Committee enjoyed their visit to the facility and being able to learn how the project was conceived, developed and constructed. 

 

Merseytravel put on a very interesting and well organised and the Branch Committee appreciates and is pleased that Merseytravel were able to facilitate the site visit.