Liverpool council approves largest green wall outside of London
A giant living wall, part of a global effort to increase green space in city centres, has been approved by Liverpool City Council.
The installation, one of the largest outside of London, will stretch across the outside of the upper floor of St Johns Shopping Centre, visible from the pedestrianised areas around it and from Queens Square Bus Station.
The 50m long green wall is funded through the EU Horizon 2020 project “Urban GreenUP” and is one of several green projects that are set to get underway in the city, which recently declared a Climate Emergency, over the next six months.
Liverpool’s Urban GreenUP programme has been awarded nearly £3.5m of European funding to tackle issues such as biodiversity, flooding, climate change, air quality and health and wellbeing through ‘nature-based solutions’.
St Johns’ centre manager, Neil Ashcroft, said: “At St Johns Shopping Centre we are always seeking ways to bring wider benefits to the communities we serve. Green space in city centres plays an important role in improving physical and mental health, as well as improving air quality. With a clear aspiration to install a living wall at the Centre, we did our research and partnered with the Mersey Forest team to make it happen. We have worked hard with landlords, tenants and partners to drive this ground-breaking project forward and it is great to see this important milestone reached.”
Clare Olver from the Mersey Forest Team welcomed the approval. “This approval means we are on track to have what will be the city’s largest green wall installed by Christmas. The green wall will be good for air quality, biodiversity, adapting to climate change and for business. There is good evidence that greener areas attract more footfall and that people tend to spend more time shopping in greener areas.”
