News
Liverpool's gay quarter gathers pace...and press.
Published: 17/11/08
Liverpool's gay heritage the foundation for new plans.
Liverpool's proposed gay quarter encompasses the area around Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Victoria Street and Eberle Street, where the bulk of the cities gay bars and businesses are located.
According to last Thursday's Independent, Liverpool City Council, with the help of a European grant, is ready to give the green light to a pedestrianised scheme that will see traffic banned from the area around Stanley Street after 10pm on weekends.
Supporters of the scheme are hopeful that pedestrianising the area will encourage a kind of cafe society, and transform the area into Liverpool's answer to Manchester's lucrative gay village.
Steve Radford leader of the Liberal Party and co-chairman of the Gay Business Association, told the Independent that Liverpool harboured a 'rapid homophobia'. Earlier this year, Michael Causer from the cities Huyton area, died as a result of an alledged homophobic attack. While, a report by Stormbreak revealed that 6 out of every 10 LGBT people had experienced a homophobic crime in the city - nearly 12% higher than LGBT people surveyed in London.
Also, last year, the Liverpool Daily Post highlighted calls to councillors to consider banning evening traffic from Eberle Street, over fears that gay and lesbian people were being taunted, mainly by people driving cars along the narrow street. All of which support the calls for a pedestrianised area and a safe gay quarter.
However, the Independent was also quick to point out Liverpool's gay success stories, including the the cities queer arts festival Homotopia, which is currently in it's fifth year and dishing out it's most ambitious range of events to date, including an audience with April Ashley and a retrospective of Tom of Finland. The cities queer icons were also celebrated, people like: Holly Johnson, Brian Epstein and Pete Burns.
It has long been thought that a city like Liverpool, with such a rich gay culture and heritage, should have a recognised gay quarter.
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