When CJ and I went to Liverpool in August Cj showed me Liverpool One: a 42 acre (170,000 m²) redevelopment of underutilised land in Liverpool city centre. It is a retail led development, anchored by department stores Debenhams and John Lewis, with additional elements including leisure facilities (anchored by a 14-screen Odeon cinema and 36-hole adventure golf centre), apartments, offices, public open space and transport improvements. The completion of Liverpool ONE has significantly boosted the local economy as well as lifted Liverpool into the top five most popular retail destinations in the UK. Liverpool ONE is the largest open air shopping centre in the United Kingdom and the 10th largest overall. Despite all this I wasn't overly impressed with the fact that much of the retail sector was open to the elements. Like them or loathe them covered malls are much more comfortable places to spend a day without having to go from freezing wind-swept open air wearing winter clothes to hot shop wearing those same clothes.
However there were some lovely open spaces including this charming water feature:
