The closure has caused a headache for drivers trying to get into the city centre
The top of the road has been closed to cars for months(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A section of an important Liverpool road has been shut for over two months. Cars and buses have been able to access Old Hall Street from the junction of Leeds Street and The Strand after it was closed to traffic on June 30.
Emergency services were called to the area that day after receiving a report from Berkeley Shaw. The firm is the building manager of Beetham Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the city. It called about a sculpture called Connections – Face of Liverpool. The abstract monument by Stephen Broadbent is located on its premises but was reported to be leaning at a “concerning angle”.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police confirmed to the ECHO that officers were at the scene that day to help manage traffic. They said they had received a call from the fire service about the “unsafe structure”.
Pedestrians can still use that stretch of the road, but the pavement is closed nearest to the structure. The diversion has caused a bit of a headache for commuters. Old Hall Street allows people driving from Leeds Street and The Strand to quickly access the city’s business district.
This area includes the offices of the Liverpool ECHO and law firm Hill Dickinson, the sponsors of Everton’s new stadium, in St Paul’s Square, as well as the passport office at 101 Old Hall Street.
Connections: Face of Liverpool on September 3 2025, which is leaning at a “concerning angle”(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The issue is further complicated by the maze of one-way systems and road designs that surround Old Hall Street. The road goes down to a single lane when you go past the Cotton Exchange. You can’t get onto the road from Bixteth Street either as it leads on to St Paul’s Square, which is pedestrianised.
Currently drivers can only access Old Hall Street by going via Chapel Street, then on to Rumford Place and Union Street. The 54A and the 136 buses have also had to change their route.
Berkeley Shaw, which manages the Beetham Tower estate on behalf of the landowner and which is co-ordinating repair works on its behalf, has been issuing updates on Old Hall Street since it closed.
Its most recent update came in mid-August when a spokesperson for Berkeley Shaw said the closure had been extended until September 1 while engineers looked to find the cause of the fault in the structure and from there the best way to fix it.
They said: “The temporary traffic regulation order governing the closure of Old Hall Street has been extended until September 1 whilst investigatory works remain on-going into the structure.
“Engineers are currently excavating around the concrete walls and conducting a GPS survey of the area surrounding the monument to properly identify the cause of the fault and determine the most appropriate remedy.
“They will then provide a quote to stabilise the structure which will be sent to the estate owner for their instruction.
“Once they have approved the stabilisation design and cost, contractors will complete the works and look to reopen the road.
“The contractors will then provide reports to support the removal of external cladding to allow for further internal inspection of the structure, provide a detailed analysis report and a proposal for its repair or removal.”
The ECHO contacted Berkeley Shaw’s representative for new information this morning since September 1 has come and gone.
The closure has meant many passers-by have properly inspected the structure for the first time. It was commissioned by Beetham Organisation and was completed in 2006 at the same time as the tower.
According to Broadbent Studio’s website, the aim was to “create an integrated art and architecture solution, on a site at the threshold of historic, national and international trade connections.”
Old Hall Street from the junction with Leeds Street(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Broadbent worked on the project along with artists and designers from BCA and Smiling Wolf to mark the structure’s unique position in the city between the waterfront and the business district. It also aimed to showcase Liverpool’s history of trade and migration.
The structure gets its name due to a series of glass portholes on the floor of the garden, which contain 32 faces of people who have made Liverpool their adopted home.
A quote on the side of the wall facing the main road says: “Liverpool – threshold to the ends of the earth.” This was said by writer Michael O’Mahoney in 1931 and fits with the theme of Liverpool as a global melting pot.
Peter Whalley, the head of block management at Berkeley Shaw, told the ECHO previously: “It’s a great piece of sculpture with a famous old quote about Liverpool and the public will want to see it back at its best.”