Regeneration

Liverpool is undergoing a dramatic redevelopment as its year as European Capital of Culture in 2008 approaches.

Across the city centre large cranes have sprouted towering high above the construction sites below.

The largest development is the Liverpool One project led by Grosvenor covering 42 acres in the heart of the city. The development includes 40 individually designed buildings, six different districts and over 1.6 million square feet of retail space.

On the other side of The Strand is the Kings Waterfront development which will include a new arena and conference centre next to the Albert dock complex.

See Everton and Liverpool's grounds from the air

Two new developments have recently been approved for the Pier Head. The new Museum of Liverpool will be created on part of the site that was to have been occupied by Will Alsop's 'Cloud'. A £120 million development at Mann Island including apartments and commercial space has recently been approved by Liverpool City Council.

The Mann Island development is part of a wider regeneration of the area that includes an extension to the Leeds-Liverpool canal across the front of the Pier Head linking the south docks with the canal and avoiding the need for canal traffic to enter the river.

BBC North West Tonight have flown over the city in a plane to gauge the scale of the development taking place across the city. Click on the video link on this page to watch the film of Liverpool from the air.