“Don’t forget where you came from” Dan Davies- People of The Pool Ep 1

Meet the successful businessman who has led and funded the remarkable regeneration of his home town, New Brighton taking it from a desolate seaside resort to a thriving artistic, musical community and business ecosystem.

In this episode, Sophie sits down with Dan Davies, CEO of Rockpoint Leisure, Founder & Ex CEO of CPL Training Group and Chairman of the Institute of Licensing. 

Dan is behind the community-led regeneration of the seaside resort New Brighton in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside.

In this conversation, Sophie and Dan discuss topics such as: 

• His experience of growing up in New Brighton in Liverpool in the 1980s when the seaside town suffered from the after-effects of decades of underinvestment. 
• The origins of the town New Brighton when James Atherton bought the land and decided to form a New Brighton of the north in the 1830s  
• New Brighton’s heyday - when it was home to piers, daytrippers, theatres, promenade, ballroom, open-air swimming baths
• The decline of New Brighton with the closure and demolition of amenities 
• “I did something because I was pissed off” Dan’s decision to regenerate the area to preserve the compelling reasons for people to move there. 
• His creation of an ecosystem where people would want to stay and relocate to 
• How he built the UK’s biggest outdoor art gallery by bringing in national and international artists to collaborate with local artists and the community in the creation of street art 
• How Rockpoint opened art galleries, a pub (named after the founder of New Brighton, James Atherton) 
• Developed a vibrant music scene with success stories such as The Mysterines (touring with arctic monkeys) Dream Machine and Razzmatazz, all coming out of the area 
• Working with art and music depts in each of the colleges and schools 
• Dan’s words to the Council “the decisions you make today affect people’s lives for generations to come. You can only sell it once then you’ve lost it. Spending a bit of money upfront makes a huge difference” 

Follow Dan here:
Twitter: @danieldaviesRPL
Instagram: @dandavies13 @rockpoint_leisure
LinkedIn: @Daniel Davies
Watch the episode on YouTube here 

For more on Dan and links to his work in New Brighton, go to our website:
www.tuesdaymedia.com/peopleofthepool