People of The Pool
Welcome to People of The ‘Pool, the Liverpool Business Podcast that celebrates dynamic change makers who are re-setting the narrative about what this city is and can be.
Sophie Wilson, the Founder of PR & Marketing Agency Tuesday Media, is originally from Liverpool, a city known for music, culture, tourism and, of course, football. Having moved back here during the pandemic after living down South for the best part of two decades, she noticed the huge amount of innovation and entrepreneurship that’s happening in the city region. And this podcast is about championing just that.
Join us, every Tuesday, in conversation with the people who have made it their mission to make positive change in this city.
People of The Pool
“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
