“CHICAGO OF BRITAIN”

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17609, 27 October 1931, Page 9

“CHICAGO OF BRITAIN”

LIVERPOOL MARKETS LARGE MUNICIPAL VENTURE LIVERPOOL, Sept. 6. Liverpool is aiming at becoming tlu> Chicago of Great. Britain.” Her hopes ■ in this direction lie in the vast cattle market, lairuges, abattoirs, and dead meat market which will be opened on Si plumber 14 by Lord Derby. This place, consisting of a group ot a dozen buildings, has been erected about two miles from the centre of tho 'city witn an imposing frontage to Prescot road, the main highway out of Liverpool to tlio industrial north and to London. Apart from the value of the site of upwards of 17 acres, tlio scheme has cost nearly £627.000. The first project proposed by the markets committee would have involved an outlay of £1,000,000, but tho City Council regarded this as 100 ambitious, and the plans were modi* tied by the deletion of certain buildings. which, however, it is expected, will be required in tho near future. Liverpool’s connection with the. cattle trade dates from at least the. sixteenth century, probably earlier, and in recent years it lias grown enormously, in spite of the handicap of having the market in one place and the abattoirs and dead meat market elsewhere. Great developments are expected from tho grouping of them at one centre. Tlio L.M.S. Railway Co. has spent a large sum of money in providing the necessary sidings and equipment for the rapid handling of live stock and dead meat. Tho Irish cattle from Dublin and Gveenore will conic on the company’s boats to Holyhead, and thoso from Belfast and Derry to lleyidiam. Tlio sidings run into the now buildings, and at night will lie electrically lighted. A plant has been installed for the washing of wagons, and the company will run special trains day and night, if required, from Holyhead and Ileysham, and there will be similar trains to bring stock from various parts of England. Scotland, and Wales. The company will bo able to load and un-j load between 60 and 70 wagons of live ' stock at one time. They will also con - j voy imported meat from the Liverpool j docks, and will run special trains for; dead meat to any point desired 'by tlm trade. Some idea of the extent of tho new place may be gathered from the fact' that, taking a 10 hours’ rating, the j total slaughter capacity is 540 cattle,! 450 'calves, 3700 sheep, and 1000 pigs. Under pressure it will he possible to do a great deal more than this. Taking “peak” conditions, tho daily kill, ’ covering 14 lo 20 hours, will lie 1080 cattle, 900 calves, 7500 sheep, and 2000 pigs- ■ |