About

Inspiring civic pride in our communities.
Celebrating and protecting the places where we live.

Since 1938 MCS has helped to preserve the best of the past, such as the Albert Dock and the Lyceum, as well as supporting design quality for the future including regeneration projects, such as Liverpool One, and, across both sides of the river waterfront.

Although we admire many of its achievements, we do not live in the past. While Liverpool is at the hub of our activities, we embrace the whole of the City Region and take a concerned interest in its sustainable development and regeneration.

We believe Merseyside has a splendid future and we want to contribute to making it all the more splendid.

Merseyside Civic Society aims

to stimulate public interest in improving the quality of life in the Liverpool City Region, including through the MCS Awards Scheme;
to engage in debate and discussion and to conduct research;
to promote high standards of town planning, architecture and design locally;
to ensure the preservation, conservation, development, improvement and careful stewardship of features of general public amenity;
to seek to safeguard areas and structures of historic and/or public interest, and
to strengthen links between interested bodies, such as Civic Voice and local and civic amenity societies across the City Region.

When it comes to the place we live in, we should be more than just bystanders.

Help shape our campaigns and be part of a movement of people who care about the future of Civic society on Merseyside.

Together we:

Preserve the best of the past
By campaigning to conserve Liverpool City region’s rich heritage of building and green spaces.

Promote design quality for the future
By celebrating excellence in planning and design

Support community action
By collaborating with communities and stakeholders and representing local interests

MCS is a member of or affiliated to Civic Voice, CPRE Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, and Merseyside Environmental Trust.

Happy 85th Birthday !

2023 marks the 85th anniversary of Merseyside Civic Society. We asked Peter Brown, a Vice President of MCS, to reflect upon his time as Chair between 2000 and 2016 in this article .

Former journalist and MCS Council Member, Peter Elson, interviewed current Chair, Liverpool History Professor John Belchem about his motivations and aspirations for the Society in 2023 and your can read Part 1 of the interview HERE with Part 2 to follow later

Celebrating 85 years of MCS

What was the Liverpool of the 1930s like? MCS Chair and Liverpool History Professor, John Belchem delivered a well-attended, thought-provoking talk: Liverpool in the 1930s: Have we offended the Gods? at the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, in Toxteth, on October 11. This was followed by a fascinating talk by Community Activist Ray Quarless on: Growing up in a Mixed Heritage Family.

We were welcomed to Kuumba Imani by Michelle Charters who, it has recently been announced, will be the new Head of the International Slavery Museum at National Museums Liverpool. READ MORE

John subsequently spoke to Paul Beesley on BBC Radio Merseyside about our anniversary and you can hear his interview HERE

We also delved back into the MCS archive to find out what events and activities MCS was involved with in its early days. On the occasion of its Silver Jubilee in 1963, MCS produced this fascinating read HERE