One thing that we have going for us, is that Liverpool has been recognised as a regional city and council should make use of this status and our other advantages, to encourage investment in the area.

I have previously written of the need for Liverpool to get a good marketing campaign in other areas, so as to make people aware of the advantages the area offers. And this is my view on this subject as well, Liverpool's mayor and councillors need to come up with a specific strategy on how the area is to move forward and structure a marketing campaign around that to encourage businesses and individuals to take an interest in the area.

When I asked Liverpool mayor Wendy Waller how she sees the city 10 years from now, she said: ``it will be very cosmopolitan, it will have a very good entertainment precinct, great shopping and dinning, a very advanced health precinct''.

``And all this has started now, Liverpool Hospital is undergoing a huge expansion project, which will see it become the largest hospital in NSW and the health precinct around it will grow as a result,'' Ms Waller said.

``And apart from that we've got a host of restaurants opening up, which are of a very high standard, so things are changing in Liverpool.

``Our status as a regional city will see us become leaders in the area and bring even more businesses and development to our suburbs.

``Unfortunately we're in tough economic times at the moment, but even now things are happening and council has a role to play in facilitating and encouraging these changes.''

Ms Waller said that mostly she is tired of the constant barrage of criticism that Liverpool seems to cop, even from councillors.

``I'm getting to the stage where I think, that if they think it's so terrible, they should just move,'' Ms Waller said.

``Liverpool is a positive place, I've always thought so and I'm fed up with it being called a negative place and labelled as a crime capital of the south west.

``We do have crime, but it happens everywhere and the police tell us that the crime stats are actually quite good.''

Councillor Ned Mannoun disagrees, saying that Liverpool is a dangerous place for people to work and shop and that is why businesses are reluctant to move to the area.

``We need to do more to keep the shop keepers and business owners of the area safe from theft and keep our streets safe for shoppers as well,'' Cr Mannoun said.

``I'm still a strong supporter of putting in CCTV cameras in the CBD to monitor the area, but I've been told numerous times that that's too expensive.

``I think that there needs to be a larger police presence on a our streets as well, because even if we had things like a restaurant strip or entertainment facilities, people would be too afraid to walk in our streets at night to go and visit them.

``The safety aspect needs to be taken care of first.''

Liverpool business owner, Signe Westerberg disagrees: ``if we set up a restaurant strip and gave people something to do in the CBD, there would be a lot more people out on the streets and then people would feel more comfortable''.

``I've always been a firm supporter of a dinning precinct in Liverpool, I've spoken about it at community forums for several years,'' Ms Westerberg said.

``Macquarie Street would be premier location for something like that.

``But at the moment it's dead as a doornail, it's full of discount shops, but it would be really great if we had some nice eateries there, instead.

``There's nothing wrong with discount shops, they serve their purpose, but their not going to take our city into the future, they don't bring people to the area.

``Whenever I ask people where they head to go out for dinner on a Sunday night, they always say Bankstown or Parramatta, no one ever stays local and that's a real shame.

``We need to create a more lively, vibrant environment in the CBD and that way people won't feel unsafe, either.

``But that's the way to bring people in, offer people food and they'll follow you anywhere.''

Liverpool councillor Gary Lucas has a bit of a different stance on how Liverpool should move into the future.

He has always said that the council needs to take care of the basics in Liverpool such as fixing up rural roads, fixing the rubbish dumping and graffiti problems and fixing the entry-ways into Liverpool to make them more presentable.

``We need to fix the rates, roads and rubbish issues we have in Liverpool, before we think about the big picture stuff,'' Cr Lucas said.

``Liverpool needs to be made more clean and attractive for more business to come here and for residents to want to stay in the area, so that's what we need to focus on first.

``And the entry-ways to the area are very important because those are the first things that people see when they enter Liverpool, but they're atrocious at the moment.

``The intersection of Orange Grove Road and the Hume Highway is just appalling, some work needs to be done there, so that's something that I've asked the general manager to look at in detail.''

Inspire Church pastor, Henry Jacotine, who was a former mayoral candidate and has been a long time supporter of and campaigner for the area, said recently that he is disappointed by little the councillors have achieved so far.

``I believe in Liverpool and it has a lot of potential, but it needs to be cleaned up,'' Mr Jacotine said.

``A lot more people would move their businesses to this area, come and here to live, and residents would stay in the area for entertainment, if it was just cleaner.

``We need to get rid of the graffiti and the rubbish dumping and encourage more investment in the area and then Liverpool will develop into the attractive, busy city that it should be.''

So is that what is holding us back? Would we already be a vibrant city centre where people would head for entertainment and recreation if we just had less graffiti or CCTV cameras? I don't think so. These elements are probably part of the problem, sure, but I think what's more important and is truly lacking is vision.

And that needs to come from our elected officials, the mayor and councillors, who should work together with council staff to develop a specific view of how Liverpool should develop from now into the future. Will it be an industrial centre, based around industrial areas in Prestons, Chipping Norton and Moorebank, with a focus on facilities for workers in those areas? Should it focus more on drawing offices to the CBD and become a corporate centre? Should it expand it's shopping precinct by supporting stores that are outside of Westfield? Maybe it could be a fine dinning and bar zone with a cafe and restaurant strip in Macquarie Mall?

I'm not sure, but to me, all of these seem viable, but without a set strategy, anything of the sort will be difficult to achieve. Obviously our council, like all others, has strategic plans and the like on the books. And the Liverpool Local Environment Plan sets down the zoning for particular areas, which is often seen as a form of mapping how the area will develop. But from what I can tell there is no specific plan on how to bring businesses to the area, how to mould the area as it grows, which resources to lobby the State and Federal Governments for, how to encourage business people and help the area to move forward in general. And that is what Liverpool needs to move ahead, a planned development.

There needs to be certain goal to keep in mind and concerted effort to achieve it otherwise Liverpool will remain on the cusp of being a truly impressive city that fulfils its potential and that, really would be a shame.