00:00Nestled in Liverpool's Sefton Park is the Palm House, gifted to the city by local benefactor Henry H. Thompson.
00:08Next year marks both 130 years since the building first opened and 25 years since it was reopened after a multi-million pound restoration.
00:18We have a big year planned. There is going to be a special anniversary event every month, so please look out for that.
00:27All the information will be coming, so there will be one special event every single month.
00:32And then from September to October we're going to have a Palm House Festival, so there will be a month-long celebration for you all to enjoy.
00:41Inside beneath the glass domes, the Palm House boasts a meticulously arranged collection of plants from around the world.
00:47We have just done a social and economic impact report.
00:51It's the first time in the 25 years since the Palm House has been reopened that we've took time to really analyse the impact that the Palm House has on the local community, both economically and socially.
01:06And it came out that the Palm House has a £26 million social impact on our local community.
01:16For every £1 of public funding the Palm House received, it created £15.30 of social impact.
01:24This is achieved by the Palm House's extensive community programme, which offers accessible free cultural events, activities,
01:31specifically for older residents, family-friendly events and exhibitions, as well as providing a free venue space for local community organisations.
01:39What we also looked at was the economic impact.
01:43In order to do the free community events and host all the events that we do, we need to generate income, which is mainly through our weddings and other private hires.
01:55So we looked at that and we were really proud that we bring in £6 million to the local economy.
02:04That is predominantly £2.5 million of that is from the weddings and that is because a lot of people who book their weddings at the Palm House, in fact, over 60% choose to have their wedding in Liverpool because of the Palm House.
02:19There were a total of 309 weddings at the Palm House between 2021 and 2024.
02:28And it's not just Scousers who choose to tie the knot here.
02:3259% of these were couples based outside of Liverpool.
02:36A lot of our couples visit time and time again.
02:40And they bring their families once they grow and they come and the Palm House becomes a part of their life, myself included, because I got married here 17 years ago and now I've been working here 15 years.
02:54So it's definitely become a big, massive part of my life after.
02:58So it's been a big, massive part of my life after that.
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