It comes at an historic moment for the building and Sefton Park Palm House Preservation Trust, as we move ever closer to 2026, when we’ll celebrate two big milestones in the Palm House’s life: 25 years since reopening after refurbishment in 2001 and an incredible 130 years since the original opening in 1896.

Our social and economic impact report, titled Rooting for People, Plants and Place, covers a period of three years from 2021 – 2024, and it is the first time that we been able to formally assess the impact the Palm House has had on local people and place.

The results are extremely positive, so it’s fantastic to have the work of our staff and volunteers recognised with such positive achievements.

Some highlights:

· Between 2021 and 2024 – more than 14,000 visitors came to Liverpool to attend weddings and other music events at the Palm House.

· We created an additional £6m send in the local economy during the three years, through spend in the local hospitality sector and with Liverpool-based traders and suppliers.

· We held more than 570 events as part of our extensive community and family programme, creating £26m worth of social impact.

· Weddings alone accounted for an additional £2.5m of our economic impact between 2021 and 2024. In fact, more than half the weddings that took place at the Palm House during this time were booked in Liverpool purely because of the draw of our beautiful venue, with more than 60% of guests coming from outside the Liverpool City Region specifically to attend weddings at the Palm House.

· The report overwhelmingly acknowledged the impact the Palm House has had on our local community. Despite being a relatively small team, we have been able to maximise the uniqueness, beauty and history of the building to create an impactful community programme and deliver local economic benefits that make a difference.

You can take a look at the report here, and all the detail here.

In the meantime, if you are a local person who’s popped in for a cup of tea in our café, a couple who held your wedding here, a neighbour or community group that we’ve worked with closely or a supplier who’s helped us offer fantastic produce and service, this report is a great achievement for us all, as we all support each other.

All the income we gain from commercial activities goes back to the Charitable Trust to help maintain the Palm House, take care of the plants and keep the community and family programmes available to visitors for free. It’s so important to us to be able to make a difference to everyone who comes through our doors, so we’re grateful to everyone who visits, to enable us to keep the Palm House full of life for another 130 years and more.

Kate Johnson, CEO