Liverpool's newly regenerated city centre has been given the thumbs up in a detailed study of the views of residents and visitors.

The Liverpool City Centre Perceptions survey questioned 1400 people about a range of issues including cleanliness, retail, crime and public transport.

The annual questionnaire is the first to be carried out following the completion of the £1 billion Liverpool One development and the £73 million city centre movement strategy, which has improved roads, pavements and pedestrian crossings.

Overall, 84 percent of people questioned said Liverpool has improved, compared to 68 percent last year. And 81 percent are confident about its future, despite the recession.

Almost nine out of 10 people - 89 percent - now say the city has decent shops, against 72 percent last time round. This coincides with the city's meteoric rise up the national shopping league table - up from 17th place to fifth.

More than half of those surveyed, 53 percent, now think the city centre is clean - it was 39 percent last year. Another 34 percent think it is average and just 12 percent believe it is dirty.

Lib Dem Council leader Warren Bradley said: "The regeneration which has taken place over the last few years in the city centre has been nothing short of staggering, and I am delighted that people are pleased with the changes we and our partners have made.

"We always said that the inconvenience and disruption due to the construction work would be worth it in the long term, and it is clear that we are now reaping the reward of the billions of pounds of investment.

"The city centre is crucial to the success of the local economy, which is why we are not complacent and are working hard on further improvements to put Liverpool on a par with other top European cities.

"We will be using all of the results and working hard on the areas where there's still room to improve.

"In particular, we know that people living in the city centre have different concerns to those of visitors and workers, so we have set up a group to work with local residents to tackle them."

The ten year low in city centre crime is reflected in the survey, with almost everyone who visits during the day (98 percent), saying it is a safe place to be. There have also been improvements in the number who feel safe in the evening - up to 63 percent from 53 percent last year.

A total of 69 percent rate events to entertain visitors as good, up from 45 percent in 2008.

Public transport also gets a thumbs up, with 69 percent saying travelling into the city centre by bus is easy (68 percent last year), and 61 percent saying its easy to let the train take the strain (up from 57 percent in 2008).