Cabinet set to nod through Welsh Streets masterplan
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet is set to approve a masterplan for the Welsh Streets today (Friday, June 23).
The vision for the area has been drawn up in partnership with specialist development company Placefirst, which is nearing completion on a pilot scheme to bring some of the terraced properties on High Park Street and Voelas Street in Princes Park back into use.
The masterplan envisages 294 new homes which will be a mix of refurbishment and new build. There will also be improvements to the streets, drainage and the creation of communal gardens to the rear.
To address a shortage of larger homes in the area, the majority – 124 – will have four bedrooms, while 109 will have three and the remaining 61 will have two.
It is envisaged that 30 of the houses will be affordable rent, 35 will be shared ownership/rent to buy, 194 will be let at market rent and 35 will be available to buy.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Placefirst have done an excellent job bringing some of the homes back into use as part of their pilot project, and together with the local community we have now drawn up some really exciting plans to breathe new life into the area and give it a long term, sustainable future.
“This is about providing certainty for the local community following years of frustration in which their wishes were thwarted by Central Government’s interference in the local planning process.
“We’ve already demonstrated with the regeneration of Anfield and our Homes for a Pound scheme that we are leading the way in finding imaginative ways of retaining properties where it is viable to do so, and this project reflects our approach.”
Cllr Frank Hont, cabinet member for housing, said: “I hope residents are encouraged at the progress that has already been made. For far too long they saw their hopes and dreams thwarted through no fault of their own.
“We have been working closely with the local community because there are a range of views about the way forward. We have done our very best to accommodate this by bringing forward proposals for a range of property sizes and tenures to suit a range of families and budgets.
“I would like to thank residents for their patience, resilience and support over the last few years and sticking with the area when some of them are in poor health as a result of the conditions they are living in.”
The council is also working with Plus Dane, the local social landlord, with a view to developing a further phase of improvements to their properties in the area. A seven unit pilot refurbishment will start later this year.
If the masterplan is approved at the Cabinet meeting on Friday 23 June, a planning application will be submitted with more detailed proposals and designs.
