Liverpool to push ahead with Toxteth clearance

LIVERPOOL City Council is pressing ahead with the demolition of 271 properties in Toxteth, including Ringo Starr’s birthplace.

The area, known as the Welsh Streets, was first identified to be part of the previous Government’s housing market renewal scheme 10 years ago.

But there has been significant opposition to the plan from heritage groups, who feel the properties should be renovated, and also from Beatles devotees who believe Ringo’s birthplace at 9 Madryn St should be preserved.

The plans were passed at a city council planning meeting yesterday, although housing and local government minister Grant Shapps could still block the move and demand the council carries out an environmental impact assessment.

Council leader and cabinet member for housing, Joe Anderson, said: “I am urging the Secretary of State to make a speedy decision on this issue so that we can crack on and push ahead with the badly needed regeneration of this area.

“A majority of the local community have expressed support for our plans since we started consulting on this plan over a decade ago. They are sick of living in poky, damp-infested properties. They want and deserve decent, modern homes with gardens and space for a car and are exasperated and frustrated at the delays to this scheme.

“I pledged last year that if a developer came forward with a viable proposal to retain the Welsh Streets then we would look seriously at their plans. I am sorry to say that this has not happened. It is simply not fair to keep the local community in limbo any longer. People have been voting with their feet for years and moving away from the Welsh Streets which is why the housing market in the area has completely collapsed.”

The council is working on a building programme for the area but at present plans to grass over the area once the houses are demolished. It also intends to demolish a further 170 homes.

Photo: Wynnstay Street, Toxteth (John S Turner) / CC BY-SA 2.0