RINGO's HOME IN RESTORATION 'LIMBO'

Back in 2010, we reported that the birthplace of Ringo Starr was threatened with demolition. The rowhouse, located at 9 Madryn Street in Liverpool, England, has fallen into disrepair. As you can see from this photo, it hasn't been lived in for some time and is all boarded up.

It's not alone. The BBC reports that many of the homes in the neighborhood are abandoned and crumbling. The city government approved a £15 million ($24.4 million) plan to rework the neighborhood, building 150 new homes, knocking down 280 others, and restoring 37, including Ringo Starr's. There have been calls to preserve the home as a bit of music history. While John and Paul's childhood homes are now preserved by the National Trust, Ringo's place doesn't even have an historic plaque.
Now the city's plan has been put on hold by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, who has called for a full review. That's bad news for the few people still living in the area. They don't know whether they should move, or pay their own money to restore their homes, or do nothing. It all depends what happens with the government funding, and nobody can answer that at the moment.

The peeling paint and boarded-up terraces on Liverpool's Welsh Streets

Plans to redevelop Liverpool's rundown Welsh Streets area have been put on hold after Communities Secretary Eric Pickles called for a public inquiry. But what is life there like for the people waiting to find out if their homes will be revamped or bulldozed?

The tinned-up houses in Wynnstay Street, Liverpool, are leaning precariously as the chimneys, roofs and brickwork list towards the ground.

Green shoots sprout out of the brickwork.

The street is eerily quiet aside from the odd passing taxi en-route to 9 Madryn Street, four roads down, the birthplace of Ringo Starr, scarred with graffiti. A yellow Magical Mystery Tour bus drives by the end of the street.

Behind the metal sheets, the hall walls have crumbled, exposing the wooden frame like a skeleton.

The staircase has gone and there are pigeon feathers and faeces carpeting the floor.

Paint is peeling away and there are cobwebs and discarded bits of metal pipe. A once-elegant tiled porch is green with moss in the grouting.

The facades of the abandoned terraces in Powis Street are painted black after posing as Birmingham's slums for the filming of the BBC series Peaky Blinders.

Welcome to Welsh Streets.

On Tuesday, many residents were dismayed when the £15m revamp plan for the streets was called in by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles for a public inquiry.

It is the latest stage in more than a decade of trying to find a solution for the near-abandoned streets that have an enviable view of the city's Anglican cathedral.

The proposals by social housing provider Plus Dane Group would see 150 new homes built, 280 demolished and 37 properties, including Ringo Starr's birthplace, renovated.