HOUSING ASSOCIATION TO BUILD HOMES ON SITE OF PAUL's BIRTHPLACE

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A housing association has received planning permission to build 'affordable' homes on the site of Sir Paul McCartney's birthplace.

Riverside is to turn the site of the former Walton Hospital in Liverpool into a development of 195 homes, including 64 houses and apartments for 'affordable rent' and 37 houses for shared ownership.

The legendary Beatles star was born at the hospital on 18 June 1942.

The site forms part of the former Aintree University Hospitals Walton Day Care and Outpatient Centre – known locally as Walton Hospital. The hospital closed its doors in December 2010 and was demolished in 2011. The development will be next to the new Clock View hospital, which opened earlier this year off Rice Lane.

Riverside’s Project Manager Conor McGuigan said: “We are committed to building stable homes for those at the sharp end of the housing crisis so are delighted to announce that we will start work on site in November.

“This development is possible thanks to the Homes and Communities Agency, which is providing funding through its Affordable Homes Programme.

“We share the government’s ambition that anyone who works hard and wants to get on the property ladder should have the opportunity to do so. As such, we are delighted to be able to offer shared ownership for aspirational first-time buyers, alongside affordable rent for the most needy.

“We consulted with neighbouring residents prior to submitting the application for the development, which has been designed to be in keeping with the surrounding site and will respect the setting and views of the listed clock tower building.”

The development will include eight two-bedroom and 29 three-bedroom houses for sale through Riverside Home Ownership plus 27 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom houses and 15 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments for social rent.

According to the National Housing Federation’s Broken Market, Broken Dreams report, people are expected to pay more than six times the average income to own a home in Merseyside.

The average salary for people in Merseyside of £23,525 doesn’t come close to the £32,615 required for an average mortgage in the area, pricing thousands of workers out of owning a home.