HERITAGE CHARITY APPEALS FOR DONATIONS TO HELP FIGHT DEMOLITION OF 300 HISTORIC HOUSES IN DINGLE

CGI commissioned by SAVE showing how Madryn Street could look if refurbished and re-inhabited

A heritage charity is appealing for donations from the public to help fight the demolition of nearly 300 historic houses in Dingle.

A public inquiry will be held on June 17 to decide the fate of Liverpool’s Welsh Streets – where 280 terraced Victorian homes are set to be bulldozed to make way for 150 new builds.

Under the £15m proposals, Ringo Starr’s former childhood home in Madryn Street will be renovated, along with 36 other properties in the area.

SAVE Britain’s Heritage, a conservation charity, is opposed to the plans and is raising money to fight the application, made by the Plus Dane housing group.The charity needs to raise £40,000 to cover its costs.

SAVE bought and refurbished Ringo’s aunt’s former home, also in Madryn Street, in a bid to prove houses in the Welsh Streets are still suitable for modern living without the need for demolition.

Campaigners would prefer to see the existing homes renovated rather than being destroyed and rebuilt.

SAVE said in a statement: “Fighting public inquiries is an expensive business and SAVE is a small, independent charity that receives no public funding.

“Our experts are giving their time for free or at greatly reduced rates, investing some £200,000 of donated time to this fight, for which we are hugely grateful.

“We still need to raise another £40,000 to cover legal fees, the cost of a survey of a number of houses on the site, the redecoration of the house and other expenses.”

SAVE director Clem Cecil added: “This is the first crowd-funding campaign of its kind in the UK and we are really looking forward to involving everyone who supports us in the fight to save this neighbourhood.”

Plus Dane won permission to go ahead with the proposals last year, but the planning process was later frozen when Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles ordered a public inquiry.

SAVE believes the houses earmarked for demolition could each sell for between £75,000 and £85,000 if refurbished at a cost of between £51,000 and £60,000 each.

The charity hopes to raise the £40,000 needed to cover its public inquiry costs by organising architectural and Beatles-themed tours of Liverpool.

A party will also be held at The Empress pub to raise funds and a specially designed tea towel will go on sale.