COUNCIL UNVEILS PLAN TO REFURBISH "SIGNIFICANT" NUMBER OF HOMES IN LIVERPOOL- WICH INCLUDES THE HOME OF RINGO

New plans to refurbish “a significant” number of homes in Liverpool’s Welsh Streets – which includes the home of Ringo Starr – have been revealed by council chiefs.

The authority is set to enter into an exclusive six month deal with developer Place First to survey the homes and develop a masterplan for the area which was recently used to film gangster drama, Peaky Blinders.

The move follows a decision by former communities secretary Eric Pickles to block the council’s initial plans to demolish the historic homes.

Liverpool council and housing association Plus Dane had wanted to replace 271 homes in the Welsh Streets with 154 new houses, along with 37 refurbished terraced properties.

The council says it is now hoped a significant proportion of the 300 homes can be refurbished, with some knocked “three-in-to-two” to make them larger and appeal to families.

Mayor Joe Anderson said: “All we have ever done is try to do what the residents have told us and it’s important to remember 80% of them backed the original plans for this area. As a result of the prevarication over this scheme from different outside interest groups we have lost a £13 million Government grant.

He said the residents of the Welsh Streets “have been in limbo for years” and he wants the developer to now “crack on with the detailed survey as quickly as possible”.

Powis street, the Welsh streets in Toxteth. New plans to refurbish “a significant” number of homes have been revealed by council chiefs.

Mayor Anderson said: “We’ve 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.”

Now the council’s cabinet is being asked to approve plans to enter a six-month exclusivity agreement with Place First, during which time they will carry out surveys and investigations before developing a new masterplan and submitting a planning application.

If successful Place First would ultimately take over the site “under an agreement that would suitably protect the long term interests of the local community”.

However, the council says those houses in a really poor condition and too costly to repair will be demolished, with the possibility of creating community open space and new properties in their place.

Cllr Frank Hont, cabinet member for housing, said the council had taken some of the residents to Accrington to see some of the other projects that Place First are working on and added: “The feedback we had from them was really positive”.

Irene Milson, Chair of the Welsh Streets Community Association, said: “This community has been waiting a long time for new homes and it is extremely frustrating that the previous scheme wasn’t approved by the Government

“We await with interest the details of this new set of proposals and will make our decision based on progress over the next few months.”

The report will be considered by the city cabinet on Friday, February 4.