Liverpool Green Party is disappointed with the City Council’s decision to impose yet more delay and uncertainty on residents living in and around the Welsh Streets.
The decision to demolish around 400 Welsh Streets houses took place in 2005 and yet no planning application came forward until 2013, three years into the life of the current Labour administration.
The Green Party had criticised the 2013 plans, but recognised that even flawed plans are better than endless paralysis. The Green Party councillors therefore had urged the Government to UPHOLD the decision of Liverpool’s planning committee in 2013 and NOT to call the public inquiry.
When the Secretary of State decided to refuse planning consent, the Greens called on the Council to accept that decision and work with the Government to implement a “Plan B”, retaining more of the terraced houses.
Green Leader John Coyne says, “We regret that the Mayor seems equally stubborn as Secretary of State Eric Pickles. We also regret that he has left it until the very end of the six-week period before lodging his challenge in the courts. The lawyers grow rich while the residents have to wait.”
In its decision letter, the Government had insisted that more “market testing” should take place to see if there is demand to buy and refurbish these houses. Currently the Council is refusing to sell any of the houses it owns at a time when it is desperately short of money to sustain essential services and making proposals to sell of parkland such as Sefton Park Meadows.
Green Candidate for Princess Park, Dee Coombes, lives right next to the site.
She said “Whilst broadly agreeing local plans should be decide locally I fear the true scale of support for refurbishment has been sidelined. Princes Park Housing Association has asked to buy and repair some of these houses to satisfy huge demand to live in this part of town. Why were we refused that – why are these houses going to be destroyed when a local housing association wants to repair them with its own money for local families. It makes no sense at all”