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Work to start on
refurbishing the Welsh Streets
WORK will get underway early next month
on the refurbishment of homes in the Welsh Streets in Liverpool.
A pilot scheme to transform 35 properties into 25 energy efficient homes will
start in August 2016, on High Park Street and Veolas Street, in Princes Park.
Place First, which signed an exclusivity deal with the City Council in January
2016,
is the developer delivering the project. The firm is a specialist development
company with a proven track record in converting 19th century housing into high
quality homes that meet modern standards whilst retaining their original
character.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:- "When we partnered with Place First
in January, I pledged that we would start work as soon as detailed surveys had
been completed.
Place First have a great track record in regenerating old houses and I know they
are genuinely excited about what they can do in the Welsh Streets. We've already
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."
The pilot scheme is designed to show the local community how the homes can look
when they are fully refurbished to modern standards, and will set the standard
for refurbishment across the wider Welsh Streets area. The new homes will
provide spacious, modern accommodation to suit households and families of all
sizes through innovative remodelling that will deliver a mix of:- 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes with gardens.
Councillor Frank Hont, Cabinet member for housing, said:- "Place First have
been working really hard over the last few months to look at what we can achieve
quickly.
It is really important to us that the residents can see progress in bringing the
area back to life, because for far too long they have seen their hopes and
dreams thwarted through no fault of their own.
I genuinely feel that we are at the start of something really special for the
Welsh Streets, which will create a new community for the area and give it a long
term future, delivering the best of the old and the new. This is just the start
of the process though and I hope to be announcing details of further pilot
schemes in the near future. I would like to thank residents for their patience,
resilience and support over the last few years and sticking with the area when
some of them are in poor health as a result of the conditions they are living
in."
David Smith Milne, Managing Director and founder of PlaceFirst said:- "We
are delighted to start work on this pilot scheme so soon.
Delivering an 'early win' and showing the local community that we are committed
to this project was a mutual priority for Place First and the Council from the
outset.
The remodelling and refurbishment of these properties will be a difficult and
complex task, but we are confident that we can deliver inspirational, distinctive
homes that preserve and compliment the heritage of this historic neighbourhood.
Place First are committed to improving the renting experience for the growing
number of families who now rely on this sector for their housing needs.
The homes proposed for the Welsh Streets will set new standards in renting and
will appeal to families looking for rental accommodation they can put roots down
in and genuinely call a home.
The new homes will be distinctive and inspirational, designed around the needs of
modern families, unlike the 'identikit' approach taken by the majority of volume
householders.
We would like to thank the council and the local community for their
enthusiastic support on this project. Coming into an historic urban regeneration
project like this can often be difficult, but we have had tremendous support
from both the council and the local community right from the outset and hope
that together we can achieve something really special in the Welsh Streets."
A further phase of refurbishment work to transform homes in an area of the Welsh
Streets that is still occupied will be announced in the next few months.
So what are your views on this issue? Please email us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.com and let us know. |
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Northern Councils to play a
leading role in Brexit Negotiations
FOLLOWING the decision that Britain
will leave the European Union, Leaders across the Liverpool City Region are
working together to identify what impact this will have for the City Region and
have also broadened this partnership by working across the North of the country.
The needs of the Liverpool City Region and Northern region as a whole must be
taken into account when negotiating Brexit, and this can be done best by having
people from the City Region directly involved.
Mayor Joe Anderson, alongside the Chairs of the Combined Authorities for Greater
Manchester, North East, Sheffield City Region and West Yorkshire, recently wrote
to the Prime Minister to point out that the 5 Northern Combined Authorities
have a stronger economy than Scotland and a population greater than London,
which shoes exactly why the North of England needs to be involved in the Brexit
negotiations.
Councillor Phil Davies, Portfolio Lead for Economic Development for the
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said:- "I was interested to hear
Greg Clark's speech at the recent Local Government Association conference, in
which he confirmed that local government would be involved in the Brexit
negotiations. The question is how? As a City Region, we have joined forces with
the other Combined Authority leaders in the North of England to call for a seat
at the Brexit negotiating table."
There is a lot at stake for the City Region, which was due to benefit from a
commitment of over £200m of European Union funding over the next few years. In
addition, many organisations would have been bidding for other European
programmes such as those for connectivity and innovation. When combined with
other sources, the impact is that over £400m of investment is potentially at
risk; along with job opportunities (estimated to be 2,100 jobs) and economic
growth in the area which the funding would have helped to create 2,100 new
business start ups and assisted over 6,700 businesses.
Cllr Davies added:- "It's quite clear that these negotiations will now be
about returning powers from the European Union to this country. There's no
reason at all why those powers should simply return to national Government; we
believe that they should be returned directly to local decision makers and the
Combined Authority is now placed ideally to take those powers on. This will be a
priority for us as part of the negotiations." More LED street lights
planned THOUSANDS more LED
street lights are to be installed throughout Liverpool producing significant
savings.
The City Council agreed to a phased replacement of thousands of the City's
street lights with LED lighting in 2014 at a total cost of £7m.
In the first phase 12,000 LED lights have been installed in over 1800 streets
with 120 concrete column replaced. This has produced energy savings of £585,000
to date and carbon savings of about 1500 tonnes,
Now the cabinet is being asked to approve a 2nd Phase of the programme which
will see 9,380 street lights replaced with LED lighting at a cost of £4m.
This will reduce the energy consumption for these lights by 82%, cutting the
Council's energy bill by about £260,000 a year. There will also be a reduction
in carbon of about 1300 tonnes, bringing a saving of £21,000 and there will be
maintenance savings of approximately £47,000 a year.
At its meeting on 22 July 2016 the cabinet will be asked to approve a procurement
exercise to appoint a contractor for this phase of the programme.
Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, cabinet member for regeneration and transport said;-
"This programme has been a great success. We are replacing out of date
environmentally unfriendly street lights with modern, efficient and energy
saving ones.
It is part of our invest to save strategy; the investment we are making in new
street lighting will be more than offset by the subsequent savings in our energy
bills and maintenance costs.
And, of course, there are significant environmental benefits; these lights mean
we will be a greener City with a lower carbon footprint.." |
