Edge Lane - April 2011

With the houses now demolished, and the ground cleared and flattened, the Edge Lane widening now begins. This photo, taken from the existing pavement on Edge Lane, shows how much extra width is being achieved. (The street in the background is Toft St. - the houses on one side have already been demolished, those facing the camera are safe!)

Charlie

After 49 yrs in Edge Hill's Cicely Street (see below), Charlie has now been relocated nearby - his former home now boarded up and waiting to be flattened. He is delighted with his newly built house ("it's warm and dry, has three toilets and a garden"). Charlie explained how the old terraces were cold and damp in winter despite having central heating.

It has surprised me that the people who I have met seem to be happy to move. Although, from the outside, the terraces look cosy in the sunshine, it seems that they weren't all ideal accommodation for the residents. The clearances - via CPO (Compulsary Purchase Orders) - are part of the Kensington Regeneration Scheme - not the Edge Lane widening which is taking place just a few hundred yards away.

The Shipperies

The cobbled Arnside Road is a cul-de-sac off Dunning Road, Edge Hill, Liverpool. With a couple of exceptions the houses are boarded up awaiting demolition. I was told by one of the last remaining residents that plans have been put back 5 years (has the money run out?) so maybe a few of the properties will open up again to the rental market. The building facing Arnside Road is The Shipperies (Dunning Road) - a pub which has been closed for a year or more. This too is abandoned and boarded up.

21c Gateway

this view of the Edge Lane demolition (taken from inside a phone box) resembles Ground Zero. This isn't terrorism though - it's the Edge Lane Project ('Creating a 21st Century Gateway to the City').

97 Royston Street

No. 97 remains the last house standing in the eastern half of Royston Street. A couple of the demolition crew told me that the properties were in a poor state structurally and that one of the hazards of their job was watching out for the discarded syringes. I was told that one house had a thousand used needles in one room (I assume that was an estimate). Contrast this photo with the entry for 13th June.

they all fall down

This looks like a scene from the WWII blitz. These houses survived the German bombing but couldn't escape the city planners' vision for an improved traffic flow into Liverpool centre 65 years later. This is Edge Lane. The church is St Cyprian's (which I'm told will not be knocked down). I believe a flyover is going to be built where the grand houses of Edge Lane once stood - I will continue to photograph the changes.

waiting for the demolition crew

I knew that the demolition of Royston Street was imminent - and expected it to have started when I visited on 12 June. Although it had not begun, the street was blocked off with the skips in place. I managed to gain access through a blown down barrier - it may be the last time I can photograph the street - although I will try and record its demolition if at all possible.

I feel an affinity to Royston St now - I just wish I'd been able to record some of the occupants leaving! Whatever is replacing this attractive terrace can't be better than a full refurbishment of the existing properties would have been - it could have looked wonderful - such a shame! Town planners have a lot to answer for!

In this view of the eastern half of Royston Street (the Dunning Road end) the tower of the closed St Cyprian's church can be seen to the right. Someone has flung a section of orange barrier onto a street light in the adjoining Peet Street (I don't suppose vandalism matters any more in this condemned and deserted part of Edge Hill).

Map : http://bit.ly/ceheSP

Sixty One - Sixty Three

Royston Street is in two halves (split by the intersection with Dorothy Street). The houses in the western half (the Marmaduke Street end) must have been vacated a lot earlier than those in the eastern half (the Dunning Road end) judging from the shrubbery which has taken hold in bedrooms and roofs.

nothing of value

I thought I'd try overlaying flaking painted stonework with condemned property (both from the Edge Lane area of Liverpool) to see whether something emerged! Well, this is what emerged. (The 'nothing of value' notice is posted on all these houses to deter looters.)

Royston Street - waiting for demolition

This is Royston Street which is being demolished as part of Liverpool's Edge Lane re-development scheme. Notice that all ground floor windows have been bricked up and doors replaced by metal security panels. The top floor windows have all been securely boarded. No one is getting in here before the bulldozers arrive! It seems so sad that these houses (which were among several hundred compulsory purchased properties) have to be replaced by new residential and business facilities. This is how communities die - I wonder if Liverpool will be a better place to live when the planners' vision is realised!

"the buildings look so sad yet so colourful like they have some fight left in them yet" (Ali)