A PUBLIC inquiry "forced" on Liverpool by the Government into the controversial regeneration of the Welsh Streets, gets under way next week.
Liverpool City Council wants to bulldoze 271 houses off Park Road and replace them with 154 new houses.
Another 37 terraced properties - including the frontage of the former home of Beatle Ringo Starr - will be refurbished.
In a long running saga, going back to 2008, the £15 million plan has been opposed by heritage campaigners who say that the houses should be restored.
But last September, only hours after it had been rubber stamped by city planners, the scheme was called in by Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles.
His department said it had taken the rare step because the issue had broader implications for the historic environment. The decision was slammed by a furious Mayor Joe Anderson who accused the Government of interfering and delaying the project.
Joe Anderson argues the toss with Grant Shapps in a story which attracted national attention
“I am personally fed up with government interference like this, which has now delayed local people having the good quality homes they deserve," he said at the time. "All this community wants is certainty and the government has slapped them in the face with this decision."
The hearing, which Mayor Anderson said had been forced on the city, begins on Tuesday (June 17). It will also look at plans by the council to compulsorily purchase the last eight of the 311 "interests" which it says are needed to deliver phases one and two of the £15 million scheme. Three have already been cleared, two are residential properties and three are commercial units. Five are already vacant.
Assistant Mayor and Cabinet Member for housing, Councillor Ann O’Byrne, said: “Our plans were supported by more than 70 percent of local people following a thorough and detailed consultation, so we will be making a strong and powerful case on their behalf at the inquiry.
“The residents of the Welsh Streets have waited far too long for regeneration. They have shown real determination, resilience and fantastic community spirit, to fight for a future where boarded-up, derelict properties are replaced by modern, family homes.
The Welsh streets plan was called in by Eric Pickles
“Some are living in damp, cold conditions and it is having a major impact on their health. It is absolutely heartbreaking, and we are committed to delivering this project as quickly as possible if we get the outcome the local community so desires.”
But Save Britain's Heritage campaigner Jonathan Brown told Confidential last year: "As things stand fewer than 10 percent of the houses in the Welsh Street area will be refurbished and the rest cleared. It has already cost at least £20m just to buy and board up these houses. This has been a policy of managed decline.”
The hearing is being held at the Cunard Building at the Pier Head, and is expected to last three weeks.
A special website has been set up which has all of the main documents and evidence submitted to the inquiry. It can be found here.
