Welsh Streets (anti-demolition)

Nina Edge is fighting to save her beautiful Victorian villa on Kelvin Grove, in Liverpool’s Toxteth neighbourhood, from the bulldozers. The house, along with all the other properties on her side of the street, is down for clearance under L8’s controversial Welsh Streets regeneration scheme, a Housing Market Renewal-funded project which aims to tackle what the authorities say is a failing housing market. The grand houses on Edge’s street have been lumped into a demolition scheme which mainly deals with small two-up, two-down terraces, and which will create a tempting plot of land for future redevelopment. Edge is convinced there would be demand for the houses on her street if the market was allowed to operate normally, and believes the other homes could also be saved and refurbished to a decent standard using modern techniques. More than five years after demolition was agreed in principle by Liverpool council, there has been no CPO and little substantial progress.