Skip to content or view screen version

And they all came tumbling down!

Mike Lane | 22.01.2004 23:33 | Liverpool

Massive demolition of working class areas is now on the cards

Was on the 800 house Klondike estate in Bootle today fitting an aerial. This estate is due for demolition. Took a drive around and was surprised of how in good nick the old houses were. I always thought this area was mostly home owners as they are old houses of the type homeowners buy. It comes as a surprise that 80% of the people who live in the area are tenants, mainly Riverside.

Got talking to a couple of people and they told me Riverside had moved many anti-social tenants into the area, about five in every street. One guy said that it was a great place to live in ten years ago, but Riverside had messed the place up big time. He said he thought it was deliberate to bring the area down so as to make it easier to throw people out. I have heard the latter statement hundreds of times before.

Went from the Klondike estate to Ibstock St and then onto Percy St, both of which are off Knowsley Road. Both customers were home owners and the one in Percy St told me that rumour has it all the houses between Marsh Lane and Knowsley Road as well as houses over the other side of Knowsley Rd could be demolished, probably 2,000 to 3,000 houses. Man this massive. Demolitions and planned demolitions are now taking place in Dingle, Wavertree, Kirby, Norris Green, Anfield and elsewhere. We are probably looking at the possibility of demolitions right across Merseyside as never seen since the sixties. It would seem that the RSL's want to get shut of their old stock. They also confirmed that all the same methodology and offers of shared ownership as is happening in Kensington is happening up there.

I also found out today from a homeowner who went to a housing meeting last night, the one that is chaired by good old Enid, that there could be 2,000 demolitition in the Kensington NDC because the women From the KR, can't think of her name, would not deny it. All these demolitions are planned over a 15 year period. This is very serious and I am surprised that the Echo has not picked up on this. The main RSL connected with all this is Riverside, which isn't surprising as Riverside have somewhere in the region of 21,000 properties in Merseyside. Riverside has many subsidiaries and the chief exec of Riverside, Debra Shackilton earns about £140,000 per year. Riverside are totally backed by the Government's oppresvie Housing Corporation. It's very daunting isn't it? How the hell can you fight something so massive?

Mike Lane
- e-mail: -
- Homepage: http://-

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

A positive and constructive suggestion

23.01.2004 18:25

This is a suggestion...

What don't we form a group to coordinate information and activists together to defend our working class communities, council housing and neighbourhoods under threat of demolition, destruction and disperal here on Merseyside?

We could get one another to send letters into the local papers, go on Radio Merseyside phone ins, try and get some press and media coverage and if we're all in agreement do some direct action. We as the group members set the matters discussed by us all and then agree action plans agreed by all and then supported by us all. We work on unanomity (ie 100% or no go) otherwise people won't support one another and it'll breakdown.

Formed of "working class" community and tenants activists who've been effected or who are under future or even potential threat. Make it all political, rather than non-political, ie if people support the aims and objectives then allow them to be members but only if the founder members agree unanomously agree they're beneficial to the group's objectives. Formed by yourself, me, that IWCA guy up in Kirkby (cos ain't Kirkby got threats of demolitions of housing?) The guys from the Klondyke, a few people I know like a tenant activist from a threatened Tower Blocks in Croxteth good guy helped me leaflet during 2002 stock transfer and there's another tenant based on the Wirral who's fight against privatisation there. We can start supporting one another and start building a working class fight back on housing and the community front and maybe build a wider working class network here on Merseyside. We need to be disciplined and well organised.

I'm up for helping to organise it...

Kai

Kai Andersen
mail e-mail: aokai@tiscali.co.uk
- Homepage: http://groups.msn.com/SocialistLabourPartyLiverpool


concerned

24.01.2004 08:32

cheers for that Kai.

You have me thinking now mate ;-)

concerned


concerned

24.01.2004 08:47

Please come and see our Forum and make some comments in there and try and make these people understand whats going to happen.

 http://klondykechat.proboards26.com/

concerned


concerned

24.01.2004 10:27

This link should show you the area that I am talking about. on the page you will seee the names of the streets involved, Mary Road, Edith Road, Eleanor Road and all that surrounding area.

 http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=334638&y=396827&z=1&sv=eleanor+road&st=6&tl=Eleanor+Road,+Bootle,+Merseyside,+L_20&searchp=newsearch.srf&mapp=newmap.srf

concerned