Welsh Streets, Liverpool

The Welsh Streets are a group of late 19th century Victorian terraced streets in Toxteth, Liverpool, England. The houses were designed by Welsh architect Richard Owens and built by Welsh workers to house workers mainly involved in the industries on the docks; the streets were named after Welsh villages and landmarks. The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was born in Madryn Street in 1940. Although several of the original houses were lost in World War II bombing, most of the terraced properties in the original street configuration remain standing some 150 years after being built. Following a period of decline in the late 20th century, plans were announced in the early 2000s as part of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative programme to demolish the estate and build new, but fewer, houses in their place. Despite the area being cleared of residents and houses prepared for demolition at a cost to Liverpool City Council of nearly £22 million, funding for the planned redevelopment was withdrawn in 2011 following the change in government and spending cuts, and the demolition did not take place. Subsequent revised demolition and renewal proposals by the council and housing group Plus Dane were rejected by the government due to concerns about the negative impact they would have on the city's cultural heritage. Instead, a housing renewal company took ownership of some of the properties, initially in a pilot scheme, to extensively renovate them and make them available for rent. The first new tenants moved into Voelas Street around September 2017. Placefirst, the company renovating the properties, won an award in November 2018 for the standard of the refurbishments.