Kensington Fields Conservation Area

[Kev]

Kensington Fields Conservation Area?

A Victorian housing estate in Liverpool could become a conservation area.

Residents in the Kensington Fields area are to be consulted about the proposals to protect their neighbourhood.

If the estate, which has 1,200 homes, is designated as a conservation area it means its special character and appearance will be preserved.

Although it does not stop new developments, it would mean demolition would be tightly controlled. A decision will be made next month.

Greater consideration would also be given to the design of new buildings and structures in planning decisions.

Cobbled streets

Councillor Berni Turner, executive member for environment and heritage, said: "We have 34 conservation areas in the city but none of them have a character like Kensington Fields.

"It is one of the few remaining Victorian estates, built at a time when the city was expanding rapidly.

"There has been work in recent years to retain the cobbled streets and carry out other environmental improvements to keep its Victorian character.

"We want to preserve the heritage of this area for future generations but it is vital that we know the views of the people living in the neighbourhood and I would hope that local residents respond to the consultation."

The council will make a decision on conservation area status when the public consultation ends on 16 February.

BBC Liverpool

[MissInformed]

This is interesting.
Anyone have any pics of the area?

[PhilipG]

Where is Kensington Fields?

[Kev]

I pressume its that area just behind the Royal Hospital on the opposite side to where the Coach and Horses pub building is.

[MissInformed]

No idea Philip!

Found this other link.

http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Housing/Housing_improvement_and_repairs/Council_initiatives/index.asp

[theninesisters]

You may as well know.....:gossip:

I'm working on a website to do with the Demolition of Edge Lane/Kensington Fields/Edge Hill area with one of the main campaigners Elizabeth Pascoe.

It's nearly complete and when it is, I'll launch it on here first. It has lots of 3D flythrough's of what the area should look like with our plans as well as plans for Edge Lane and the new road scheme!

[Ged]

Kenny Fields social club is on Hall Lane, between Low Hill and Edge Lane.

[MissInformed]

cool, so you're in plans to demolish it all?

[theninesisters]

cool, so you're in plans to demolish it all?

Nope, I'm proving this website free of charge to save all the demolition. Having met lots of people and been in lots of their houses that are earmarked for the JCB, I am right with 'em. No one should ever be forced out of their houses for any reason.

[PhilipG]

I pressume its that area just behind the Royal Hospital on the opposite side to where the Coach and Horses pub building is.

You're probably right, Kev.
I've just done a Google and Hall Lane is mentioned.

I didn't realise there were so many conservation areas (34 it says).
It's quite encouraging.

[christy]

It is the area you mentioned Kev
All the roads after Jubilee drive that lead from Kenny to Edge Lane and across to Hall lane e.g. Albert Edward, Leopold rd etc. Mostly yellow glazed brick houses that still have the original cobbled road surfaces visible outside. They've (Kensington vision?) actually spent money cleaning any paint of a lot of the streets, installed new windows and rebuilt original walls etc to give the uniform terrace look back and they look really good. The conservation area makes sense .

[Kev]

A VICTORIAN housing estate on the edge of Liverpool city centre could become a conservation area to protect its character. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=plan-to-protect-historic-city-estate%26method=full%26objectid=18550874%26siteid= 50061-name_page.html)

I think its a great idea, the streets themselves have character and a charm.

[PhilipG]

A VICTORIAN housing estate on the edge of Liverpool city centre could become a conservation area to protect its character. more (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=plan-to-protect-historic-city-estate%26method=full%26objectid=18550874%26siteid= 50061-name_page.html)

I think its a great idea, the streets themselves have character and a charm.

Quote:
" Karen Flynn, chairwoman of the Kensington Fields Residents’ Association which has been campaigning for the status, said: “The is the last discreet area of Victorian housing outside London, which means it has a clear boundary. "

What is a "discreet area of Victorian housing", and why is this the last outside London?
Apart from that confusing statement, I agree with the lady's comments.

[MissInformed]

I think Kensington Fields was where Samuel Solomon built his mansion and mausoleum.

[taffy]

I think Kensington Fields was where Samuel Solomon built his mansion and mausoleum.

The Mausoleum was built in I think in the Aigburth area somewhere between Brodie Ave and Cooper Ave. Dr Solomon's home was from memory think off Edge Lane.

[ScouseLad]

The Mausoleum was built in I think in the Aigburth area somewhere between Brodie Ave and Cooper Ave. Dr Solomon's home was from memory think off Edge Lane.

His house was between Edge Hill and Kensington, more I think the Kenington side where now stands Solomon, Balm and Gilead Streets.

According to Richard Whittington-Egan in Liverpool Characters & Eccentrics his mausoleum was where Coopers
Avenue is now

[SteveFaragher]

I used to be a resident on the Fields and even at kensington's lowest points in the mid to late 90's (Crack Prostitutes on Jubillee Drive, Crack House Burnt dwon by local vigilanted, The Franeys and the dead baby in the binbag on the reservoir) before the beloved Kensington New Deal for Communities was set-up, the area still had a great deal of charm including the cobbles and the original cast iron fences which still survived (but have been replaced with replicas by the council).


The area was built on land originally owned by the church so there arent any pubs on the triangle but there are a couple of mission halls.

The area also has a very vociferous residents association who up until recently withdraw their co-operation from the New Deal (No Neal?) even picketing the Neighbourhood Assemblies.

[wallasey]

Quote:
" Karen Flynn, chairwoman of the Kensington Fields Residents’ Association which has been campaigning for the status, said: “The is the last discreet area of Victorian housing outside London, which means it has a clear boundary. "

What is a "discreet area of Victorian housing", and why is this the last outside London?
Apart from that confusing statement, I agree with the lady's comments.

I suppose Kenny Fields is rather discreet by way of the design of the houses is rather low key and is rather 'undualting'. There is no over the top detailing; it's just a very pleasant place to find yourself.

I don't now why she or he said "only place outside London" as the likes of Preston and Carlisle can boast scenes similar. They don't have the feel of Kenny Fields as we all know that Kenny Fileds is unique in design and feel but there are other places. Langworthy in Salford could be a example possibly but I ham slightly hesitant in writing that as it is all changing round there at the moment.

[marky]

I recently went to photograph a mosaic that was on Kenny Fields club (Hall Lane), but it was missing or had been plastered over.
This Flickr member has some pics of the conservation area:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulholloway/sets/72057594076909078/

[skgogosfan]

I think she actually said 'discrete' as in self-contained,but whoever wrote the story used the wrong word as they sound the same!

Dave.

[patbarton]

Hi everyone, I live on Kensington Fields, an area bounded by Jubilee Drive, Edge Lane, Kensington and Hall Lane. It is true that the residents of Kensington Fields have tried to secure conservation status for the fields, and I would like to tell you why if thats ok. But first I would like to clear something up.

The person who mentioned that improvements have been made in the fields thought this has been done by kensington vision. This is not the case and it was in fact Liverpool City Council. He mentions that the paint had been taken of the walls of the houses and that this has lifted the area. What he doesn't know is that the council insisted that the residents agreed the paint to be taken off the walls otherwise they wouldn't be able to get replacement windows etc. did he also know that, all this work carried out to peoples homes is to be paid for by the owner, and the financial liability last for ten years and does not decrease over those ten years, and if I sell my home within the ten years I have to pay the liability back, thus if I sell my home in the third or ninth year of the ten my liability would be the same.
He may or not be surprised to hear that the workmanship on the properties has also been that bad, there are still outstanding complaints spanning the last four years.

Anyways, back to conservation. The main reason this was sought was because the residents of Kensington Fields learnt very early on that both the council and Kensington Regeneration had no intention, or interest in looking at ways to lift the area, so the residents took it upon themselves to do it.

If anyone is interested I will post the dates of the next meeting of the Kensington Fields co-operative and you are welcome to come along to see what Kensington Fields and its residents are about.

Pat

[Kev]

Hi Pat,

A warm welcome aboard. Great to have someone like yourself who is directly involved in this.

Kev :)

[Kev]

It’s Kensington Fields forever

Oct 20 2007 (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/10/20/) by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/article/12032243.jpeg
It’s Kensington Fields forever

IT WAS famed as a parade ground for volunteer soldiers of yesteryear, and a “dry” area of Liverpool with a notable absence of the usual pub on every corner.

It was also where The Quarrymen, who metamorphosed into the Beatles, recorded some of their first songs.

Now Kensington Fields is to become Liverpool’s latest official conservation area, joining an elite list including the Pier Head, William Brown Street and Woolton Village, which have been afforded conservation status.

The “fields” is home to a community of 1,200 Victorian terraced homes, built to enable working-class families to escape from back-to-back slums in the inner city.

The forward-looking council used innovative by-laws to lay down a minimum standard for the terraced housing. The aim was to design better homes for the city’s growing population at the end of the 19th century.

The move towards official conservation area status has been recommended by senior politicians after the proposal won backing from local councillors and the community.

The city council’s Executive Board is now being asked to approve the status which will mean greater protection for the 1,200 homes in the area.

Last night Bernie Hunt, secretary of the Kensington Fields Co-operative, said: “We have been campaigning for this announcement for four years. There are only three complete Victorian terraced communities in the country and the other two, both in London, are already conservation areas.

“We have watched as original fittings such as wrought iron railings have been removed as part of so-called regeneration schemes. Now we can restore our area to its original state.”

The Conservation Area will cover the area bounded by Kensington, Jubilee Drive, Edge Lane and Hall Lane. A consultation exercise this year found overwhelming support from residents and regeneration agencies within the area, as well as conservation groups. As a housing area, Kensington Fields was developed quite late. It had remained undeveloped as the city’s suburbs grew around it, containing the city’s volunteer parade ground and the Mount Vernon Priory.

However, it fell to development pressures and the terraced housing was laid out during the 1890s. The influence of the Priory explains why the area contains no pubs. This possibly makes it unique in the city’s 19th century suburbs, where a pub on every corner is typical.

The area also has a place in the city’s pop music history. In 1955, at the back of his shop on Kensington, Percy Phillips built a small commercial recording studio.

It was here that The Quarrymen recorded some of their earliest songs, including a Harrison and McCartney composition that eventually saw the light of day in a 1995 Beatles Anthology.

Last night Don Chapman, who opened one of the city’s first television shops in the 1950s, welcomed the decision.

Mr Chapman said: “I have been in the area for almost half a century, having trained as a radio engineer before moving into television. Edge Lane used to be a tree-lined boulevard and anything that will improve the area is to be welcomed.”

Ironically, Mr Chapman is planning to close his business in the next few months because of the Edge Lane road widening scheme.

Councillor Berni Turner, the council’s executive member for Environment and Heritage said: “This will be our 35th conservation area but none of them have a character like Kensington Fields.

“The move for conservation area status has been driven by local people. They were the ones who asked for this status and have supported the idea.”

What will a Conservation area mean for Kensington Fields?

Said a city council spokesman last night: “As a conservation area, its special character and appearance will be preserved. It does not prevent new development occurring but it means:-

Any proposed demolition of buildings is subject to council control, with a presumption that there should be no demolition of architecturally or historically significant buildings.

There is greater consideration given to the design of new buildings in planning decisions.

larryneild

Can we get some pics of this area plus the finer details? Cheers....

[Kev]

COMMUNITY leaders said more than 1,200 Victorian homes were now safe for future generations after being granted conservation status. Read (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/10/23/victorian-terraces-win-heritage-status-100252-19992787/)

[Ged]

Great stuff.

[ChrisGeorge]

It’s Kensington Fields forever

Oct 20 2007 (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/10/20/) by Larry Neild, Liverpool Daily Post

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/article/12032243.jpeg
It’s Kensington Fields forever

It was also where The Quarrymen, who metamorphosed into the Beatles, recorded some of their first songs. . . .

The area also has a place in the city’s pop music history. In 1955, at the back of his shop on Kensington, Percy Phillips built a small commercial recording studio.

It was here that The Quarrymen recorded some of their earliest songs, including a Harrison and McCartney composition that eventually saw the light of day in a 1995 Beatles Anthology. . . .

This was new information for me but I see there is quite a bit about it on the web, e.g.,

"To coincide with the 25th anniversary year of the death of John Lennon, and a regeneration programme taking place in the Kensington area of Liverpool, today Friday 26 August 2005 a plaque was unveiled by original Quarrymen, John Duff Lowe and Colin Hanton. The plaque was erected on the house where Percy Philips had his Studio at 38 Kensington, Liverpool, where The Quarrymen recorded 'That'll Be The Day' and 'In Spite Of All The Danger.' Each received a replica of the plaque as a keepsake.

Source: http://drinkthis.typepad.com/answer_this/25th_anniversary_of_john_lennons_death/index.html

"In the summer of 1958 the band (consisting of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Hanton and Lowe) recorded two songs onto a 78-rpm acetate disc in Percy Philips' small demo studio in Kensington Road, Liverpool. The first recording was a cover of Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be the Day'. The second song was an original composition written by McCartney and Harrison, inspired by Elvis's song 'Tryin' To Get To You,' titled 'In Spite of All the Danger'. John Lennon sang lead vocal on the first song and harmonised with Paul on the second."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Quarrymen

[Ged]

And both songs can be heard on the Beatles Anthology 1.

[marky]

This 86C bus pulled up when I was around Concourse House. This is an old view of Kensington Fields Community Centre (Hall Lane). The last time I was around there, the mosaic above the door had gone and the brick-work painted over.

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee262/south_liverpool/Kensington_Fields_86C.jpg

[ginster]

I live in kensington fields but I know little about it's history so thanks guys you've been very informative. I agree that Kensington fields is a piece of our history that should be preserved, the council needs to work with residents to improve the area rather than demolish it.

The cobbled streets look very pretty but they are definitely in need of restoration. In places the road is so much higher in the middle than at the edges that my car scrapes it. Also improvement grants are available to residents to improve their homes, but only apply to work carried out on the front of the house up to £6000 after that the residents must pay the difference. Grants must be paid back in full if residents sell their homes within 10 years. the scheme does improve the look of the houses from the front. It seems to be aimed at improving the look of the houses rather than for the benefit of the residents.

Making Kensington Fields a conservation area could really give the area a boost that it needs!

Gini

[ericfaragh]

Kensington Fields Community Centre now has its own website at

home.btconnect.com/kfca/

Check it out for activities and classes in the area.