Slum clearances and mass exodus to newtowns

[Ged]

Skelmersdale newtown is 50 years old and to mark the occasion the local Advertiser has a special pull out to celebrate this anniversary/birthday.

Peter Grant of the Liverpool Echo upon being contacted by the Skelmersdale Advertiser's feature writer kindly pointed him in my direction and I was only too glad to help with the article which appears in this weeks edition which came out yesterday.

A number of people have contributed and there are some fine photographs to boot.

Obviously it is well known that the Scotland Road slum clearance programme and then the building of the Kingsway tunnel provided Skelmersdale of many scousers and the feature looks at that in part.


http://www.osadvertiser.co.uk/news/skelmersdale-news/2011/10/06/skelmersdale-marks-50-years-as-a-new-town-100252-29546843/

[gregs dad]

Well done Ged

[Ged]

Cheers Joe.


A different newtown, your place Joe. Here are Kirkby's first residents getting the keys to their new house.


http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/1363/s1sthouse.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/153/s1sthouse.jpg/)

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---------- Post added at 05:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:19 PM ----------

Part of the 16 page pull out special. That's not my description of me by the way. I'm just an enthusiast like the rest of yers.


http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1323/71992391.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/41/71992391.jpg/)

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[GNASHER]

Nice one Ged.
We were 'transported' to Skem in '72 but I managed to escape in '74.I only pinched a loaf.
My mum is on a life strech her only crime was havin' me.

[ItsaZappathing]

Well done Ged. :handclap:

[collegepudding]

Well Done Ged :handclap:

Couldn't Help, tongue in cheek amending a section of that Press release you linked too,,,,,,,heres my amended paragraph....not to be taken too seriously.....

The first brick was laid at New Church Farm on June 24, 1964, by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, with the first family moving in five months later and the Lord Mayor finally finding his way through the roundabouts and safely back to the Liverpool Town Hall shortly after that...:D

collegepudding

[gregs dad]

We left Liverpool in 1957 for Kirkby, Kirkby later became a borough council and started building their own houses. We live in the first houses they built on Tower Hill, ours was the show house which the council were shown as a sample of what they would look like,so we ended up with door frames etc; being very true.
First phase of Tower Hill was built at a cost of £4,700 per unit the second phase the council built to the minimal standard that was allowed for council tenants costing only £2,700 a unit.
Even to this day people ask "do you live on the `lecky side or the gas side"
There are no stud walls on the first phase houses all interior walls are breeze blocks.
Went from paying £1 19s 11d rent in Westvale to £4 13s on Tower Hill, hence the famous rent strike
Don`t know what the rents are now as very few are council tenants, nearly everybody has bought them now.

[BlueJeans]

We left Liverpool in 1957 for Kirkby, Kirkby later became a borough council and started building their own houses. We live in the first houses they built on Tower Hill, ours was the show house which the council were shown as a sample of what they would look like,so we ended up with door frames etc; being very true.
First phase of Tower Hill was built at a cost of £4,700 per unit the second phase the council built to the minimal standard that was allowed for council tenants costing only £2,700 a unit.
Even to this day people ask "do you live on the `lecky side or the gas side"
There are no stud walls on the first phase houses all interior walls are breeze blocks.
Went from paying £1 19s 11d rent in Westvale to £4 13s on Tower Hill, hence the famous rent strike
Don`t know what the rents are now as very few are council tenants, nearly everybody has bought them now.

I had an auntie who moved to Kirkby in the very early 60s, she loved it. Most of her sisters stayed near the City centre, a journey to her house always felt like a trip to the countryside in those days (by bus, no cars in the family).

Really interesting your story in relation to the quality of the initial phase, and the lower quality of subsequent phases.

[wsteve55]

I think we moved up there,about then,but no shops,meant depending on mobiles!We ended up moving back into Liverpool.

[ItsaZappathing]

We left Liverpool in 1957 for Kirkby, Kirkby later became a borough council and started building their own houses. We live in the first houses they built on Tower Hill, ours was the show house which the council were shown as a sample of what they would look like,so we ended up with door frames etc; being very true.
First phase of Tower Hill was built at a cost of £4,700 per unit the second phase the council built to the minimal standard that was allowed for council tenants costing only £2,700 a unit.
Even to this day people ask "do you live on the `lecky side or the gas side"
There are no stud walls on the first phase houses all interior walls are breeze blocks.
Went from paying £1 19s 11d rent in Westvale to £4 13s on Tower Hill, hence the famous rent strike
Don`t know what the rents are now as very few are council tenants, nearly everybody has bought them now.

I remember you telling me about this Joe. :PDT11

[Doris Mousdale]

I had an auntie who moved to Kirkby in the very early 60s, she loved it. Most of her sisters stayed near the City centre, a journey to her house always felt like a trip to the countryside in those days (by bus, no cars in the family).

Really interesting your story in relation to the quality of the initial phase, and the lower quality of subsequent phases.

My parents bought a three bedroomed semi-detached house in Almonds Green West Derby in 1960 for 3000GBP they were built three years earlier for 2700GBP so 2700 didn't have to mean lower quality .

[Ged]

Interesting stories all. Cheers.

[collegepudding]

http://www.chavtowns.co.uk/2006/04/the-land-of-roundabouts-skelmersdale/

Thought provoking article & interesting comments following by residents...

This was published some while back ..hopefully thing have improved since then.


collegepudding

[gregs dad]

Contrary to popular belief the first family to move into the new church farm estate in Skelmersdale, were from Stockport not Liverpool.

[grekko]

Contrary to popular belief the first family to move into the new church farm estate in Skelmersdale, were from Stockport not Liverpool.

Immigration problems even then..... bloody foreigners;)