"That concept just didn't work anymore, people living on top of each other? Pissy smelly staircases and lifts? If the lifts ever worked they probably had no lights in! "
It worked perfectly well mate in Great Richmond St..and all the lights worked.
I didnt think you had a clue either what was going on on London Rd..
Originally Posted by Jericho
I am also trying to work this one out. That part of town always looks deserted to me at that time unless a show has just finished at the Empire. It's like a cliffhanger - I'm waiting for the next installment.
And Im waiting Jericho to see if anyone knows whats going on on London Rd.
Getting good innit
How about giving us a clue then?
Well I'm completely lost now.
What is going on in London Rd that we do or don't know about?
Is the Bearded Lady back again? Whisky Mary? Springheel Jack?
I think it will always be in a constant state of flux. I don't think it belongs to anyone in particular. If it wasn't for students and tourists it wouldn't be half as busy I reckon.
In the evenings in the city centre, say around 8-9pm mid-week, its quite dead - in a nice way. Going for a walk around town when the shops are closed can be really nice.
Last edited by goldenface; 04-25-2007 at 10:58 AM.
Not just yet..lets see if anyone knows first Eh ?
I don't know, but it's really boring me. Can't be that significant if hardly anybody knows about it.
Im off out for a nice little walk now and to take a few snaps..
Lovely day isnt it...Lol... Byyyee---eeeee...
@snappel
I suppose we will have to work out for ourselves what the scum is at the bottom of London Road.
He can't mean the people who go the Empire Theatre can he? The people who drink in the Lord Duncan? The people in the kebab shop?
I'm flummoxed!
But I'll tell you what, I'm not going down again after 10pm. I don't know what to expect now.
Last edited by goldenface; 04-25-2007 at 12:02 PM.
I don't know what's going on in London road so i'm not going to go there (I don't mean i'm not going to go to London road, I just mean i'm not in a position to comment on what's supposed to be going on there)
However, Goldenface. Having lived in Gerard Crescent and Gerard Gardens and with the film Gardens of Stone having now been shown to around 2000 people + I do feel in a position to comment on the old tenement blocks.
Firstly, council policy in the 1980s was to sell of prime real estate so they purposely let these blocks become run down, look at Minster Court and the Bullring now. A flat in Wavertree Gardens (now Abbeygate apartments) was sold in the Daily post for K160 after two weeks advertising . JMU were sold lots of Gerard Gardens land, Hunter Street was widened to 12 lanes of traffic - the road becoming ever more important than people - countless on the Scottie Press site will tell you that they were cannon fodder and moved out to Kirkby, Skem, Speke, Norris Green etc -splitting up communities in the process.
You say two things which strike a nerve.
(1) 'That Concept just didn't work anymore, people living on top of each other'
Can you explain then why billions has been spent collectively on view 146, Freedom Heights, new apartments at Beetham Tower, Leeds Street, London Road, Marybone, Victoria Halls, Hatton Garden to name but a minute few - I can think of 30 more that roll off the tongue down Duke St, Colquitt st way and all the high rise in Sefton Pk, China town tennies etc.....
(2) 'But times change don't they'
Yes they do. Do you think they've changed for the better when it comes to communities? I don't and I know from the reaction at the screenings mentioned above attended by a whole cross section of people from all ages and walks of life that is the general concensus.
I think this topic has been done in part before.
See the tenement thread under housing.
Ah, I see!
So the council run them down on purpose? I often wondered why they became the way they did. They were pictures of neglect in the 80's but I never knew why - I just assumed the council couldn't be bothered with them anymore.
When I said 'that concept', I meant that type of municipal housing. Loads of them were demolished too weren't they? Like Windsor Gardens at the top of Falkner Street, that was knocked down and just an open field was left in its place for years.
I'll have a good read of the thread. Thanks matey!
Last edited by goldenface; 04-25-2007 at 12:27 PM.
Some interesting points there Ged, thanks.
Many years ago I lived at Minster Court for a short while looking after someone's flat, and I have to say it was very pleasant, but then again it was mainly full of students, although there were some families there.
Running them down on purpose might not have been the correct phrasology, but perhaps neglect of their duties regarding maintenance might have been better.
It's great that new housing was built but sometimes only 150 houses were built to house what were 400 flats. This is why the 1969 film 'Us and them' (Us being the residents and Them being the council) was made, the 1978 film by the Vauxhall Neighbourhood council called 'Homes not Roads' too and of course the award winning Eldonians group was formed out of a community battling against the council who wanted to split up the Burlington Street tenement residents.
It was not just Windsor Gardens whose site lay dormant for many years. The Four Squares off Soho Street is still a lumpy grasses site fit for no-one after nearly two decades.
Some of the older residents didn't want front and back gardens to manage and the beauty of the old landings was that people had to pass your front door and this would lead to people just standing there, leaning over, jangling whilst watching the world go by. Full of mod cons but not full of memories, more a feeling of isolation for many, especially those who lost old friends to far outlying districts.
It seems like its a never-ending story really doesn't it.
Even now we have communities battling to stay together, like the tenants of the Welsh Streets off Windsor Street.
I guess what it boils down to is people don't like being shoved around for one reason or another, all in the name of progress.
In the 1960s, the original proposals for the 2nd Mersey Road crossing were mooted to be in the south of the city. However, fighting residents in the leafy suburbs with CPO's was cast aside when there was easy fodder half a mile from the Queensway tunnel, known as council tenement residents.
If you see the swathes of approach roads and how much housing was affected for the Kingway tunnel in relation to the discreet Queensway entrance (purposely picked at that location because it would cause the minimum of disruption) you would knw what the protest films are getting at.
ALso all those ill placed walkovers around Byrom street that were obstacles and hurdles for children and the elderly.
The city centre did once have a thriving and stable community, it wasn't always students and tourists, in fact in the 1970s, the councils idea of attracting tourism was to demolish the Cavern.
Thanks for explaining what went on Ged. It makes you stop and think doesn't it. Do you mean to say that there were plans for the tunnel in the south of the city ?? I never knew this.
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