LOSTFOREVER

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A great deal of history has been lost in the Klondyke area that can never be replaced or recreated.

The Housing Market Renewal Initiative Pathfinder Scheme, which started in 2002 has been compared to, or even been said to have done more damage than WWII. The Klondyke streets have been emptied. A few residents remain with a view over a seemingly war torn area, with the war being over demolition and refurbishment.

Historical buildings have been lost including St John and St James Church. The Victorian Gothic window of the Welsh Presbyterian Church has been destroyed but the remainder of this historical Church has been preserved through the legal action of SAVE Britain’s Heritage.

The rows of terraced houses have also suffered, if not more so. They have been set fire to, had their slates removed and many have been demolished but most of all, these homes have been emptied by the Pathfinder Scheme, some streets as long as eight years.

1920

32

1921

‘We left streets like war zones’Warren Bradley

(Former leader of Liverpool City Council)

33

1922

34

1923

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‘...bulldozing buildings and knocking down neighbourhoods... demolishing our Victorian heritage’ Grant Shapps

(Minister for Housing)

1924

36

1925

‘...heartbreaking tale of misery, waste and destruction.’ Jonathan Brown

(SAVE Britain’s Heritage)

37

1926

38

1927

39

‘...one of the most distressing, indeed shocking, sights you will see in English cities today.’ Marcus Binney

(SAVE Britain’s Heritage President)

1928

40

1929

‘The housing market renewal programme did more housing destruction and community destruction than there has been at any time since the war’ Grant Shapps

(Minister for Housing)

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1930

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‘...the likely outcome of turning vacant homes into vacant land.’ Mark Hines Architects

1931

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1932

44

1933

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‘...housing stock worth tens of millions of pounds, easily capable of renovation,is being sent to landfill.’ SAVE Britain’s Heritage

1934

46

1935

‘Its abrupt end left some neighbourhoodsin limbo.’ Andy McFarlane

(BBC news reporter)

47

1936

48

1937

‘...the victim of a deal struck betweenthe Diocese of Liverpool and a property developer’ SAVE Britain’s Heritage

49

1938

50

1939

‘...slowly dying neighbourhoods littered with thousands of empty homes.’ Grant Shapps

(Minster for Housing)

51

1940

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1941

‘The wreckage of the housing regeneration crash has cut deep into the neighbourhoods they were intended to renew.’David Ireland

(Chief Executive of Empty Homes)

53

1942

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1943

‘Where once children played, the streets are desolate’ Andy McFarlane

(BBC news reporter)

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1944

56

1945

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‘It destroyed 10 times more homes in this country than it built’ Grant Shapps

(Minister for Housing)

1946

58

1947

‘...boarded-up terraced properties that are effectively ghost towns.’ Helen Carter

(Guardian Reporter)

59

1948

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1949

‘The families in these half-empty ghost streets should not be left desperately hoping for someone to re-order the rubble.’ Grant Shapps

(Housing for Minister)

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1950

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P32Rear of Springwell Road

P33A pile of bricks after the demolition of Willard Street

P34Interior of Bridget Hogan’s former home on Willard Street

P35St John and St James Church, Monfa Road

P36Arson in Mona Street

P37Roof slates removed, Willard Street

P38Window of The Welsh Presbyterian Church, Springwell Road

P39Front ornate window removed from The Welsh Presbyterian Church

P40Interior of St John and St James Church, Monfa Road

P41Willard Street undergoing demolition

P42Demolition of St John and St James Church, Monfa Road

P43The Welsh Presbyterian Church without a roof

P44The Welsh Presbyterian Church

P45Demolition of Monfa Road

P46Monfa Road

P47The Welsh Presbyterian Church

P48Roof slate from The Welsh Presbyterian Church on the ground

P49St John and St James Church during demolition in Monfa Road

P50Remains of St John and St James Church in Monfa Road

P51Springwell Road

P52Empty homes in Glynne Street

P53Demolition of The Welsh Presbyterian Church, Springwell Road

P54Glynne Street during demolition

P55Demolition of several homes from the rear of Glynne Street

P56Monfa Road awaiting demolition

P57Monfa Road during demolition

P58Interior of Glynee Street home during demolition

P59The Welsh Presbyterian Church without ornate window

P60Party wall of standing houses in Springwell Road

P61The Welsh Presbyterian Church with ornate window intact

P62Rear of Marion Road

WWII begin in 1939 and ended in 1945. This destruction of the Klondyke began in 2002 so far it has lasted over ten years.

©Little Klondyke 2012Photography by Juliet EdgarDesigned by Jessy EdgarMaritime Community Development Agency, Charity Number: 1067675