9 Madryn Street
Well there’s a surprise…the Sunday Express is apparently still in print.
“Ringo Starr’s childhood home could be saved from the bulldozers, thanks to an obscure planning law. Planners at Liverpool City Council want to replace the buildings along Madryn Street with new housing, arguing that it would cost £150,000 to renovate each of the 300 two-up, two-down terraced homes… Housing Minister Grant Shapps is trying to save the drummer’s old home at number 9 from demolition because of its cultural importance. He is using an obscure law to argue for a reprieve for the building, giving heritage campaigners a chance to put forward a plan for its preservation.”
Hasn’t Grant Shapps got anything better to do? Like running a country? And if anyone has a decent answer to that then just take a look at the building itself and repeat the question. It’s got less architectural significance than Michael Jackson’s face. And less structural integrity, one suspects.
He’s using a law for a purpose other than it was intended to clog up the wheels of bureaucracy for the sake of a cheap expensive headline and the approval of a handful of Scouse voters. Is he New Labour in disguise?
Everyone in Liverpool hates Ringo Starr since he disowned it as his home. We should bulldoze it anyway even if it wasn’t scheduled…
Hmm, I had wondered where all of Starr’s money was during this nonsense. That explains that.
Frankly, I’m quite happy to drive the bulldozer myself just to annoy the braindead “campaigners” who have been infesting Sky News all morning.
Regardless of the rights & wrongs of the case, how the hell can it cost £150K to renovate properties like this??? The TV shows would do it for a tenth of that, and even if you doubled it for a decent job, it’s still way below the articles quote…..
Oh, I forgot – this would obviously be the Councils own direct labour department rates…..
I have some experience of whole-area renovation jobs like this having been involved in project managing laying fibre for a few.
It’s not just the £150k for each property that’s shocking, its the lack of economy of scale with one set of builders working their way across the whole area. All in all it shouldn’t cost more than 30k per house give or take.
But yes, unionised in-house labour. You’re on a loser from the start. And kiss goodbye to a completion date too.
Peace and love, peace and love. £150,000 to renovate each house….you can build a new house AND buy the land to build it on for much less than renovating a two up two down terrace in this part of Liverpool. Methinks someone is going to make a great deal of money if renovation is the street they go down at the expense of the tax and Council Tax payers.
Put it this way, if there was the slightest chance of this going out to competitive tender and 150k being the guide price to quote around, I’d be bidding like a shot.
“cultural importance”? This is a joke,,right? *DONT_KNOW*
What a fucking shithole – a few well-placed explosive charges is the best and cheapest option for that eyesore! 😛
I think that we have a different definition of “cultural importance” to the one this guy does.
Even the bloke who was born here hates it and hates the city.
Blow it up? If buildings could feel shame then this one would take a walk into the woods and shoot itself. Twice.
Flatten the whole lot, preferably with Ringo (not a)Starr in it and then just walk away. I guarantee that within 48 hours a bunch of scouser pikey scumbags will have completely re-developed the site. Tarmac drives and everything. Cost to the tax payer? Nothing. Well, not until the end of the week when they all trip down to the benefit office for their handouts.
OOps, where are my manners. I meant to thank you for adding my site to your blogroll. Much appreciated, Thank you!
Not to mention stripped your car down, repainted it and sold it back to you. And used the building site to dispose of a pile of bodies.
My pleasure; you’ve got an entertaining blog starting up there – best of luck with it!
Pikeys?? No, they prefer to redevelop green field sites – less effort required.