Important opinions - Letter by Nina Edge in Daily Post
 
THE loss of local shops in L8, described by Mary Huxham in the Daily Post Letters page, is sad. It is a loss that lots of communities have suffered in many towns and cities. As the cost of transport and amount of traffic increases, we can only hope that necessity will force the return of the corner shop and local shopping streets which can be reached by foot.
 
Hopefully, the developers will make a commitment to replacing local shops and businesses, instead of merely talking about them as a "possibility".
 
Anyone who lived in the area for an entire lifetime and served their community deserves a hearing, after all the long experience of a situation is invaluable. Equally valid are the views of people who have moved to the area more recently.
 
The need to repair, re-use and recycle is becoming increasingly apparent. It is disappointing to find Elizabeth Pascoe, the Heritage lobby, Trevor Macdonald and anyone who was not born in the Welsh Streets belittled for daring to suggest demolition may cause as many problems as it solves.
 
Why has it become so controversial to merely repair a house, or even discuss the possibility of doing so?
 
Countless neighbourhoods in Liverpool could become vibrant again, but, as Miss Pascoe has so bravely demonstrated, the delivery of regeneration schemes may need to reach for compromise as a useful tool with which to face the future. The lead agencies in regeneration schemes would have done well to consider the legal stability of their plans before raising what may now prove to be unrealistic expectations among residents and developers.
 
There is no resistance to change amongst the opponents of demolition in the Welsh Streets, although a change in the behaviour of the agencies involved may be necessary before we see the return of vibrancy.
 
Nina Edge,

Victims - letter by another Toxteth Resident   MARY HUXHAM (Letters, November 10) berates "heritage groups" for being against mass demolition and only being concerned with buildings. She ought to know that the experience of L8 residents of past demolition schemes has been bitter indeed. Just ask Granby Street residents, whose streets are still decimated 10 years after being declared a neighbourhood renewal area, one of many examples of communities being the victims, not beneficiaries, of regeneration in Liverpool.   The Eldonian Village is a successful improvement area, but she could look closer to home for other successes. Heritage groups are responsible for the restoration and refurbishment of Toxteth Town Hall, on High Park Street, The Belvedere Community Activity Centre on Miles Street and, shortly, the magnificent Florence Institute (The Florrie), on Mill Street. These are projects which really improve people's lives and maximise the value of our shared heritage in all its forms.   I also want to "restore this area to the vibrant place it used to be and can be again"; I simply can't agree that this is best done through bulldozers and CPOs (Compulsory Purchase Orders). The current plans for the Welsh Streets concern us all, and are extremely expensive in economic, environmental and social terms.   Tom Calderbank, Toxteth Park