Cairns Street L8, where the Street Market will be.
This Saturday 6th September, from 10 ’til 3 it’s the Granby 4 Streets Market. The culmination of this summer’s 4 Streets Markets and a guaranteed celebration of a very significant year in the history of the 4 Streets. So today I went for a walk around the streets with Eleanor Lee of the Granby 4 Street Community Land Trust, so we could show you what’s happening, and to encourage you to come and have a look for yourself on Saturday.
You’ll be very welcome.
The late summer flowers are out.
And on Saturday lovely Cairns Street here will be full of activity.
“To mark the end of the season, and to celebrate the start of the renovation works, we have musicians, DJs and poets performing live throughout the day. There will be children’s activities along with stalls selling bric-a-brac, second hand clothes and handmade jewellery, scarves and bags. There will also be delicious hot food, as well as fresh baked bread from Homebaked – a Community Land Trust, like Granby Four Streets, using imaginative ways to regenerate their area on the other side of the city in Anfield.”
Yes, that’s right Homebaked will be at the Market.
Bringing their speciality breads and pies from their Anfield bakery.
Great to see Liverpool’s two Community Land Trusts working together.
And oh yes, after many, many years of campaigning and gradually coming together the Granby partners I told you about in spring this year have now got builders on the streets.
On Cairns Street.
Jermyn Street.
Scenes many of us have dreamed of for years.
Granby 4 Streets, on site!
On Cairns Street today…
Builders having their lunch where you may be sat on Saturday.
The works won’t get in the Street Market’s way.
And there’ll be some tidying up before Saturday.
Round in Jermyn Street, housing association LMH’s builders have a site office open to the public.
Good clear contact details.
And apprentices on site.
In Beaconsfield Street, Plus Dane are at work.
And here we found more demolition than we’d expected.
Where we’d been expecting a terrace being refurbished.
We found this.
Sadly, because of the conditions they found, only the front elevations will be preserved.
The rest is being carefully demolished, to be replaced by virtually new houses.
That party wall of an existing resident’s house at the end there being carefully protected.
Unlike this one at the Princes Avenue end of Cairns Street.
Where the builder had just told a very worried resident that she ‘might have to move out.’
We knew these houses were going but had hoped for more care to be taken.
Obviously this is very difficult work, doing refurbishments and selective demolitions in a neighbourhood that’s only mostly empty.
Putting the few residents there are in very precarious positions ‘between’ sites.
So, early days, but I think the ‘consideration’ needs tightening up.
Meanwhile Eleanor does some tidying and gardening before the Street Market.
On Saturday there will be stalls along here.
Just outside the houses now being worked on.
And ok, there are some things to be tightened up as works get going, but Granby 4 Streets are flowering again.
And out on Granby Street is the first new business at this end of the road for a very long time.
Hazel Tilley of the Community Land Trust had her hair done here yesterday and thoroughly recommends them.
Book now and you could have your hair or your nails or your eyebrows done while you’re at the Street Market!
Here is Hazel (and dog) telling them how much she likes her new hair-do.
So the Guerrilla Gardeners of Granby have done their work.
The garden is ready.
The 4 Streets are ready.
And even the Biennial pigeons are ready.
Theresa MacDermott, one of the Market organisers says:
“Come down and enjoy the end of summer with us. We have had one or two markets rained off this year, so make the most of the last market of the season and celebrate the new beginnings for the area. It will be a great atmosphere as usual, with talented artists performing all day. And you’ll be able to enjoy great food and snap up bargains along the way.
Say goodbye to summer at the best community market in Liverpool – of the people, by the people, for the people.”
It will look something like this, the 4 Streets Market in September, a community celebrating itself.
Don’t even think of missing it.
And if you’d like a stall at the Market, here are the contact details:
Joe Farrag: 07876 835 288
Rosa Smith: 0151 726 9379
granby4streetsmarket@hotmail.co.uk
Will have to dust my passport down, get a tunnel bus and have a look at this. Great to see such community spirit in these days of Thatcher-Cameron-inspired me-me society.
Thatcher and Cameron are not the kind of names you hear being kindly mentioned along Granby Street. Be good to see you there.