In Granby 4 Streets, PlusDane and Liverpool Mutual Homes have been on site for some time now. And very gratifying it has been to see them. Still, they’re big organisations with lots of experience and that’s the kind of thing you expect them to do. But now they’ve been joined on site by something wonderful.
So obviously I had to get down there and have a look at this.
All of the 10 Community Land Trust (CLT) houses are on Cairns Street (And see here, by the way, for exactly who’s doing what in the 4 Streets).
Mitie and Clan, the CLT contractors are here.
Meanwhile I’m keen to get inside one of the houses.
The contractor who showed me round didn’t seem unduly worried, actually. But obviously the structures will all be looked at very carefully as all this stripping back takes place.
Sounds coming from next door houses that have been silent for years.
Yes, sadly, the greenery the guerrilla gardeners from here planted up to see the streets through to their future, is now having to be cut back and cut down for the restoration works to take place. It’s sad, and it’s the end of an era. But it’s also the beginning of a new one. An era we weren’t at all sure was going to happen.
Talking to some of the contractors they tell me proudly that last week they were the ones who moved the Hillsborough Memorial in Anfield while works at the football ground are taking place. ‘And we’re being just as careful here. We know how precious this place is.’
Soon there will be local young people on site and soon the restoring will begin. I’ll be back to talk to them, to show you what’s happening, to talk with the architects and contractors and show you some designs. Of course I will. To show you this continuing miracle of a community taking hold of its own land and restoring its own homes.
By the people, of the people, for the people – as we always say in Granby. We are on our way.
How satisfying to see a community revival. I especially love the purple bins. They look so regal. x jan