Liverpool's Welsh Streets 'masterplan' approved

An illustrative image shows how the refurbished properties could look

A revised plan to transform Liverpool's Welsh Streets area has been approved by councillors.

About 300 homes will be refurbished or newly built as part of a "masterplan" from development company Placefirst.

A previous £15m plan for the site in Dingle, which includes Ringo Starr's birthplace on Madryn Street, was blocked by the government.

The city council said it was hoped 75% of existing homes will be retained rather than demolished.

Placefirst have already carried out a pilot project, bringing some terraced properties on High Park Street and Voelas Street in Princes Park back into use by remodelling the houses.

The new plan includes communal gardens with improved streets and drainage.

'Breathe new life'

Over a third of the homes will have four bedrooms, while 109 will have three and the remaining 61 will have two, a council spokeman said.

He said 30 would have affordable rent, 35 would be part of a shared ownership scheme, 194 would be let at market rent and 35 would be available to buy.

The Welsh Streets

• The properties are nicknamed the Welsh Streets as they were built and lived in by Welsh workers in the late 19th Century

• They are named after Welsh towns, villages and valleys

• Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was born at 9 Madryn Street

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the council had already demonstrated "imaginative" ways of retaining properties where viable, with the regeneration of Anfield and Homes for a Pound scheme.

He said the plans were "really exciting" and would "breathe new life into the area and give it a long-term sustainable future".

The former £15m Welsh Streets project had been approved by the council's planning committee and upheld by a public inquiry, but was rejected by ex-Communities Secretary Eric Pickles on the grounds that it was "short-sighted as regards the future tourism potential of Madryn Street".

Other reasons for the rejection included the impact on nearby listed buildings and conservation area, design issues around local character and distinctiveness and a clash with national policy on bringing back empty homes into residential use.