Inquiry told historic Welsh Streets can't be saved simply because 'Ringo may have walked there once'

An inquiry was told Liverpool’s historic Welsh Streets can’t simply be saved because “Ringo may have walked there once.” Keeping half of Madryn Street, where Beatles drummer Ringo Starr lived until the age of three, leaves enough to tell the “Ringo story”, Rob Burns, urban design and heritage Manager at Liverpool council told the public inquiry into plans to redevelop the area.

The plans to develop the Welsh Streets include knocking down half of the street but retaining and refurbishing numbers one to 16.  SAVE, who are opposing the council’s plans  in favour of total refurbishment, said  the plans mean Madryn Street would be “just left as a stub.”But Mr Burns rejected that description, instead summing up the scheme as keeping a “residual element.” He said: “It’s about balance and the intention wasn’t to keep a street, it was to have variety.” SAVE argued that keeping the street was important to show the context of Ringo’s house, number nine - one of the traditional Victorian terraces. But Mr Burns said that was not necessary and that you could “tell the Ringo story by retaining half of Madryn Street and its association with Admiral Grove and the Empress pub.”

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Source: Liverpool Echo