Livv to demolish quartet of Knowsley tower blocks
Four buildings on the corner of Gaywood Avenue and Broad Lane in Kirkby are to be torn down to facilitate the redevelopment of the site.
Livv Housing Group has submitted a planning application to Knowsley Council requesting permission to demolish the Gaywood Green buildings, which house 256 flats.
Demolition could begin in May and last until the end of March 2024, according to planning documents.
Livv is in the early stages of working up proposals for the future redevelopment of the site and is consulting with local residents about what those plans could look like.
All of the buildings are empty. They have recently been used by fire crews across the North West for training.
In 2018, Knowsley Housing Trust – now Livv following a restructure – was found to be non-compliant by the Regulator for Social Housing due to health and safety issues at another cluster of tower blocks in Kirkby.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue also sent notices to the trust citing concerns over the safety of Gaywood Green.
The same year, the trust’s board voted to decant residents from the blocks with a view to demolishing the buildings.
The regulator reaffirmed Livv as a compliant provider in 2019.
To learn more, search for application number 23/00043/DEMCON on Knowsley Council’s planning portal.
Soon everywhere in Kirkby will be flat and low rise, I know these blocks have been empty but a private developer might have been sought to do a quality refurbish and rent them. Livv say they will consult the residents about what they want, but we know what the answer will be houses and bungalows, in this case current residents are dictating what future people want to live in and that`s just ridiculous as then nothing changes. Can`t these housing associations do something visionary for a change and make their own decisions.
By Anonymous
Anonymous (4:23pm)
Not everyone likes living in a high rise.
There are also a lot of mid-density alternatives like town houses, mansion blocks and modern almshouse style configurations.
A locality often contains people local for generations and newcomers. Compromises always need to be made – we don’t know what future residents seek. Perhaps they desire houses too.
By SW
Ridiculous comment by anon. Building hi-rise as social or affordable housing has been disastrous, certainly around here. Keep such things to Liverpool city centre for those that can afford to pay. A mix of low rise, houses and yes, bungalows would be better. More bungalows would hopefully free up larger homes for families to move into. Not everyone who is old or disabled wants to live in a flat. As for dictating for future residents, do you want something built and left empty because current residents don’t like them?
By Carl.
Livv should liaise with their colleagues at LMH and see what they did with Marwood Tower on Scotland Road, an empty tower block now transformed and properly managed , a superb example of how to recycle a building.
By Anonymous
Knowing what we now know of the materials that they’re built with, like the Grenfield ones in London. It’s probably more financially better to knock down than modernise a block thats vacant as you never know what materials are in there. In Preston there are dozens of tower blocks that are being worked on to rectify the combustible materials they were built with, they’ve been cordoned off for over 18mths now with no sign of the finish date. It’s likely to be the case with most tower blocks now!
By Blondie58
We need more housing like independent living flats
By Mrs v Murphy
Can someone tell me when the demolition will take place on the second building?.
By Natalie
I’ve seen the crane and wrecking ball swinging all day
By Anonymous