Empty houses on Edge Lane _320
THE long-awaited regeneration and widening of Liverpool’s Edge Lane has been given the go-ahead, after the Government confirmed a compulsory purchase order to force homeowners to sell up.
National regeneration agency English Partnerships, along with partners including Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Vision, has welcomed the decision to confirm the compulsory purchase order (CPO) that was made for Edge Lane West in July, 2007.
Almost 90% of the properties are either already in public ownership or are in the process of acquisition.
There will now be a six-week period during which a challenge to the decision to confirm the order may be lodged with the High Court.
Edge Lane homeowner Elizabeth Pascoe has led the charge for oppo-nents of the scheme for four years.
The grandmother formed BEVEL – Better Environmental Vision for Edge Lane – and took on the developers at the second public inquiry in January.
Previously, she has been granted two separate injunctions halting demolition of houses in the area. It is unclear if she will launch any further legal action to save her home.
Planning inspector Philip Major concluded a “compelling case” had been made for moving homeowners.
He said in a report published yesterday: “The Order Lands [covered by the CPO] are in an urban area, and . . . I am satisfied they are ineffec-tively used or underused. Many properties are vacant, neglected and unsightly, and some are derelict.”
He added the area was in need of regeneration and as a whole is “unsightly and detracts from . . . Liverpool in general”.
There would be “substantial public benefit” from the English Partner-ship Scheme which “would deliver the renaissance which is sought” for Edge Hill and Kensington.
Eliot Lewis-Ward, English Part-nerships’ area director for Mersey-side and Cheshire, said: “The regen-eration of the Edge Lane corridor remains of critical importance for Liverpool and the wider region, and will deliver significant housing, employment and environmental benefits for the community.”
Liverpool Council leader Warren Bradley said: “The overwhelming majority of residents have supported plans to regenerate the Edge Lane area and will welcome this decision whole-heartedly.”
