Comments on: Poplar Street and Valentine Grove, 1972

By: Colin W

Colin W — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:46:51 +0000

I was brought up in Valentine Grove , in one of the houses in your picture, moving out in 1966. I never thought of it as a slum at the time and only started to realise what we’d been missing when my parents managed to buy a new house in 1966 , but how quickly we got used to hot running water and an inside toilet.There were lots of good times in Valentine Grove tho’

By: Colin

Colin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 21:46:02 +0000

Hi Chris,
With hindsight, I think most people would agree. At the end of the 39-45 War, a different consensus had emerged (with all party support), with a new vision of the future fired with a (as it now appears) misplaced optimism in a new, modern city – with satellite towns such as Speke, Skelmersdale and Kirkby relieving the pressure on the worn-out areas of Liverpool. I really don’t think it was a black and white argument – and it is somewhat unfair to blame the planners and politicians. Many of the people moved out were delighted to live in new houses with bathrooms, hot water etc. Liverpool had some of the worst slums in the country – gerrybuilt housing that was past renovation in most cases. Radical action was called for – unfortunately the results were often disastrous.

By: Chris Evans

Chris Evans — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:58:16 +0000

There are many sides to the argument, but I consider the vast “parkland” that the planners instigated tore the heart out of Everton. Surely a better approach would have been to renovate the area where possible, only demolish the overcrowded slums.
I recommend Ken Rogers book “The Lost Tribe of Everton and Scottie Road” for a fuller description where he names those responsible for the destruction.
Apologies, I haven’t updated my website since 2005.
Chris

By: Carrie

Carrie — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:50:32 +0000

These are just wonderful photos, thank you for sharing.
I like how ironic the street names seem compared to the bleak conditions in the pics.