Hello, goodbye – Ringo’s birthplace to be demolished

The demolition has been unanimously agreed by Liverpool City Council’s planning committee.

The council will now refer its decision to the Secretary of State.

Earlier this year, Housing Minister Grant Shapps wrote to the council calling for a temporary reprieve for 9 Madryn Street, in the “Welsh Streets” area of Dingle.

He said conservationists needed more time to put forward their ideas for preserving the property.

But Liverpool City Council leader and cabinet member for housing Joe Anderson said: “I am urging the Secretary of State to make a speedy decision on this issue so that we can crack on and push ahead with the badly-needed regeneration of this area.

“A majority of the local community have expressed support for our plans since we started consulting on this plan over a decade ago. They are sick of living in poky, damp-infested properties.

“They want and deserve decent, modern homes with gardens and space for a car and are exasperated and frustrated at the delays to this scheme.”

He added: “I pledged last year that if a developer came forward with a viable proposal to retain the Welsh Streets then we would look seriously at their plans. I am sorry to say that this has not happened.

“It is simply not fair to keep the local community in limbo any longer. People have been voting with their feet for years and moving away from the Welsh Streets which is why the housing market in the area has completely collapsed.”

The Beatles drummer was born in and lived in the house until he was three months old.

A total of 445 pre-1919 terraced houses in Dingle’s Welsh Streets neighbourhood will be torn down as part of the scheme.

A nearby home, 10 Admiral Grove, where Starr lived for 20 years, will remain standing.

The council estimates that the comprehensive refurbishment of all properties would cost around £22m – as opposed to £800,000 for demolition.

English Heritage has twice declined an application to list 9 Madryn Street, stating it has no associations with the success of the Beatles and is not architecturally or historically significant.