Liverpool have this week unveiled plans for a £154,000,000 regeneration of their historical ground, Anfield. Contrary to speculation that they would be relocating elsewhere in Merseyside, the American owners have compared Anfield to Boston Red Sox’s equally famous stadium Fenway Park and look to build on the foundations already laid. This news has been warmly received by many in the sport, but it has also angered local residents. Some locals have even claimed that the club has left them to “walk alone”.
So, what’s does the full picture look like?
Very messy in places if truth be told. As Anfield is situated in a built up residential area, it would be bordering on impossible to expand the ground without knocking down neighbouring houses. As it stands Liverpool City Council and Your Housing have acquired many of the houses surrounding the ground, but some homeowners are reluctant to sell, something that could prove costly for Liverpool, John Henry and the residents themselves.
The Anfield and Rockfield Triangle Residents Association have called on Liverpool FC, Your Housing and the council to do the admirable thing, Bill McGarry, vice chairman of the group, said “People have suffered blight and are entitled to adequate compensation, real replacement value of their homes, particularly given what the football club stands to gain. There has to be some social justice about this”. This statement comes amid claims that homeowners are being offered just £49,000 for their terrace houses, not enough to buy a house of a similar calibre elsewhere.
Somewhat shockingly, the mayor of Liverpool has said that some residents are trying to “screw the council”. Joe Anderson also said that they “can’t let a small group hold back regeneration”. Critics, including Salisbury Residents Association chairman Ros Groves, have spoken against Mr Anderson’s comments. “Nobody is trying to screw anybody; it is about people not wanting to be forced into debt.” said Mr Groves. The divide between the two parties is evident in this clash.
Many local residents were not anticipating this announcement, in 2007 fellow Americans Tom Hanks and George Gillett revealed extravagant plans to build a new stadium from scratch and turn Anfield into a shopping plaza, but nothing ever came of it and back to square one they trotted. This meant that residents were not expecting the need to sell but all of a sudden it seems that they have no other choice – unless they want to “hold back regeneration” of course
But the best is still to come…
By that one would mean the fact that the public are forking out for all this. That’s right, residents are being ‘offered’ public money in return for their property, so it can be demolished. To recap, in times of austerity, record unemployment and radical cutbacks to local services, Liverpool City Council are spending public money on buying houses, so Liverpool FC (a club owned by a man estimated to be worth more than $1bn) can move in. Although the Council will most likely be making a profit with this purchase, they are gambling public money on a deal that could fall through at any moment. If the plan suffers from the same fate as predecessors, the council could find themselves in a ridiculous place.
One resident is disgusted by the council and the club’s plans to force him out of his property, he told Sky Sports News that local homeowners are being “left to walk alone.”
Liverpool may well be on the path to costly legal fees, falling outs and schedule delays…
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the reason they offer £49,000 is cos that what they are worth(and they also get a ten grand bonus and an additional percentage of sale price at a later date.) you cant buy similar quality houses elsewhere cos they’ve been knocked down allready, that is the only housing left that is that bad in the city. and to be fair, you can get a shitty house in a shitty area of liverpool for that price, so they can move and gain about £5,000-10,000, but is that enough compensation for them having to live in rows of abandoned houses for years ignored by the club and the council? its not the residents fault it took so long, and they dont get to choose when they get to move. i have sympathees for them, but wish they would go for selfish reasons of wanting the club to progress.