Member Article

Liverpool to approve £70,000 regeneration project

English Heritage and Liverpool City Council’s plans to invest £70,000 in a synagogue regeneration project will be put to the city’s Mayoral Cabinet on Friday.

The historic Greenbank Synagogue in South Liverpool is a grade II listed building in great need of repair work to protect its structural integrity.

Approval from the Mayor will be the first step towards the synagogue being brought back into use, after it was left empty in 2007.

Erected in 1936, the building was leased to the Liverpool New Hebrew Congregation, and was occupied by the Greenbank Drive Hebrew Congregation until six years ago.

English Heritage will provide £51,417 for the scheme, while the City Council will invest a further £20,000.

If the project gains approval, the Council’s partners, 2020 Liverpool, will carry out a survey and a schedule of works before it is put out to tender.

Cllr Malcome Kennedy, the Council’s cabinet member for regeneration commented: “We hope this work will give the synagogue a new lease of life, help make it a hub of activity once more and secure its place for future generations to enjoy.

“I’m very much looking forward to the start of this new, positive chapter in the building’s history.

“Greenbank Synagogue is an important, historic building, but it has become a worsening grot spot within the Sefton Park area in recent years. It’s great news that this vital work is being carried out.

“It will mean a brighter future for the building, assisting in its removal from the Buildings at Risk register and bringing it back into beneficial use for the local community.”

Work is due to commence this month and scheduled to finish later in 2013, while discussions are ongoing around how the building will be used.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .