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Glendale and housing associations transform Liverpool route

A key route into Liverpool has been transformed with major environmental improvements – thanks, in part, to the efforts of ten apprentices,

The work at Great Howard Street is part of the Green Print for Growth programme, aimed at improving the environmental quality of life in North Liverpool and attracting investors and visitors.

The £200,000 works, which have taken place over the last three months, have seen the removal of overgrown shrubs and trees.

They have also involved the creation of a ‘pocket park’ by Glegg Street and Stone Street, the painting of all street furniture, landscaping of planted areas, cleaning of stones and new signage installed.

During the work, metal railings, hidden from view because of overgrown greenery, were unearthed and they have been recycled for use in parts of the scheme while “a golden ribbon” of pathways has been created using a shale type material.

The works was carried out by Glendale and housing associations Plus Dane and Riverside. The improvement works were undertaken for Plus Dane by its IN Environmental Services (INES) team, a social enterprise established to deliver grounds maintenance and gardening services across Merseyside and Cheshire.

Among the workforce were the ten apprentices, employed by Glendale, who were recruited through a Jobs fair organised by Stephen Twigg MP.

Joe Anderson, the Mayor of Liverpool, recently inspected the work. He said; “This has been a stunning transformation of Great Howard Street, one of the city’s main arterial routes and the type of scheme we want to carry out throughout the city.

“With the International Business Festival, the return of the giants and other events we are going to have millions of visitors to the city and it is extremely important that it looks at its best.

“And as well as creating a much improved route, this work has also helped young people get on the employment ladder – it is a real success story for the city.”

Joe Feeley, head of environment services at Plus Dane, said: “This has been a big project for us to undertake and the transformation of the area has been remarkable. It is wonderful to see how the months of hard work have paid off and the amount of pride the INES team have taken in the job.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .