LFC owners meet council over Anfield regeneration
Liverpool FC's new owners have met the city's council leader to discuss regeneration plans for Anfield.
Councillor Joe Anderson described the talks, which were held at the weekend, as "positive".
Residents living in the derelict streets surrounding Anfield Road have been waiting years for the signs of regeneration to touch their lives.
It is still unclear whether John Henry and his NESV group will build a new stadium or revamp the old one.
Huge billboards declaring the area a "regeneration zone" were erected some time ago, but many residents feel the only sign of a revamp so far has been the installation of a plastic cow in Walton Breck Road.
John Page owns a barber shop on the same road, which cuts through the heart of Anfield.
He said: "Luckily enough I'm old and I'm nearing the end of it all anyway. But it is just so sad, everything is just going and disappearing, I'm just watching it all disappear."
'Important to fans'
Houses are boarded up, pubs can no longer afford to open during daylight hours because of the lack of business, shops are closing and many are moving out of the area.
A house in Anfield can cost as little as £31,000 compared to the average price of a property in Liverpool being £132,000.
When Tom Hicks and George Gillett took the club over in 2007, there had been promises of a new £60m stadium which would lead to much of the area being regenerated which would attract new shopping plazas, restaurants and cafes.
None of this has happened. Now, with new owners, the area once again seems on the brink of something new.
John Henry has pledged to listen to what the "fans want" However, Mr Anderson has pledged to revamp the area whether the owners build a new stadium or not.
"The regeneration can go ahead without the involvement of Liverpool but we need to get to the bottom of that the owners are planning to do," he said.
"We want to reassure the people of Anfield that from the council's point of view we will not be sitting idly back waiting.
"We are not going to allow what happened with Hicks and Gillett who wanted to wait until the economic situation in the country to change."
He indicated between £20m and £30m would be spent to revamp homes and build new ones. If Liverpool FC get involved, he said, many more millions could be spent on the area.
The amount of money, therefore, rests firmly with the decision of John Henry and his group, New England Sports Ventures.
He recently said: "This ownership spends a lot of time thinking like the fans and supporters we really need to understand what motivates Liverpool supporters, what's important to them and not make promises or commit to anything that we are not prepared to honour."
Liverpool FC's new owners have met the city's council leader to discuss regeneration plans for Anfield.
Councillor Joe Anderson described the talks, which were held at the weekend, as "positive".
Residents living in the derelict streets surrounding Anfield Road have been waiting years for the signs of regeneration to touch their lives.
It is still unclear whether John Henry and his NESV group will build a new stadium or revamp the old one.
Huge billboards declaring the area a "regeneration zone" were erected some time ago, but many residents feel the only sign of a revamp so far has been the installation of a plastic cow in Walton Breck Road.
John Page owns a barber shop on the same road, which cuts through the heart of Anfield.
He said: "Luckily enough I'm old and I'm nearing the end of it all anyway. But it is just so sad, everything is just going and disappearing, I'm just watching it all disappear."
'Important to fans'
Houses are boarded up, pubs can no longer afford to open during daylight hours because of the lack of business, shops are closing and many are moving out of the area.
A house in Anfield can cost as little as £31,000 compared to the average price of a property in Liverpool being £132,000.
When Tom Hicks and George Gillett took the club over in 2007, there had been promises of a new £60m stadium which would lead to much of the area being regenerated which would attract new shopping plazas, restaurants and cafes.
None of this has happened. Now, with new owners, the area once again seems on the brink of something new.
John Henry has pledged to listen to what the "fans want" However, Mr Anderson has pledged to revamp the area whether the owners build a new stadium or not.
"The regeneration can go ahead without the involvement of Liverpool but we need to get to the bottom of that the owners are planning to do," he said.
"We want to reassure the people of Anfield that from the council's point of view we will not be sitting idly back waiting.
"We are not going to allow what happened with Hicks and Gillett who wanted to wait until the economic situation in the country to change."
He indicated between £20m and £30m would be spent to revamp homes and build new ones. If Liverpool FC get involved, he said, many more millions could be spent on the area.
The amount of money, therefore, rests firmly with the decision of John Henry and his group, New England Sports Ventures.
He recently said: "This ownership spends a lot of time thinking like the fans and supporters we really need to understand what motivates Liverpool supporters, what's important to them and not make promises or commit to anything that we are not prepared to honour."
