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Photos

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Youtube - Neighbourhood Plan - Political

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A Leroy Cooper film about a new community group in the early stages of coming into exsistence but also a request for more Black and people of Diverse Cultures to get involved to make sure the group is truly representational of the cosmopolitan area of Liverpool called Toxteth Liverpool 8.

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It was the summer Toxteth burned - but how are the events of July 1981 remembered today in Liverpool 8?

One side of the so-called Granby Triangle Lodge Lane in 2016 is a bustling, proudly multicultural community full of independent businesses - from restaurants to speciality food shops, opticians and barbers.

But 35 years ago this month this Toxteth street was left reeling from nine days of disorder that saw hundreds of police and members of the public injured.

One man died, 500 people were arrested, 70 buildings were destroyed and damage estimated at £11m, in ugly scenes of unrest that became known as the Toxteth riots.

The riots - set against a backdrop of an economic crisis, high unemployment, mistrust of the police for how they treated members of the black community and accusations of racism - were sparked on a muggy evening in July 1981.

When police intercepted a motorcyclist in Selbourne Street, a crowd gathered and within minutes there was a full-scale fracas which saw three police officers hurt and a young man called Leroy Cooper arrested on assault charges.

Police mounted extra patrols in the area and early the following evening, July 4, they came under attack from a crowd armed with bricks and petrol bombs.

Most of the damage took place in the Granby Triangle, the area inside Upper Parliament Street, Lodge Lane and Sefton Park Road, and Princes Road and Croxteth Road.

The worst of the violence took place on July 5 and 6 as mayhem broke out in Upper Parliament Street and Lodge Lane. Of the many buildings destroyed, the two most familiar landmarks were the Racquet Club and the Rialto, a former ballroom and cinema.

The ECHO visited Lodge Lane to speak to the people who live and work there today - and found a street full of entrepreneurs and successful businessmen and women who are fiercely proud of Toxteth.

While the riots might be mentioned in passing by those who remember them most said they now feel like ancient history.

One newsagent, who asked not to be named, shrugged as he told us: "There's nothing to talk about. Everyone who was in the riots isn't here any more. This shop burned down in the riots. It made my dad sick but he rebuilt it. Things change."

Abdul Bashir, 36, was with his two young children at his Lodge Lane business, M.J Barber.

He said: "The riots? It's not anything. People don't talk about it now. I've been here for five years. When I came, I didn't know anything about them.

"Business is going well. Before, it was just local people. Now people are coming here from everywhere."

At no 76 is Lodge Lane Optical, an independent business with another opticians on Lawrence Road in Wavertree.

Owner and optometrist Abbas Hussain opened here a year ago in a building once used as a pub. Business is going well, he said, and he loves the community he works in.

He said: "We have really made a difference to the community. People will come in and say their last eye test was seven or eight years ago when the last optician closed down.

"People will come in and talk about how Toxteth has changed, especially in terms of property prices. It became a bit of a ghost town - one chap said he sat on a building for 12 years before selling it - but now Toxteth is up-and-coming and there are a lot of new businesses.

"The locals are great and very grateful for what we do. I've tested all over Liverpool and there is very much a community spirit here.

"I just love working here with genuine people. When you work in the community, that's where you really see a difference."

And practice manager Marcella Ames said Lodge Lane is benefiting from an influx of new businesses.

She said: "It's quite vibrant now, even in the evening time. People used to be scared to come around here but now I regularly come here to eat of a night.

"I love this part of the city and I feel comfortable and safe here.

"It's a real community on Lodge Lane and people will come in and say hello."

Over at halal butchers and grocery The Green Mountain, owner Shafeq al Suraimi said Lodge Lane feels like "my village".

Mr al Suraimi, who is originally from Yemen, said: "I've been in Toxteth since 2002 and the area is getting better all the time.

"People don't really talk about the riots, everyone has forgotten it.

"This my area and I love it - when I come back, this is my country and it's like coming back to my village."

One of Lodge Lane's most high profile businesses in recent years is the award-winning L8 Superstore, which opened in 2011 on the site of the former Kwik Save and employs 13 members of staff.

It sells thousands of foods imported from all over the world and fresh vegetables, meat, fish, herbs and spices.

Judges in the BBC Food and Farming Awards 2015 said it was playing a "vital role" in transforming the community - but co-owner Liaqat Hussain said friends originally questioned his decision to come to Toxteth, because of the reputation the area acquired in the wake of the 1981 riots.

He said: "This is a really mixed community - Pakistani, European, Iranian.

"When we came here people would say 'Toxteth?' and would talk about the history, it had a reputation.

"The first day I was scared, wondering if we were making the right decision.

"But we have been here for five years and I feel a lot better than in Manchester. People are nice here and they help you a lot.

"People said 'don't open the shutters, people will throw stones at the windows', but nothing like that has ever happened."

People in Lodge Lane might not talk much about the riots these days, but one big topic of conversation on the day we visited was the cakes sold at independent coffee shop The Coffee Lodge.

Mum Leandre Barnes, 44, and 15-month-old son Rio were there enjoying a coffee break with a friend.

Leandre said: "I've lived around Lodge Lane for most of my life, since I was 11, and I'm 44 now. It's up and coming and it's nice, especially along here, where lots of businesses have opened.

"All different cultures are here. If you find something from another culture or country interesting, then it's easy to find out about it here, and I like that my kids will grow up with that."

She added: "The riots might come up in conversation, but it's not something that people would talk about constantly.

"I just remember all the police vans going on the side when it happened. I remember thinking 'that's wrong' and that they shouldn't be parking there.

"It was chaotic but I never felt scared, probably because I was so young and it didn't affect my mum's road."

Abdul Yafai, owner of the Coffee Lodge, wasn't in the shop when we called in but agreed to have a chat over the phone.

He said: "The coffee shop is going really well. This is a strong, close-knit community. I've lived around this area all my life.

"People still mention the riots but the younger generation, not so much.

"The older generation are the ones who see the difference and can see what's happened over the years.

"Growing up, parts of Lodge Lane were derelict, and now it's vibrant here."

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Life on Lodge Lane, 35 years after the Toxteth riots

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It was the summer Toxteth burned - but how are the events of July 1981 remembered today in Liverpool 8? One side of the so-called Granby Triangle Lodge Lane in 2016 is a bustling, proudly multicultural community full of independent businesses - from restaurants to speciality food shops, opticians and barbers.

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Past characteristics/Built environment

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This township, stretched for 3 miles along to the River Mersey, and stretches inland for 2 miles. The ground in the northerly half rises somewhat steeply from the river; inland there are several undulations, the highest point, at the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane, being about 190 ft. The total area is 3,598 acres of which about half, 1,737 acres, was taken within the borough of Liverpool in 1835, and with the exception of Prince's Park is now quite covered with streets of dwelling houses; the outer half, with the exception of Sefton Park, containing 387 acres, has, within recent years, fallen largely into the hands of the builder. This portion also was included within the borough of Liverpool in 1895.

Toxteth was known by different names over a period of time, Tokestat, 1207; Toxstake, 1228; Tokstad, 1257; Toxstath, 1297; Toxsteth, 1447. The northern half of Toxteth was for many years densely populated with docks and quays along the river front with the numerous factories and industrial sites. However in the southern half the character of the district changed dramatically, with green fields and trees sloping down to the water's edge instead of stone quays and dock gates, and the neighbourhood becomes an important residential suburb, with larger houses set in private grounds.

A brook once rose in the eastern side of Parliament Fields, at the north end of Toxteth, and ran down to the river near the boundary in Parliament Street, being used to turn a water-mill just before it fell into the river. Around about the middle of the river frontage was a creek called Knott's Hole. Another creek once received a brook which rose near the centre of the township, the Dingle lies around the former creek, and around the district named St. Michael's in the Hamlet. Just beyond the southern boundary was the creek called Otterspool, receiving a brook, known as the Jordan, which rose near Fairfield, formed the boundary between Wavertree and West Derby, and then flowed south to the Mersey; it was joined by another brook, rising in Wavertree and flowing south and west past Green Bank.

The principal roads into Toxteth were, Park Lane, Park Place, Park Road, and beyond the former municipal boundary Aigburth Road. The elegant church of St Thomas once stood on park lane and was sadly demolished in 1905. Park Road descends into the Dingle and near the bottom on the left is the old Toxteth Chapel. The foot of the hill was in 1835 the municipal boundary; Ullet Road goes eastward to the old lodge of the Park, situated almost at the centre of Toxteth, where the principal entrance to Sefton Park is situated. The main road, Aigburth Road, continues on its way to Otterspool, with the Dingle and St. Michael's on the right and Sefton Park on the left.

Smithdown Road, formerly Smithdown Lane, forms on the east or inland side for some distance the boundary where Toxteth cemetery is situated and the site of the former workhouse which later became Sefton General Hospital. It is joined at its northern and southern ends respectively by two ancient roads, called Lodge Lane from the old Lodge, and Ullet Road.

The development of early housing meant that Toxteth had a vast number of streets and terraced housing. In particular around the Dingle and Parliament Street areas. Housing was a necessity to provide homes for the thousands who worked on the docks and other industries in the area. Parliament Street follows the northern boundary line from the river to Upper Parliament Street and Prince's Road runs from there to the entrance to Prince's Park.

The Liverpool Overhead Railway had a terminus at the Dingle, and ran from there along the docks, with southern stations including Harrington and Herculaneum. The Cheshire Lines Committee's Railway from Liverpool to Manchester originally built stations at St. James's, St. Michael's, and Otterspool, with a goods station, formerly the passenger terminus also, at Brunswick Dock.

Sefton Park, was formed by the corporation of Liverpool in 1872; a palm house and aviary were added and a statue of William Rathbone, was unveiled in 1877. Prince's Park, was purchased about 1840 by Richard Vaughan Yates, with the intention of preserving it as an open space.

The Royal Southern Hospital was founded in 1841; the first building was in Parliament Street, close to the docks and the building in Grafton Street was opened in 1872.

July 1981 saw riots in which dozens of young males caused a great deal of damage and many injuries. Poverty, unemployment, racial tension, racism and hostility towards the police were largely blamed for the disturbances, which were among the worst scenes of unrest seen during peacetime in Britain at that time. Hundreds of people were injured, one man was killed by a police Land Rover, and countless buildings and vehicles were damaged. A second, less serious riot occurred in Toxteth on 1 October 1985. Further rioting broke out in Toxteth on the evening of 8 August 2011 - almost exactly 30 years after the most imfamous riot - at a time when riots flared across England. Vehicles and wheelie bins were set alight in the district, as well as in nearby Dingle and Wavertree, and a number of shops were looted too. Two police officers suffered minor injuries as a result of the rioting. It was brought under control in the early hours of the following morning.

Extensive regeneration has taken place in Toxteth over the last few years, including demolition of many of the Victorian terraces in the area. This has created much new development but also scarred the area with cleared sites and derelict streets. Clearance has proved highly contentious, with some taking the view that the houses are beyond rescue, while others believe they are fundamentally sound. Campaigning charities led by Merseyside Civic Society and SAVE Britain's Heritage have asserted that renovation would be preferable and cheaper. By 2009 over 100 residents had been rehoused together into a neighbourhood nearby which they had helped to design. Others had left the area altogether. In 2011 the Secretary of State quashed planning permission for demolition and required an Environmental Impact Assessment. In summer 2012 new proposals for demolition of 250 houses were endorsed by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson and Housing Minister Grant Shapps, who visited the area to announce retention of 9 Madryn Street and 15 adjacent homes. Local residents in the Welsh Streets Home Group have consulted on alternative renovation proposals that retain the majority of the houses, remodelled as environmentally friendly eco-homes.

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This township, stretched for 3 miles along to the River Mersey, and stretches inland for 2 miles. The ground in the northerly half rises somewhat steeply from the river; inland there are several undulations, the highest point, at the corner of Smithdown Lane and Lodge Lane, being about 190 ft.

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Demographics/Socio-Economic

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Nine out of 10 of the poorest areas in England are in the north-west, findings from a church charity reveal.

Areas in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire are the worst-affected by poverty according to the study by The Church Urban Fund (CUF), which also found a shocking disparity in life expectancy between Britain's poorest and wealthiest regions.

The list was complied using the charity's online poverty indicator tool, which combines government statistics from a number of areas, including life expectancy and child poverty. The results are displayed using the CofE parish system.
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CUF chair Paul Hackwood said he hoped the data would "create a much greater awareness of poverty in England".

Liverpool features most heavily in the list, with five areas featured in the top ten, including Toxteth West, which has up to 64% of children and 63% of pensioners living in poverty.

Greater Manchester features three times, with Shaw Road in Oldham, Kirkholt in Rochdale and Manchester's Collyhurst all included.

Cannon Park in Middlesbrough was the only community outside the North West to feature in the bottom ten.

Life expectancy
The study found a wide north-south divide in life expectancy, with those in England's most deprived areas living up to 20 years less than those in affluent Southern parishes.

South Shore in Blackpool showed the lowest male life expectancy, at an average of 66 years. Women from Toxteth and Everton in Liverpool can expect to live to 74, while their counterparts in Comberton, Cambridgeshire, have an average life expectancy of 94.

"We live in one of the most unequal countries in the Western world, where babies born within a few miles of one another can have widely differing life expectancies - of 10 years or more," said Hackwood.

Government cuts
Councillors in the deprived areas blame the Government's cuts at a time when costs are rising for many families, yet income is dropping or remaining flat. A report from the Joseph Roundtree Foundation back in January supports the view that the poorest in society are the hardest hit by public sector cuts.

Glen Bramley, author of the report Serving deprived communities in a recession, said: "Despite some services used by all groups being significantly reduced, the impact of service provision cuts will fall more heavily on disadvantaged people who rely on public services. Unlike the more well-off, they are less able to supplement the loss of public services (such as childcare, libraries and youth clubs) with private provision."

Growing problem
Poverty in the UK and throughout the EU is measured by those living on less than 60% of the median income, adjusted for the size of the household.

More and more young adults now find themselves in poverty, with youth employment reaching an all time high. One million 16-24 year old are now out of work - more than three times the rate for older workers.

In the Commons last week, David Miliband warned of the "massive problem" of long term youth unemployment. He said that 260,000 young people have been unemployed for more than a year, with a further 200,000 unemployed for more than six months - a situation that is getting worse.

England's most deprived areas
* Toxteth East, Liverpool
* Shaw Road, Oldham
* Anfield, Liverpool
* Collyhurst, Manchester
* Kirkholt, Rochdale
* Toxteth West, Liverpool
* Heyworth Street, Liverpool
* Queens Road, Liverpool
* South Shore, Blackpool
* Cannon Park, Middlesbrough
Source: Church Urban Fund
Check the poverty level in your local area using the tool on the Church Urban Fund website.

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Nine out of 10 of the poorest areas in England are in the north-west, findings from a church charity reveal. Areas in Greater Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire are the worst-affected by poverty according to the study by The Church Urban Fund (CUF), which also found a shocking disparity in life expectancy between Britain's poorest and wealthiest regions.