Stop the Rot: Percy Street terraces to be restored by council

A row of empty Grade II-listed Georgian town houses in Toxteth are to be brought back into use as part of a move to ‘Stop the Rot’ of unused properties in the city.

Eight homes, on the corner of Percy Street and Upper Parliament Street have been empty since 2008 – with their beautiful, but boarded up, exteriors slowly fading.

However, Liverpool City Council have revealed their plans which could see the buildings restored and brought back into residential use.

Constructed of hand made brick faded and decorated with stone dressings, the properties are typical of late Georgian design from the Regency period.

With striking, although somewhat faded exteriors, the houses are structurallly sound and the buildings remain in a stable condition despite needing some repairs.

In pictures: Percy Street terraces

Grouped into an L-shaped terrace, the homes were built during the early 1830s and originally served as large town houses.

The beautiful exteriors have lightwells enclosed by railings and glazing bar sashes throughout.

While the exteriors are beautiful, going through the handsome doric doorcases is a bit of an anti-climax as the interiors are somewhat lacklustre.

Originally built as eight self-contained town houses, the buildings were converted to social housing in the 80s.

Divided up into one and two bedroom apartments, the interiors have been left bare and generic- with only minor hints at any original features.

One of the few remaining original features is the narrow staircase, another is the sash windows.

But other than these one-or-two nods to their Georgian heritage, the houses remain a blank, almost character-less canvas on the inside.

Liverpool City Council is hoping to breathe some life into the properties by converting them back to their original state.

Each of the homes will be restored back into townhouses rather than their current use as one and two bedroom flats.

This, the council says, will allow potential new owners or tenants to have full use of the properties including the basements.

Original features such as the staircase and sash windows will be kept in the Grade II listed properties.

Once completed, they’ll be sold off or leased to recoup money in a ‘Homes Under the Hammer’ style move that sees Liverpool City Council become property developers.

Councillor Mark Norris, Heritage Champion for Liverpool City Council said: “These late Georgian town houses have fantastic potential and we are planning to convert them from flats back into houses. We are really keen to retain some of the original features and make use of all the space, such as the basements. This is part of our commitment to bringing back into use historic buildings and give them a viable future.