110-705: Kirkby ( / ˈ k ɜːr b i / KUR -bee ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley , Merseyside , England. The town, historically in Lancashire , has a size of 4,070 acres (16.5 km) is 5 miles (8 km) north of Huyton and 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest in Knowsley and the 9th biggest settlement in Merseyside . Evidence of Bronze Age activity has been noted though
220-483: A Labour politician, passionately believed that council houses should be provided for all, while the Conservative politician Harold Macmillan saw council housing "as a stepping stone to home ownership". The Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher introduced Right to Buy in 1979, with the millionth council house being sold within seven years. In time, the transfer of public housing stock to private ownership reached
330-699: A deck and by 1975, and they were declared unsuitable for families with children, the elderly and the disabled. In 1975, 96.3% of the residents wanted to leave. 643 families petitioned to be rehoused. They were demolished between 1991 and 1994. Proportion of houses and flats built by local authorities and New Towns in England and Wales, 1960–80 (a) Notes: (a) Tenders approved. (b) Including maisonettes. While some tower blocks have been demolished, many that occupy convenient city centre sites (such as The Sentinels in Birmingham, Trellick Tower and Great Arthur House on
440-420: A growing desire by many towns and cities to retain population (and thus rental income and local rates) within their own boundaries (rather than "export" people to New Towns and "out of boundary" peripheral estates) led to this model being adopted; abandoned inner-city areas were demolished, and estates of high-rise apartments blocks proliferated on vacant sites. Whole working class communities were scattered, and
550-492: A housing association, in 2004; this represented the second largest stock transfer in British history. Housing rented from the council accounted for about 28% of the district and around 40% of the actual city of Wakefield. Many districts of the country have less than 10% of housing rented from the council; the national average stood at 14%. On 16 May 1968, the problems associated with tower blocks were brought into sharp focus after
660-820: A large percentage of Edwardian and late Victorian private houses. A number of types of system building used in flats have serious flaws. They were initially very popular with tenants due to their generous space standards, and with councillors and housing officials due to their speed of construction – but have suffered problems, especially poor protection from damp and weather ingress, as well as other design defects and poor management. Also, studies such as Family and Kinship in East London found that people moving to such estates lost their old social networks and failed to develop new ones. As noted by one study: "There was, however, one way in which slum clearance rather than enhancing housing standards actually threatened to reduce them:
770-658: A new impetus, when the poor physical health and condition of many urban recruits to the army was noted with alarm. This led to a campaign under the slogan "Homes fit for heroes". In 1919, the Government first required councils to provide housing, built to the Tudor Walters standards, under the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919 (Addison Act), helping them to do so through the provision of subsidies. London County Council embraced these freedoms and planned eight 'cottage estates' in
880-469: A selective uptake, with middle-aged and married skilled workers with mature children being the most likely to purchase their homes. In effect, those in extreme poverty did not have the option to avail the offer, exacerbating the social and economic inequalities prevalent in the sector. Furthermore, the price of private increased due to the rent deregulation policies that were implemented simultaneously. This made it increasingly difficult for those excluded from
990-574: A settlement dates from 1086 and the Domesday Book , with a reference to "Cherchebi" (population 70). Ownership of present-day Kirkby (established as the West Derby hundred in the 11th century) passed through a number of hands until 1596, when the Molyneux family purchased the hundred . After a brief loss of patronage in 1737 (when the head of the family took holy orders ), in 1771, Charles Molyneux became
1100-556: A shift in their focus from providing affordable homes to generating returns for investors. Financialization also led to an increase in buy-to-let mortgages, resulting in higher private tenancy levels and rising costs. The design and character of a council estate is related to the government initiative that allowed it to be built. The estates of the Addison Act are mixed tenure estates with generously proportioned semi-detached houses designed to be fit for heroes, albeit only affordable by
1210-431: A significant fall in population to around 154,600 by 1994. Subsequently, a population stabilization strategy helped to stem this decline. The strategy was focused on house building and marketing the borough to secure inward investment. Record house building and strong growth in inward investment yielded the borough's first small rise in population in over 25 years in 1995. The population stabilized at over 154,000 for most of
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#17328454716141320-404: A small part of West Lancashire Rural District , all from the administrative county of Lancashire. It is known for Knowsley Hall and Knowsley Safari Park . The modern-day borough of Knowsley was formerly composed of villages and towns in Lancashire dating back to 650 AD . The Earls of Derby have their ancestral home in the borough at Knowsley Hall , the surroundings of which today house
1430-617: A start date. We have waited too long and it's time to move on." The council's cabinet endorsed a plan for the council to purchase St. Modwen's holdings in Kirkby Town Centre, including the shopping centre and the Knowsley College site on Cherryfield Drive. The college plans to move to the town centre. The main motorways that connect the town are the M57 motorway , which runs adjacent to the town, and M58 motorway , which connects just north of
1540-539: A track. Several new stores have opened. The regeneration began in December 2006, when a proposal was made by Tesco and Everton F.C. for redevelopment of the town centre which included a 50,000-seat football stadium and retail outlets. The proposal was known as The Kirkby Project . Kirkby Market was redeveloped, and reopened on 26 April 2014. In 2015, the town centre owned by Tesco was bought by St. Modwen Properties for £35.8 million. St Modwen announced their plans for
1650-558: A year early when Ruffwood was designated a failing school in an Ofsted report. After the shake-up, All Saints Catholic High School and the Kirkby Sports College Center for Learning emerged. On 1 September 2013, Kirkby Sports College became an academy and was relaunched as Kirkby High School. Higher education is provided by Knowsley Community College , with its main campus in Kirkby Town Centre. The college has an annual intake of over 12,000. St Chad's Church , built during
1760-532: Is United Utilities ; there are no power stations in the town. United Utilities also manages Kirkby's drinking and wastewater. SUEZ Recycling & Recovery UK process Merseyside and Halton's waste at a rail loading transfer station in Kirkby. The waste is transported from Kirkby to Wilton in Teesside where it is used to generate electricity. Power generated at Wilton is sufficient to power every home in Knowsley. Kirkby
1870-515: Is 180 miles (290 km) north-west of London and 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Huyton, the borough administrative headquarters. The River Alt flows through the town's extreme south-west, with the Kirkby Brook tributary passing through its centre. Due to its position near England's north-west coast, Kirkby has a temperate maritime climate ; its Köppen climate classification is Cfb. Its mean annual temperature of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F)
1980-511: Is available. At the secondary level, secular and Roman Catholic education is available. Educational services are provided or monitored by the Knowsley local education authority . Kirkby has 11 primary schools; Northwood Community Primary School is the newest and largest. Kirkby High School and All Saints Catholic High School were formed after the town's three secondary schools closed. Ruffwood and Brookfield, due to merge in September 2009, merged
2090-518: Is divided into four districts: Southdene, Westvale, Northwood and Tower Hill. Its electoral wards , which do not coincide with the districts, are Cherryfield, Kirkby Central, Northwood, Park, Shevington and Whitefield. Kirkby's 18 local councillors belong to the Labour Party, and often run unopposed. Kirkby is 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Liverpool, in Merseyside in North West England . It
2200-472: Is not being built to replace it and waiting lists for social housing have become very long, up to 18 years. Over a million people are on the social housing waiting list and a quarter of people on social housing waiting lists have been there for 5 years or more. The number of social homes is at a record low, over 100,000 households were on council waiting lists for over 10 years. Council houses sold under right to buy are typically sold at half market value, some of
2310-574: Is provided by Merseyside Police , whose basic command unit in the borough of Knowsley has a Kirkby station on St Chad's Drive. Public transport is co-ordinated by Merseytravel . Fire and rescue services are provided by the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service , which has a Kirkby station on Webster Drive. Waste management is co-ordinated by the Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority . Kirkby's distribution network operator for electricity
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#17328454716142420-652: Is served by the Knowsley PCT , and Aintree University Hospital is the nearest hospital. The town has nine GP surgeries and four dental practices. Ambulance service is provided by the North West Ambulance Service , with a station in Kirkby. BT Group 's Simonswood exchange provides local telephone and ADSL Internet service to the area, with a number of other companies offering services through local-loop unbundling . Virgin Media services are also available to
2530-559: Is similar to that throughout the Mersey basin and slightly cooler than the English average. The annual average sunshine duration, 1394.6 hours, is slightly higher than the UK average of 1339.7. January is the coldest month, with an average mean temperature of 4.7 °C (40.5 °F); July is the hottest, at 16.7 °C (62.1 °F). Rainfall, 806.6 millimetres (31.76 in), is slightly lower than
2640-414: Is still a large employer. The town's industrial heritage, however, has largely faded away as service industries replace factories. Major employers include QVC and Barclaycard , and several call centre companies are based in Kirkby. Kirkby has seen regeneration efforts. The Kirkby Sports Centre, one of the region's main velodromes and athletic centres, was replaced in 2007 by a leisure facility without
2750-625: Is twinned with: The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Knowsley. Public housing in the United Kingdom#Council housing estates Public housing in the United Kingdom , also known as council housing or social housing , provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed
2860-450: The 2011 census , 80.9% of people in Knowsley describe themselves as Christian, the highest proportion in any local authority in England and Wales. This is significantly different from average figures from the 2011 census for England and Wales, which showed that 59.3 per cent of the population identified as Christian and 14.1 million people, around a quarter of the population in England and Wales, reported that they have no religion. Knowsley
2970-527: The British Parliament by Members of Parliament (MPs) for three separate parliamentary constituencies. Knowsley is represented by Anneliese Midgley MP ( Labour ), Garston and Halewood is represented by Maria Eagle MP (Labour) and St Helens South and Whiston is represented by Marie Rimmer MP (Labour). After local elections in 2008 the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley was governed by
3080-645: The Earl of Sefton in 1947 for £375,000 (£18.5 million adjusted for inflation). Kirkby became Merseyside 's largest over-spill estates. A 1949 Liverpool proposal to have Kirkby designated a new town was rejected. Large-scale development began in February 1950 with the construction of the Southdene neighbourhood; the first houses were finished in 1952, the 5,000th in 1956, and the 10,000th in 1961. A population of 3,000 in 1951 grew to over 52,000 by 1961. The Kirkby Urban District
3190-819: The Golden Lane Estate in London) remain extremely popular with residents and have even been subject to an element of gentrification , caused by the onward sale of leases purchased by original tenants under the right to buy scheme to more affluent purchasers. In 1988, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher set up the first of six housing action trusts designed to regenerate some of Britain's most deprived council housing areas, which involved refurbishment or demolition of council properties in these areas, as well as improved community facilities and scope for new private and social housing developments. The North Hull HAT
3300-623: The Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), which encouraged the London authority to improve the housing in their areas. It also gave them the power to acquire land and to build tenements and houses (cottages). As a consequence, London County Council opened the Boundary Estate in 1900, a 'block dwelling estate' of tenements in Tower Hamlets . The Housing of
3410-509: The Knowsley North constituency, then as part of the Knowsley North and Sefton East constituency, and as part of the Knowsley constituency since 2010. Howarth holds a 42,214-vote majority, making his seat the second safest Labour Party seat. He was preceded by Robert Kilroy-Silk (Labour, 1974–1986), Harold Soref ( Conservative , 1970–1974) and Harold Wilson (Labour, 1950–1970). Kirkby
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3520-467: The Labour Party , the largest party represented on the council. The Liberal Democrats , the second largest party, were in opposition. There were no other councillors. After local elections in 2010 the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley continued to be governed by the Labour Party , the largest party represented on the council, who increased their total number of seats by 5 to 53. The Liberal Democrats ,
3630-528: The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority . The combined authority has effectively become the top-tier administrative body for the local governance of the city region and the leader of Knowsley Council, along with the five other leaders from neighbouring local government districts, take strategic decisions over economic development, transport, employment and skills, tourism, culture, housing and physical infrastructure. According to
3740-405: The financialization of housing in the UK has contributed to issues in the public housing sector. Under the wider neoliberal agenda, the deregulation of mortgage finance and the liberalisation of credit was implemented, creating systemic risks as 'sub-prime borrowers ' bought homes with loans they could not realistically pay back. In the U.K, financialization became increasingly prominent after
3850-591: The 10th century, to provide a place of residence for "poor, old and distressed folk". The first recorded almshouse was founded in York by King Æthelstan ; the oldest still in existence is the Hospital of St. Cross in Winchester , dating to c. 1133. The public workhouse was the final fallback solution for the destitute. Rural poverty had been greatly increased by the inclosure acts leaving many in need of assistance. This
3960-625: The 1950s and 1960s, the number of high-rise dwellings rose significantly. In 1953, just 23% of public-sector approvals were for flats, with only 3% high-rise (defined as blocks of six stories or more). By 1966, however, high-rise housing accounted for 26% of all homes started. A National Dwelling and Housing Survey carried out in 1977 also found higher levels of housing satisfaction amongst owner occupiers than council housing tenants. The survey found that 90% of owner occupiers were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their accommodation and only 4% "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied", while for council tenants
4070-522: The 1950s, council house provision was shaped by the New Towns Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6 . c. 68) and the Town and Country Planning Act 1947 of the 1945–51 Labour government. Simultaneously, this government introduced housing legislation that removed explicit references to housing for the working class and introduced the concept of "general needs" construction (i.e., that council housing should aim to fill
4180-554: The 1960s and now in disrepair. According to British government statistics, the borough of Knowsley (including Kirkby) had a population of 145,900 in the 2011 census and a gender balance of 52.6 per cent female to 47.4 per cent male. This is down from 150,459 in the 2001 census. The borough has a white population of 98.42 per cent, compared with the national average of 90.9 per cent. Other ethnic groups are multiracial (0.83 per cent), Chinese (0.24 per cent), other Asian (0.23 per cent) and Black (0.22 per cent). A large proportion of
4290-433: The 1990s as securitization and foreign finance were introduced in the housing sector. One of the key mechanisms of financialization was securitization, which allowed investors' mortgages to be sold as packages in the market, encouraging the imperative of profitability. Housing associations, which previously relied on government grants and private donations, could now access capital markets and sell bonds. However, this led to
4400-492: The 19th century on the site of a church noted in the Domesday Book, has graves of soldiers of both world wars. Other churches are St Michael's and All Angels Roman Catholic Church; St Mark's, St Andrews and St Martin's Churches ( Church of England ), St Mary, Mother of God and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Churches, Kirkby Baptist Church, St Peter & Paul RC Church, Northwood Chapel, Kirkby Christian Fellowship, Lifegate Church and
4510-569: The 1st Earl of Sefton and regained the land. Although it remained largely farmland until the mid-20th century, transport links to the region began in 1848 with the building of the Liverpool and Bury Railway through Kirkby. The East Lancashire Road (the A580) added a road connection in 1935, and industrial development was considered before the Second World War . ROF Kirkby , a Royal Ordnance Factory ,
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4620-413: The England average of 838 millimetres (33.0 in) and much lower than the UK average of 1,125.5 millimetres (44.31 in). October is the wettest month, with an average rainfall of 86 millimetres (3.4 in); April is the driest, with 49.1 millimetres (1.93 in) of rain. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Manchester Airport . Kirkby's population was 42,744 in the 2011 census. This
4730-677: The Housing Finance Act of 1972. The 1985 film Letter to Brezhnev was shot in Liverpool, with scenes filmed in Kirkby. The film starred Margi Clarke , who was born in the town. Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside , North West England . It covers several towns and villages, including Kirkby , Prescot , Huyton , Whiston , Halewood , Cronton and Stockbridge Village ; Kirkby, Huyton, and Prescot being
4840-571: The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Kirkby is home to the training ground and youth academy of Liverpool F.C. The youth academy was built in 1998 on the site previously used for Kirkby Town F.C. 's ground located on Simonswood Lane; the plans to move Liverpool F.C.'s full training ground to the same location were announced in 2018 and the move was completed during the international break in November 2020. The town's former football club Kirkby Town,
4950-544: The Labour government of Tony Blair tightened the rules (reducing the maximum discount in areas of most housing need), it did not end the right-to-buy. Labour did relax the policy forbidding reinvestment of sales proceeds. Following its election in 2015, the Conservative government has announced proposals to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants. Social housing is being sold off under right to buy, new social housing
5060-567: The UK population still lives in council housing; in 2010, about 17% of UK households. Approximately 55% of the country's social housing stock is owned by local authorities. Increasingly the stock is managed on a day-to-day basis by arms-length management organisations rather than directly by the authority, and by housing associations . Public housing became needed to provide " homes fit for heroes " in 1919, then to enable slum clearance . Standards were set to ensure high-quality homes. Aneurin Bevan ,
5170-421: The Working Classes Act 1900 extended these power to all local councils, which then began building tenements and houses. In 1912, Raymond Unwin published a pamphlet Nothing gained by Overcrowding . He worked on the influential Tudor Walters Report of 1918, which recommended housing in short terraces, spaced 70 feet (21 m) apart at a density of 12 per acre (30/ha). The First World War indirectly provided
5280-399: The administrative county of Lancashire , but were transferred to the new metropolitan county of Merseyside at the same time the district came into being on 1 April 1974. A committee of councillors from the outgoing district councils chose the name Knowsley for the new district in 1972, taking the name from Knowsley village, being a central location within the new district, rather than using
5390-476: The adoption of system-building by many local authorities across the UK in the 1960s. Nonetheless, space standards in council homes (based on those prescribed by the Parker-Morris Report remained above those of many privately built dwellings at the time. The earliest council estates were built within the borough boundaries on low value land that was walking distance from the places of employment. When that
5500-573: The building by experimented prefabricated methods, of large impersonal estates of high-rise buildings, lacking many of the amenities common in similar developments on the continent." The last major push in council home provision was made under the Wilson government of 1964. The energetic Minister of Housing Richard Crossman accepted the truth that the provision rate was too slow and instructed authorities to exercise their compulsory purchase powers and construct large overspill estates. In Birmingham he forced
5610-515: The building of Castle Vale and the 15,590 dwelling Chelmsley Wood estate, Solihull . Laws restricted councils' investment in housing, preventing them subsidising it from local taxes, but more importantly, council tenants were given the Right to Buy in the Housing Act 1980 offering a discount price on their council house. Proposed as policy by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and carried out under
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#17328454716145720-440: The date for Kirkby's Christmas lights switch-on. Costa Coffee agreed in February 2017 to open a store in the town centre. In September, St. Modwen confirmed that Morrisons would open a 45,000-square-foot supermarket in the town centre. The following month, St. Modwen held an information event with the community about their proposed plans. According to the company, work would begin in 2018 and end in 2019. The planning application
5830-636: The economic rent was 30/- a week but had to be let at 12/6d". The provision of local authority housing varied throughout the UK; in the period 1919–39 67% of the houses built in Scotland were in the public sector , compared to 26% in England. Source: The Addison Act provided subsidies solely to local authorities and not to private builders. Many houses were built over the next few years in 'cottage estates'. The Housing, &c. Act 1923 ( Chamberlain Act ) of 1923 stopped subsidies going to council houses but extended
5940-543: The equivalent figures were 74% and 14%, respectively. Subsequent research at the London School of Economics has tried to cast doubt on claims that only high rise developments could accommodate the population density required for these policies. The post-war governments considered the provision of as much new housing as possible to be a major part of post-war policy, and provided subsidies for local authorities to build such housing. The Conservatives competed with Labour for
6050-472: The estate employed over 26,000 people. Kirkby became an Urban District in 1958. This status was later abolished, and on 1 April 1974 Kirkby was combined with Huyton with Roby and Prescot Urban District and parts of Whiston and West Lancashire Rural Districts to form the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley . Kirkby has been represented in Parliament by Anneliese Midgley since 2024. First as part of
6160-486: The first direct evidence of a settlement dates to 1086 via the Domesday Book . The town was mainly farmland until the mid-20th century until the construction of ROF Kirkby , the largest Royal Ordanance Factory filling munitions, during the Second World War ; Kirkby's urban development happened in the post-war period. In November 2020, Liverpool F.C. relocated its training facilities from the Melwood site in West Derby , to
6270-501: The first experience of private garden space (usually front and rear). The quality of these houses, and in particular the existence of small gardens in England and Wales, compared very favourably with social housing being built on the European continent in this period. The 1951 Conservative government began to re-direct the building programme back from "general needs" towards "welfare accommodation for low income earners" The principal focus
6380-420: The focus of an intense regeneration programme, resulting in a dramatic drop in crime on the estate. In London, many council estates are being demolished and replaced with luxury housing, resulting in a net loss of social housing . Campaigners fear almost 8,000 homes could be lost during the decade following 2018. Among estates for regeneration, over 80 will be partly or completely demolished. In recent years,
6490-451: The line of the radial roads. This marked a further movement out of the city, first by the middle classes and then the blue-collar workers, leaving just the poorest layer of society living in the urban area. The first Labour government was returned in 1924. The Housing (Financial Provisions) Act 1924 (Wheatley Act) restored subsidies to municipal housing but at a lower level, it failed to make any provision for lower paid, who were living in
6600-566: The local television station TalkLiverpool also broadcasts to the area. Television signals are received from the Winter Hill TV transmitter. Kirkby and Seaforth were the bases for the fictional Newtown of the 1960s BBC TV series, Z-Cars . Behind the Rent Strike is a 1974 documentary by Nick Broomfield documenting a 14-month rent strike in Kirkby by 3,000 social housing tenants protesting poor housing and rent increases triggered by
6710-508: The maisonette blocks and more than 100 bungalows. Community facilities on the estate were also improved, and the main shopping centre was completely redeveloped. One of the most ambitious post-war council housing developments, the complex of estates at Broadwater Farm (shown above), became a national symbol of perceived failures in the council housing system following the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985. Since then, Broadwater Farm has been
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#17328454716146820-479: The major commercial centres. It takes its name from the village of Knowsley , though its headquarters are in Huyton . It forms part of the wider Liverpool City Region . Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire , the borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Huyton-with-Roby Urban District , Kirkby Urban District and Prescot Urban District , along with most of Whiston Rural District and
6930-477: The mid-20th century included many large suburban council estates, featuring terraced and semi-detached houses, where other amenities like schools and shops were often also provided. By the late 1970s, almost a third of UK households lived in social housing. Since 1979 council housing stock has been sold to private occupiers under the Right to Buy legislation, and new social housing has mainly been developed and managed by housing associations . A substantial part of
7040-541: The money from the sale has to go to the Treasury. Councils can replace only one in three of homes sold under right to buy. The Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations. The 1988 Act redefined housing associations as non-public bodies, permitting access to private finance, which was a strong motivation for transfer as public sector borrowing had been severely constrained. These housing associations were also
7150-592: The most notable HAT was the one founded in 1993 to regenerate the Castle Vale estate in Birmingham , which had been built in the 1960s. The original master plan for the redevelopment of Castle Vale saw 17 out of 34 tower blocks on the estate earmarked for demolition, as well as 24 of the estate's 27 maisonette blocks, but by the time of the HAT's demise in 2005 all but two of the 34 tower blocks had been demolished, as well as all of
7260-446: The most prosperous workers. The generosity changed in the 1930s, with the push to eliminate the slums. Aneurin Bevan 's new towns and estates planned to the Tudor Walters standards were designed to be the pinnacle of housing to which all classes would aspire. This gradually changed through the 1950s and 1960s, partly due to the increase in private housebuilding under Harold Macmillan , as well as due to dropping standards, especially with
7370-512: The name of one of the three urban districts which had the majority of the population. The committee noted that the Knowsley Hall estate had historic connections to all the constituent parts of the new district. The government confirmed the name in 1973. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor. The residents of Knowsley Metropolitan Borough are represented in
7480-635: The needs of a wide range of society). In particular, Aneurin Bevan , the Minister for Health and Housing , promoted a vision of new estates where "the working man, the doctor and the clergyman will live in close proximity to each other". While a number of large cities tentatively erected their first high-rise developments (e.g., Aston Cross in Birmingham , Churchill Gardens in Westminster ), in England and Wales homes were typically semi-detached or in small terraces . A three-bedroom semi-detached council house
7590-446: The number in social housing. Dwellings built for public or social housing use are built by or for local authorities and known as council houses . Since the 1980s non-profit housing associations became more important and subsequently the term "social housing" became widely used, as technically council housing only refers to housing owned by a local authority, though the terms are largely used interchangeably. Before 1865, housing for
7700-588: The occurrence of such an explosion. The same year Manchester started the construction of the Hulme Crescents . Thirteen tower blocks connected by aerial walkways and the four long curving south facing blocks of flats and maisonettes connected by walkways and bridges. Five thousand homes were constructed in eight years. Three thousand of these were the deck access flats, almost immediately the constructional problems became apparent: they leaked, ducting failed and they were too expensive to heat. A child died falling from
7810-565: The partial collapse of Ronan Point , a system-built tower block in Newham , east London, as a consequence of a gas explosion. A similar incident caused significant damage to one side of a block in Manchester . Although these incidents were due to a series of failures (not least being the illegal connection of gas cookers by unqualified friends of tenants ), subsequently all system-built tower blocks were usually built with "all electric" heating, to prevent
7920-479: The peripheries of London: Becontree , St Helier , Downham for example; seven further followed including Bellingham . Houses were built on green field land on the peripheries of the urban area. The war had caused house building costs to rise enormously: Sir Ernest Simon reported to the Manchester Housing Committee in 1910 that "houses that had cost £250 to build pre war were then costing £1,250, so
8030-464: The point where councils had to rent back their own houses to house the homeless. Even in the stable medieval model of landowner and peasant, where estate workers lived at the landowner's whim in a tied cottage, the aged and infirm needed provision from their former employer, the church or the state. The documented history of social housing in Britain starts with almshouses , which were established from
8140-436: The policy to afford alternatives, leaving them with the least desirable residual sector of social housing. Over time, changes were made to the Right to Buy policy, especially for specific regions but overall, the policy reinforced the stigmatized position of public/social housing as a 'last resort', moving away from the previous welfare-statist ideals. The "right to buy" was popular with many former Labour voters and, although
8250-519: The political composition is now Labour 33, Green 5, Liberal Democrats 3, Independent 3 with one vacancy in Page Moss ward. The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is one of the six constituent local government districts of the Liverpool City Region . Since 1 April 2014, some of the borough's responsibilities have been pooled with neighbouring authorities within the metropolitan area and subsumed into
8360-666: The poor was provided solely by the private sector. Council houses were then built on council estates, known as schemes in Scotland, where other amenities, like schools and shops, were often also provided. From the 1950s, blocks of flats and three-or-four-storey blocks of maisonettes were widely built, alongside large developments of terraced housing, while the 1960s and to some degree the 1970s saw construction of many high-rise tower blocks . Flats and houses were also built in mixed estates. Council homes were built to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at reasonable rents to primarily working-class people. Council housing in
8470-453: The popular visitor attraction of Knowsley Safari Park . Knowsley experienced rapid population expansion in the 1950s and 1960s, resulting from the combination of industrialization and migration, including a significant amount of overspill development from Liverpool. By 1971, some 194,600 lived within the area which would become Knowsley. However, over the next two decades general economic decline – particularly in manufacturing – contributed to
8580-504: The popular vote over who could build more houses, abandoning Bevan's principle that numbers weren't enough – that the homes had to be spacious and well built, too. The use of system building methods was later seen as possibly being a short-sighted, false economy, as many of the later houses are in a poor state of repair or have been demolished. On many estates, older council houses, with their largely superior build quality, have outlived them – more incredibly, they have even been outlasted by
8690-420: The population is of Irish Catholic descent as a result of immigration into Liverpool. The borough is mostly Christian (85.63 per cent), compared to the national average of 71.74 per cent. The next-largest group (5.84 per cent) describe themselves as non-religious, significantly lower than the national average of 14.59 per cent. Muslims , Hindus , Buddhists and Jews are 0.17, 0.11, 0.07 and 0.03 per cent of
8800-512: The population. Kirkby's population was on a gradual downward trend from 1861 to 1931 before it rose when the Liverpool Corporation began to develop the region. Its annual growth rate from 1951 to 1961 was over 30 per cent, making it England's fastest-growing town by far. Kirkby's population peaked in 1971 at 59,917, before declining. The town's population has again begun to increase. Kirkby Industrial Estate, formerly ROF Kirkby ,
8910-404: The providers of most new public-sector housing. By 2003 36.5% of the social rented housing stock was held by housing associations. In some council areas referendums on changing ownership were won by opponents of government policy, preventing transfers to housing associations. The Wakefield district council found itself unable to maintain its supply of council housing and transferred it all to
9020-498: The regeneration of the town centre, including a cinema, a supermarket, parking, and leisure development. This led to reports that two supermarkets were competing to build a store; it was rumoured that one of the stores was ASDA . A public hearing was held for local businesses, shopkeepers and residents in October 2016. St, Modwen submitted a revised application for the town-centre scheme to include food-store anchor Morrisons , who submitted
9130-541: The remit of Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine , the Right To Buy scheme allowed tenants to buy their home with a discount of 33–50% off the market value, depending on the time they had lived there. Councils were prevented from reinvesting the proceeds of these sales in new housing, and the total available stock, particularly of more desirable homes, declined. The policy resulted in
9240-483: The rest of the 1990s. The borough of Knowsley was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 covering the area of three former urban districts , which were abolished at the same time, plus six civil parishes (five from Whiston Rural District and one from West Lancashire Rural District ): ‡Parishes from Whiston Rural District All the component parts of Knowsley had previously been in
9350-413: The second largest party represented on the council, continued to be in opposition losing 5 seats to the governing Labour Party to decrease their total number of seats to 10. After local elections in 2011 the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley continued to be governed by the Labour Party , the largest party represented on the council, who increased their total number of seats to 59. The Liberal Democrats ,
9460-559: The second largest party represented on the council, continued to be in opposition losing 6 seats to the governing Labour Party to decrease their total number of seats to 4. After the local elections in 2012 , Knowsley became a one party borough, completely taking out the Liberal Democrat seats. In 2016 the number of seats was reduced to 45 with the Liberal Democrats winning three Following several years of subsequent elections,
9570-455: The subsidies to private builders. Following the line of the railways, predominantly private estates were built on cheap agricultural land; building houses that the professional classes with an income of £300–500 a year were able to afford. These pattern-book houses, put up speculatively by companies such as Wimpey , Costain , Laing and Taylor Woodrow , were mocked by Osbert Lancaster as " By-pass Variegated ". Large council estates following
9680-644: The tenants either relocated themselves to neighbouring overcrowded properties or became isolated away from friends in flats and houses, on estates without infrastructure or a bus-route. Glasgow led the way and others followed. Tower blocks became the preferred model. The councils visited Marseille and saw the results of Charles Édouard Jenneret 's (Le Corbusier's) vision. The argument was advanced that more generously sized dwellings could be provided this way, that communities could be re-housed close to existing employment opportunities and there would be far less disruption to local shopping and leisure patterns. During
9790-470: The town centre in October 2015. St. Modwen planned a multi-million-pound retail-led regeneration in partnership with Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council. They planned to develop and expand the retail centre, complementing Tesco's existing offer and providing housing on a 65-acre site the town centre. Refurbishment began in June 2016, and was planned to take eight weeks. In October, St. Modwen announced 24 November as
9900-487: The town following the completion of the new AXA Training Centre . Archaeological evidence of Bronze Age settlement indicates that Kirkby was founded around 870 AD. Historically , it has been part of Lancashire . Kirk -by derives from the Northern dialect of Old English word Kirk ('church') and by (settlement or village; cognate with Old Norse byr ). Settlers arrived via Ireland around 900. The first direct evidence of
10010-595: The town, providing television, telephone and cable Internet access . The main local newspaper is the Liverpool Echo . The Kirkby Extra and the Knowsley Challenge are free local newspapers. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Merseyside , Heart North West , Capital Liverpool , Hits Radio Liverpool , Smooth North West and Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool & The North West . Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC North West and ITV Granada ,
10120-625: The town. However, the town also has other major roads that connect it, such as East Lancashire Road and the A506 . Alongside road connections, Kirkby also has a few rail links, with Kirkby railway station and Headbolt Lane railway station offering frequent trains to Liverpool, and Headbolt Lane offering an hourly service to Wigan. Buses in the town and the wider region are managed by Merseytravel , are run by several different companies, mainly Arriva North West and Stagecoach North West . Primary secular, Church of England , and Roman Catholic education
10230-602: The winning bid. Reports suggested that local support for the Tesco/Everton F.C. scheme appeared to be tempered by concern about the stadium's effect on residents. In 2012, the Knowsley council decided to invest £5 million to replace the multi-purpose Kirkby Civic Suite with the Kirkby Centre. The centre would include a library, a gallery and a local-history archive. After the collapse of Tesco's plans for Kirkby Town Centre, regeneration halted until St. Modwen Properties acquired
10340-475: The worse conditions, and could not afford to pay the higher rents of the new houses, or travel to or from them to work. They continued in substandard housing circling the urban core; in Manchester, for example, this 'slum belt' was about half a mile wide. While new council housing had been built, little had been done to resolve the problem of inner-city slums , which could also be found in many smaller towns. This
10450-488: Was an isolated instance. The first council to build housing as an integrated policy was Liverpool Corporation , starting with St Martin's Cottages in Ashfield Street, Vauxhall , completed in 1869. The Corporation then built Victoria Square Dwellings, opened by Home Secretary Sir Richard Cross in 1885. That year, a royal commission was held, as the state had taken an interest in housing and housing policy. This led to
10560-544: Was created in 1958. Its population grew between the 1950s and the 1970s due to over-spill housing for Liverpool . Growth caused a number of problems, including a lack of local amenities. Although occupation of Southdene's council estates had begun in 1952, its first shops were not completed until 1955 and its first pub did not open until 1959. The people who were being moved into Kirkby during this period came from Liverpool's poorest areas. Kirkby Industrial Estate expanded to become one of England's largest; at its peak in 1971,
10670-617: Was divided into outside relief, or handouts to keep the family together, and inside relief, which meant submitting to the workhouse. The workhouse provided for two groups of people – the transient population roaming the country looking for seasonal work, and the long-term residents. The two were kept separate where possible. The long-term residents included single elderly men incapable of further labour, and young women with their children—often women who had been abandoned by their husbands, single mothers and servant-girls who had been dismissed from residential positions. The pressure for decent housing
10780-473: Was established in 1939 and completed in 1941. At its peak, the factory employed over 20,000 workers. Liverpool had received much damage by the end of the war, and much of the remaining housing stock were slums . The Liverpool Corporation began a policy of buying land in surrounding areas and moving industry (and people) to newly developed "overspill" estates. This process culminated with the purchase of 4,070 acres (16.5 km) of land, including Kirkby, from
10890-612: Was granted in November 2019. In June 2018, St. Modwen reported that Home Bargains and fast food restaurant KFC would open in the town centre. When the promised development was delayed, Knowsley council leader Graham Morgan said: "Despite our best efforts, the redevelopment of the town centre still hasn't happened and it's quite clear that we need to find a different model. The people of Kirkby deserve more than this. We have worked closely to encourage St. Modwen to push on with their plans but, despite major names already being signed up, they remain extremely cautious and have still not confirmed
11000-539: Was in poor condition before its outbreak. Before the war many social housing projects, such as the Quarry Hill Flats in Leeds were built. However, the bomb damage meant that much greater progress had to be made with slum clearance projects. In heavily bombed cities like London, Coventry and Kingston upon Hull , the redevelopment schemes were often larger and more radical. In the immediate post-war years, and well into
11110-676: Was increased by overcrowding in the large cities during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century; many social commentators (such as Octavia Hill ) reported on the squalor, sickness and immorality that arose. Some industrialists and independent organisations provided housing in tenement blocks , while some philanthropist factory owners built entire villages for their workers, such as Saltaire (1853), Bournville (1879) and Port Sunlight (1888). The City of London Corporation built tenements in Farringdon Road in 1865, but this
11220-477: Was intended to open in 1975, however, the project was abandoned in autumn 1975 over fears it was not safe. Investigations by the Liverpool Free Press revealed a considerable degree of corruption in the sourcing of materials and building of the slope. Police investigations later led to a former council leader and former council architect being jailed over their involvement in the project. Law enforcement
11330-458: Was just over a quarter of the total population of the borough of Knowsley and was down from its peak of 52,207 in the 1961 census, largely due to a falling birth rate and the slow decline of the industrial estate. Housing demand has increased, however, with significant developments built across the town. Part of the demand may be attributed to a need for replacement housing stock due to the demolition of high-rise flats and maisonettes , built during
11440-418: Was later renamed Knowsley United and was dissolved in 1997. The most widely supported football teams in Kirkby are Liverpool F.C. and Everton F.C. reflecting the town's proximity to Liverpool and historically that a large proportion of the town's residents moved from Liverpool to the town after world war two. During the 1970s, Kirkby was home to an artificial ski slope . Work started on the slope in 1973 and it
11550-466: Was on inner-city slum clearance , completing the job that was started in the 1930s. Harold Macmillan 's task, as Minister for Housing, was to deliver 300,000 houses a year. These were 700 square feet (65 m ), 20% smaller than a Tudor Walters Bevan house, usually built as a two-bedroom terrace called "The Peoples House". From 1956, with the Housing Subsidy Act 1956 the government subsidy
11660-469: Was restricted to only new houses built to replace those removed by slum clearance, and more money was given to tower blocks higher than six stories. With this subsidy, neighbourhoods throughout the country were demolished and rebuilt as mixed estates with low and high-rise building. At the same time the rising influence of modernist architecture, the development of new cheaper construction techniques, such as system building (a form of prefabrication ), and
11770-474: Was set up to regenerate a large area of predominantly interwar council housing in the north of Hull , Humberside . Liverpool HAT covered 67 of the worst tower blocks on Merseyside ; 54 of these blocks were demolished and replaced by new public or private sector housing developments, while the remaining 13 blocks were refurbished. Stonebridge HAT in Harlesden , London, was the final HAT to cease to exist when it
11880-503: Was to change with the Housing Act 1930 ( Greenwood Act), which required councils to prepare slum clearance plans, and some progress was made before the Second World War intervened. During the Second World War almost four million British homes were destroyed or damaged , and afterwards there was a major boom in council house construction. The bomb damage from the war only worsened the condition of Britain's housing stock, which
11990-755: Was typically built on a square grid 21 feet (6.4 m) on the side, with a maximum density of houses of no more than 12 per acre (30/ha), that is to say around 337 square metres (403 sq yd) per house. As a result, most houses had generous space around them. The new towns and many existing towns had countless estates built to this basic model. In Scotland , the tradition of tenement living meant that most homes of this period were built in low-rise (3–4) storey blocks of flats . For many working-class people, this housing model provided their first experience of private indoor toilets, private bathrooms and hot running water, as well as gardens and electric lighting. For tenants in England and Wales it also usually provided
12100-561: Was wound up in 2007, mostly covering an area of council housing built during the 1960s and 1970s. Waltham Forest HAT in South London covered several council estates, mostly built during the 1960s, and lasted until 2002, with the final phase of the regeneration being completed several years later by English Partnerships . Tower Hamlets HAT involved the regeneration of three council estates, mostly consisting of flats, in East London . Perhaps
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