A strong sense of community where “everyone looks out for each other” has seen the street thrive in recent years
Locals have a huge sense of pride in the neighbourhood(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Tucked away off a main road that takes thousands to and from south Liverpool and the city centre every day, a Toxteth street is continuing to thrive while some neighbouring streets have fallen into disrepair down the years.
The ECHO has reported extensively on abandoned Ducie Street and plans to bring it back to life, neighbouring Jermyn Street is offering a blueprint for how a sense of community can be built and maintained.
Eager to discover what has helped Jermyn Street thrive when others haven’t, we visited and spoke to one local resident Michael, 40, who said Toxteth’s long history of cultural diversity is particularly evident on his street, something he believes is a potential reason why the area is continuing to flourish. He told the ECHO: “Obviously we’ve got such diversity here, which I think is probably the strongest in the city. I think, Liverpool as a dock and with its history, I think it’s really important that we have places like this which are kind of rooted in community.”
Houses on Jermyn Street were reportedly built in the 1890s(Image: Liverpool Echo)
He says that a strong sense of pride in the area dates back decades. He said: “I think there’s a lot of pride in Toxteth, obviously it’s got a history of uprising and standing up for what’s right in the face of adversity and I think that’s a thread that runs right through the community and you can feel it in the street, you can feel it when you talk to people. As I say, we’ve got such a diverse range of beliefs and people and everyone looks out for each other. I think that’s one of the strongest things that the community has.”
That sense of community and pride in where you live is put into practice, in some shape or form, everyday by those who live on Jermyn Street. Michael said: “In the back [behind the row of houses], there’s a couple of residents who have organised plant potting to clear the back of the entries. So they’re trying to make it a little bit nicer to be in, nicer to look at.”
While Michael referenced how some proud locals help the street look its best, one of his neighbours, Mohammed Abdullah, 20, explained how he and others in the community often come together to share their ideas for improvements to the street. He said: “There’s the Granby Winter Garden and they have monthly events, there’s meetings that they do every month and everyone gathers around there and everyone gives their ideas on what we can improve and how to keep the area and the street clean.”
There is a diverse range of cultures living on Jermyn Street(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Slightly further down the road from Michael and Mohammed is Whitney Williams, 34, who has lived with her mum on Jermyn Street for the last seven years. Despite having grown up closer to the city centre, in the Georgian Quarter, her move to Jermyn Street felt almost like a full-circle moment due to a family connection that dated back decades.
She said: “My grandparents used to live on Granby Street. My grandad was Jamaican and my nan was English, but they had to move from Granby because they [the houses] were all getting knocked down, but they didn’t move that far, they moved up to Coltart Road ways, in a bungalow.”
Even after speaking to Whitney for a short time, it is clear that she has never felt more at home than she does living in the heart of Toxteth, and her pride in the area is clear to see. She added: “Feeling safe to be honest, having a nice home and feeling safe knowing that I’m around good people, there are good families here and I trust both of my neighbours. We always look out for each other, if she goes on holiday or we go away, we’ll look out for each other’s houses.”
One local resident said she wouldn’t want to ‘live anywhere else'(Image: Liverpool Echo)
However, keen to see the street continue to thrive, Whitney has one eye on the future as she points to a large expanse of unused land lying directly opposite her house.
She said: “It would be good if there are more houses built, because there is literally a big patch of land in front of my house, they should be doing something, like even if it’s flats, they should be developing it, it’s an eye sore.”
Echoing many of Michael’s sentiments, Whitney believes that the diverse community is one major aspect that has seen Jermyn Street flourish since she has been here. She added: “There’s so much history here, a lot of people know each other and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else right now because there’s so much diversity. I know a lot of people say bad things about Toxteth but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”