These Liverpool neighbourhoods were places where a strong sense of community spirit was established
10:32, 04 Oct 2025Updated 10:33, 04 Oct 2025
The tiny neighbourhood is submerged in a corner of the city centre(Image: Liverpool Echo)
There is a tiny neighbourhood tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Liverpool city centre. It’s quiet, friendly and community driven – in fact the people living there have grown up together, many of them going to the same schools and raising their children alongside each other.
Its residents came from one of the city’s lost tenements – a place where a strong sense of identity and community spirit was established. The creation of these self-contained communities started in the 1920s and was driven by a need to tackle slum housing and a provide a better standard of living for working class families.
From the mid-to-late 1930s, tenements really took off in the city, with a number of these buildings – known as bullrings – also being built. For many people who moved into tenements – a term usually used to describe flats with shared access and stairway – this was the first time they’d had access to the likes of hot running water, an indoor toilet and reasonably spacious rooms. And while many of them are now confined to history, they live on in the fond memories of those who lived there.
But by the 1980s, this type of housing began to fall out of favour, requiring renovations or being repurposed or demolished all together. It was around 2000 when Westmoreland Street in Liverpool was built and people from the city’s tenements moved in -bringing that once-bustling community back together.
One 56-year-old resident, who does not want to be named, told the ECHO how she has lived in the Liverpool district her “whole life,” she said: “This is a community place, we have all grown up together over the years. It’s one of the oldest districts in the city. We have all grown up together, then our kids have all grown up together, then the grandkids.”
She said it’s a “very close knit” community, adding: “It’s around 300 years old the community – they’re one of the oldest in the city. We have all come from big families, most families have raised between seven and ten, like myself, and all the sisters are friends with the sisters and brothers are mates with brothers. It’s lovely.
Photo gives an idea of what the Liverpool tenements looked like back then(Image: Mirrorpix)
“My mum, who’s died now, lived over the road that has been our family home since day one. The reason this place was built in 2000 was to bring the community back together. We’re trying to get a house for my daughter here too.”
She says there is currently an “awful lot of investment” being put into the area, with apartments being built nearby on Leeds Street. However, the community faces one issue. She said: “The problem we have at the minute is not the people who live around here, it’s the YMCA. If that wasn’t there, there would be no problem, we never had a problem before it was there.
“You also have the students, they can be loud but my children were students so I know what it’s like and the university does work with us, so that’s not a problem.”
Residents here have grown up together(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The YMCA is a charity which supports people experiencing homelessness across Liverpool.
The charity’s centre on Leeds Street opened in May 2013, after moving from the Mount Pleasant area of the city. The charity said that it was deeply concerned about the recent issues locally, but said much of the antisocial behaviour in the Leeds Street area is not connected to YMCA residents.
Her childhood friend and neighbour, who has also lived on Westmorland Street since it was built, added: “We were born in this area, literally down the road, my parents still live in the same area, we grew up in the Tenements [formerly on Eldon Grove] as kids and all grew up together and stayed as a community.”
However, surrounded by students and the YMCA, is causing “a lot of problems,” she added. She said: “We can look after ourselves but the people at the YMCA have no respect that we have been living here for almost 26 years, they carry on all hours into the night and I have kids living here.”
Lee Macintyre, 48, has also lived on the cul-de-sac since it was built 20 years ago. He said: “We were the first one to move on here. We actually picked this specific house to move into and have lived here since.
YMCA on Leeds Street(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“The area is sound, it’s a mixed area, it’s a lovely area. We have all grown up together and lived here, everyone is friendly but we’re Scousers and everyone looks after each other. It’s quiet and you’re 30 seconds into town which is sound if you need a pub.”
However, he agreed the area has “gone a bit downhill” since the YMCA opened.
A spokeswoman for the YMCA said: “As a local charity, YMCA Together has supported people experiencing homelessness across Liverpool since 1846, working with some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
“It is important to note that much of the antisocial behaviour in the Leeds Street area is not connected to residents of our service, and we are deeply concerned about the recent issues locally. We’re currently working closely with Liverpool City Council, Merseyside Police, local businesses, neighbouring residents and fellow charities to address these challenges.”
The charity said as a registered social landlord, it takes its responsibilities seriously and has implemented several measures to promote safety and community wellbeing, including:
- All tenants sign a Good Neighbour Agreement
- We provide 24-hour support across our service
- We participate in a local multi-agency problem-solving group
- A contracted security team is on-site 24/7 to address issues caused by non-residents
- Security gates have been installed at our building
- We have undertaken litter removal in the surrounding area
- We remain committed to being a responsible neighbour and part of the solution