'Our diverse street is rooted in community and a sense of pride'

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.

- By DANNY GUTMANN

While 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.”

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.