The Eldonians started as a community organization in the 1970s to address poverty and decline in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool. They have since redeveloped over 400 homes for rent, helped attract over £100 million in investment, and created 250 jobs. The Eldonians took a run-down, industrial area and transformed it into a thriving community through decades of community-led regeneration efforts.

1. Eldonian Village

2. Eldonian Village Eldon street used to be one of the poorest inner city areas within the United Kingdom. The people who lived there suffered from appalling poverty in homes that were surrounded by abandoned docklands, and industrial dereliction. But it was their home, the basis of their community and their shared history. So when they were told 25 years ago by the city leaders that their homes were going to be destroyed for industrial redevelopment, they said no. and so far they have succeeded in building many things:

3. History The 1840s saw a massive influx into the area of Irish immigrants who settled in Vauxhall. They primarily lived and worked by the dock complex just to the north of the city centre, housed in poor quality high volume housing where disease and social deprivation was rife. The workforce was largely low paid and involved in semi-skilled work. The 1930s saw the demolition of the slum areas of Vauxhall, and their replacement by council-owned walk up tenement blocks. While a huge improvement on the overcrowded and unhygienic court housing that had existed before, these blocks would soon create their own social problems. Much of this was removed by the enormous destruction inflicted on Liverpool by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, recognition of the city's huge importance to the war effort, its vital role in bringing food and other goods into the country from the USA, and its importance as an industrial base. Liverpool was the second most heavily bombed city in the UK, after London, as detailed in captured Nazi plans recently presented to the city of Liverpool. The area's proximity to the dock complex in the north of the city, and the inaccuracy of many of the bombing raids, meant that large residential parts of the Vauxhall area were left in complete ruins: one particularly heavy raid in December 1940 killed nearly one hundred people (including entire families) in Blackcock Street. The victims of this raid are remembered to this day by a commemorative plinth located on the junction of Vauxhall Road and Carruthers Street. The destruction of the war required an enormous rebuilding effort that continued through the 1950s and 1960s, years which also saw a boom in the dock trade central to the city's economy.

4. By the late 1970s, the dock complex that the Vauxhall area so heavily relied upon for work and employment opportunities was beginning to decline, as changes to the global economy meant that less and less material was being transported to or from the western side of the UK. Factory closures followed from this decline in trade, resulting in high levels of unemployment, with whole families thrown out of work by the loss of a single large-scale employer. In turn, the area started to de-populate, as people sought work elsewhere. The social consequences were to manifest themselves in poor housing conditions, a poor urban environment and a lack of local facilities. This background of social and economic decline sparked the first attempt to reverse the trend, with the creation of the Portland Gardens Co-operative in 1978. Started by local residents determined to safeguard their future and the future of the community, this project aimed to commence community-based regeneration by redeveloping five sites around Portland Gardens to build 130 new homes, and a 36-unit refurbished sheltered housing complex. The Co-operative was a response to plans drawn up by Liverpool City Council to clear the old decayed tenements and to disperse the population living in them throughout Merseyside: the desire to keep the Vauxhall community together and strong was a key driving force behind the development.

5. However, the election of a new city council in 1983 saw the Portland Gardens project municipalized, again threatening to disperse the community of Vauxhall to estates all over Merseyside. Another devastating blow to the area had seen the closure of the Tate and Lyle sugar refinery on Vauxhall Road in 1981, and the British American Tobacco plant on Commercial Road. Over 3,000 local jobs were lost as a result of these closures, and the economic future of the Vauxhall area seemed to have evaporated overnight. The Tate and Lyle site was also heavily contaminated and polluted, and its closure left a huge derelict area in the middle of the Vauxhall ward. The Eldonians were determined to respond to these enormous problems to create a better future for all, to work to keep the community together and to provide quality, affordable housing to allow families and friends to stay in close proximity. The combination of the community's need for new affordable housing, and the huge derelict site left vacant by Tate and Lyle started the Eldonians on the road to totally re-developing the area.

6. What are the Eldonians? The Eldonians is a Community Based Housing Association which is an officially recognised social landlord. The Organisation started in 1970's with no income. In the beginning the Eldonians worked with the free advice services of a committed group of workers from local housing associations and from a local private firm of architects. In 1986 they secured their first major success, an offer of 6.6m of grants and loans to develop the original housing. They went on from that first step to become experts in accessing funding and building sustainable projects. All the housing projects and the great majority of the wider developments are self financing without resource to ongoing grant assistance. They aim to provide good quality, affordable housing. It currently rents out 310 properties to those in housing need, and also manages 147 other properties on three adjacent sites. The Association employs fourteen staff, has over 300 members, and 75% of the Board of Management are tenants, reflecting the community-based nature of the association.

7. Today the organisation directly employs 90 staff but has created jobs for over 250 people. it has a total asset base of £50 million and an annual turnover in the region of £2 million . The CBHA has a distinctive approach towards housing, which seeks to involve everyone in the design and layout of each estate, which tries to ensure that each property looks different, that houses overlook one another, that integrates the needs of the disabled, the elderly and those with special needs within the wider community and the planning and construction process. This approach is designed to encourage a genuine sense of ownership within the local community, which underpins all the work the CBHA does. This attitude is also reflected in the recent purchase of Eldonian House Residential Home by the CBHA, and in the visit by European Union social housing network CECODHAS to the Village in February 2003.

8. Achievements A community trust with over 600 members. New homes and housing management services for over 2000 people. A total transformation of the physical environment. A village hall. A children’s nursery. A sports centre. A development advice service for other communities. A neighbourhood warden service. And they are still achieving, by showing people from around the world just what can happen when local people take action. They are now full partners with local authority leaders in developing the wider area regeneration proposals. They also increasingly influence national and international policy.

9. Helped create 250 permanent jobs. Helped develop £25m worth of assets. Helped set up seven community businesses. Helped attract £100m inward investment. Helped develop 400 quality homes for rent. Improved the quality of life in the Vauxhall area. Helped improve 43 acres of land. Won local and national recognition for our work and ethos. Helped encourage the building of 300 homes for sale. Won six major awards, including BURA.

10. Before and After Vauxhall Road 1930's Vauxhall Road 1990's

11. After The Eldonian Village Project in Liverpool is a world famous example of how local people worked in partnership to ensure that the inner city area of Vauxhall was regenerated with them in mind and so that the original local residents could continue to live in an established community.

12. Before 1970's housing in Vauxhall, Liverpool