Norris Green Estate, a brief history...

Norris Green can be found about three and a half miles to the north east of Liverpool city centre. The estate was built on 680 acres of land that was purchased by the Liverpool Corporation in 1924 and was to be the Corporation’s most important housing development project during the inter-war years.

Work began on the estate in 1926 and in the first two years 5,351 houses out of a projected 8,000 were built. The estimated final population for the new estate was 30,000. These new houses were built on avenues, crescents, closes and squares. The estate, it was hoped, would improve the standard of living for the tenants who had moved there from the slums of inner city Liverpool.

The new houses were built by private contractors, who each worked on separate parts of the estate. Houses were similar in design, differing only with internal specifications and materials used in construction. Some came with parlours, some were two bedrooms and others had three bedrooms. They were built in blocks of two, four and six and each house came with its front and rear garden of differing shapes and sizes.

The fledgling community was beset with problems during the early years of the estate. Public transport stopped at the boundaries of the estate and delays in the building of leisure amenities as well as shops, schools and churches; meant that the new inhabitants felt quite isolated.

The situation began to improve by the late 1920’s. With the creation of shopping centres such as Broadway and Scargreen Avenue (know as the Strand) the inhabitants were now able to shop locally. On the corner of Townsend Avenue and Utting Avenue East, the Henry A. Cole Branch Library was built in 1937. Norris Green’s one and only cinema, the Regal, opened on Broadway (January 1930) and a large swimming baths, the William Roberts Baths, on Utting Avenue East opened in 1936. Public houses however, were not permitted to be built on the estate. This, the Corporation hoped, would help to promote the growth of temperance or abstinence from alcohol on the estate. However, the breweries got around this law by building their pubs on the boundaries and by the mid 1930’s the Broadway (Clubmoor, next to the railway station), the Crown (Aintree, on the corner of Stopgate Lane) and the Royal Oak (West Derby, other side of Muirhead Avenue) were all within touching distance from the heart of the estate.

In 1927, Clubmoor railway station was opened on the Cheshire Lines Committee’s North Liverpool Extension line. The new station was located on the south-west boundaries of Norris Green and provided links to Aintree Central and Southport as well as Liverpool city centre. Furthermore, the early 1930’s saw the tram lines extended onto the estate. Norris Green now boasted tram routes down Walton Hall Avenue, Townsend Avenue, Utting Avenue and Muirhead Avenue.

Then in 1934, The Liverpool - East Lancashire Road was completed. The road begins at the junction of Stopgate Lane and Walton Hall Avenue. It was officially opened by King George V on the 18th of July 1934 on his way to the opening of the new Mersey Tunnel. The East Lancs, as they are locally known, was Britain's first purpose built intercity highway, linking Liverpool with Manchester.

During the Second World War, the estate did not suffer as much as the inner city or districts near the docks. Because of its location, Norris Green, like other districts on the outskirts of the city became popular destinations for people who had been bombed out of their homes or those who were living on the constant threat of attack. Church halls, schools and other public buildings on the estate were often used to shelter people.

By 1957, Liverpool’s fondly remembered tram system closed and was replaced by increased bus services. When the trams left the dual carraigeways of Norris Green, the Corporation planted trees and shrubs in the central reservations. During this period, Norris Green also lost its rail link. Like many other parts of the country, the ‘Beeching Axe’ fell heavily on the local railway service. Clubmoor station closed in the early 1960’s, with all passenger services on the line withdrawn. The North Extension Line continued as a goods line from Huskisson Dock to Hunts Cross until 1975, when it was closed and the track removed.

After the economic growth of the 1950’s and 60’s, the 1970’s was a period of world-wide recession. As Britain looked eastwards towards Europe and the Common market, Liverpool, as a west coast port became unsuitable to capitalise on trade with Europe. Because of this, many of the large factories that surrounded Norris Green, on industrial estates such as Long Lane and Gillmoss, began to close down. The area was plunged into decades of high unemployment and then the sad downward spiral towards petty vandalism, apathy and crime, which still blights the community today.

Now in the year 2005, and approaching the 80th year since the construction of the estate, Norris Green faces big changes in the run up to Liverpool's 2008 Capital of Culture year. Regeneration in the form of the proposed tram route from the city centre through the estate combined with the long delayed rebuilding of the 'Boot' area may help to revive the fortunes of the area. Whether this is the case, only time will tell.

SW-2005