WOULD the Star pass on my thanks to Mr Bradbury of Windle Street, who wrote so eloquently about the plight of the residents of Chapel Street and Argyle Street whose homes are threatened with demolition (Dear Star, September 2). It brought into clear focus just what a community is all about.

The residents of Chapel Street and Argyle Street have been looking at a number of bricked up houses for the past four years. They have asked the council to have them demolished and to build new houses in their place, as has been done in neighbouring Stanhope Street. The Council officers' response has been to recommend that all the houses in Chapel Street and Argyle Street are to be demolished, and new buildings be put up in their place. Yet another part of our heritage is to be lost to the bulldozer. Another community is destroyed.

The Council officers claim that these houses are unfit for habitation. This claim I find amazing after having visited several of them. They are lovely homes, cosy, comfortable and in my opinion, highly desirable. One of these so called unfit terraced homes, I am told, has just been sold for over £90,000. This is hardly the sign of a falling down wreck.

If true market value was paid out to the residents affected by the officer's recommendation to demolish, the Council would be faced with a bill well in excess of £4million out of our Council Tax. This is based on a current overall valuation of £70,000 per household. I'm sure that most of your readers would be able to spend that amount of money much more wisely.

More worrying is the confusion that exists between the residents as to the reasons that the council want to demolish their homes. The officers claim to have conducted a proper consultation exercise with these residents. They have seen each one individually. Many of these are elderly people who live alone. The result is a 'Chinese Whisper' effect when they meet to discuss the proposals. There is confusion everywhere.

As ward councillor Ken Roughley, my wife Nancy and I have continually asked for a public meeting between the officers and the affected residents in order to clear up the confusion. To date we have been refused. We have held our own meeting and the net result was that the overall majority of residents wanted their homes left alone, and the bricked up houses replaced by new homes.

The Executive Committee is due to meet on Wednesday, September 15 to decide what action to take. I hope that they decide to leave this community intact, leave their homes alone, spend the £4million on something more productive, and restore the residents' faith that ours is indeed a caring council.

If not, I fear the only beneficiary will be the bank balance of some, as yet unknown builder.

WALLY Ashcroft, Windle Ward Councillor St Helens MBC.