Shoppers have described Liverpool's Church Street as an 'eyesore' due to dirty and broken benches, littered floors, and battered flagpoles. The ECHO spoke to several people on Wednesday to get their views on the state of the popular city centre shopping street.
Concerns over litter and maintenance
Mike Kendrick, 61, said he believes that Church Street's current condition is seeing Liverpool lag behind its European counterparts. He said: "What I don't understand is that Liverpool's a phenomenal, world-renowned city and this, that, and the other, but when you go to other cities, they're basically spotless. There is a big issue with litter here. It just upsets me, to be honest with you. There's no need for it, there's plenty of bins around."
While he thinks that the public should take it upon themselves to clean up after themselves, he believes that the council could do more. He said: "It can't cost that much to actually take a sweeper up and down here occasionally, or have more of a presence of people on the street, that are cleaning up."
Benches and community spirit
Acknowledging a tile missing from one of the benches that lines the street, Linda Coulthard, 65 said: "It just looks a lot more untidy now than it used too a long time ago." Jan Weeks, 75, added: "When elderly people come into town, they can't walk the whole length of the road sometimes. Therefore, you need a bench for the elderly? I just think every year you see it go a little worse."
Her friend, Ruth Williams, 76, said that a negative cycle is one of the main culprits behind the street's current state. She said: "I think the thing is, once something starts to look worn, then people don't even respect it anymore."
Michelle Wright, 44, who spent much of her childhood on Church Street at her family's fruit and veg stall said that it has changed almost beyond recognition in recent years. She said: "The street was a lot better when you had the stalls years ago, but they thought the stalls were a bit of an eyesore, but it actually looked a lot better then. I think it's horrendous now when you walk through, but it's just it's a bit of an eyesore."
She added: "I'm not slating the council by any means, but, there's always more that you can do. Considering it's summer, and we've got a lot of tourists visiting, it just feels like they should put a bit more effort in." She also said: "Back then, when you walked through Church Street, people complained about the stalls, but it was a lot better than what it is now. There were always people to help. If somebody fell over, often the people on the stalls would be the ones to see to them, look after them. There's just not that sense of community now."
Council response
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: "We are investing more than £7.5m over the next two years in frontline environmental services across the city, including parks, green spaces and streetscene services. As part of this investment, we have recruited an additional 26 barrow walkers across the city and we are currently recruiting a further 12 staff to strengthen our street washing team, increasing both the frequency of cleansing and the number of locations covered. This will expand the service from its current Monday to Friday provision to a seven-day operation covering the city centre and surrounding areas."
The spokesperson added: "The recent warm, dry weather has led to an increase in bird fouling across the city centre. In response, our early-morning street washing teams and daytime cleansing operatives have been deployed to tackle affected areas. The increased staffing resource will enable us to enhance this service further. Our street cleansing teams operate across the city centre every day between 4.15am and 8pm, carrying out both mechanical and manual cleansing. Dedicated teams also collect litter in high-footfall locations, including the pedestrianised areas of Church Street and Lord Street."
"We have also recently expanded our infrastructure team, which is delivering a planned programme of improvements across the city centre. This includes a litter bin replacement scheme, supported by condition surveys of existing bins. Any defects identified are assessed and scheduled for repair based on their condition, location and priority. We are also reviewing bin types and capacities to ensure they meet demand. We recognise that the issues raised can detract from the appearance of the area and we are committed to maintaining a clean and welcoming city centre for residents, businesses and visitors. Where specific concerns are reported to us, they will be investigated and any necessary action taken as part of our ongoing maintenance programme."
