Liverpool's most popular parks are grappling with a surge in litter and vandalism, with volunteers describing the problems as 'relentless'. Otterspool Festival Gardens and Sefton Park have been particularly affected, facing issues ranging from damaged structures to discarded festival signage.
Otterspool Festival Gardens Hit by Vandalism
Steve Parry, a founding member of Friends of Festival Gardens, reported that anti-social behaviour is a recurring problem. 'Most recently, we've had people pulling bricks off the Moon Wall because one or two bricks are loose, they then start pulling other bricks off, and that's a key part of the gardens. It's from 1984 and it's a very noticeable item in the gardens, so it's sad to see that getting damaged and coming down,' he told the ECHO.
Parry also described other issues: 'We also have people trampling on flowers, smashing bottles, stealing flowers. We've had cases where we've planted some plants and they've been stolen. The Japanese Pagoda, adjacent to the lake, that's an area where they congregate. There's a bunch of stones and boulders at the top that they can make into a fire pit, so they tend to congregate there. And they'll just throw bottles and litter, throw bottles at the rocks to smash them, and then we have to go around picking them up. It's all a bit of a pain.'
Sefton Park's Persistent Litter Problem
Nearby, Sefton Park faces a different but equally frustrating challenge. A spokesperson for the Friends of Sefton Park highlighted the longevity of the litter issue. 'People think, oh it goes away, someone will pick it up, a litter picker will get it, the council will get it, but most of the time it doesn't go away, it's never found unless you are purposely looking for stuff. We've found stuff from festivals in the park from years ago. I've recently found signage from the BBC festival from last year. So things don't just go away,' she said.
Warmer weather exacerbates the problem. 'It's a very well loved park and so obviously the more people that come, the higher the chances are that you're going to get more litter. On a warm day, especially in May, June, July, when people are finishing work, the days are longer, and the weather's better, you just see a rise in it,' she added. 'Barbecues come out and all the stuff that comes with that. It also seems to be that more people start smoking over summer as well, you see loads of cigarette ends everywhere. But also packaging of stuff, plastic, wrappers, paper and cardboard and loads of different things, it seems to be relentless. It's not just packaging of like crisps or sweets, but like big boxes.'
Volunteer Efforts and Avoidable Litter
The Friends of Sefton Park, a group of 30 to 35 volunteers, work with the council on the last Sunday of every month to maintain the park, including litter picking and graffiti cleaning. The spokesperson noted that much of the litter is avoidable: 'We worked out that one in every eight pieces of litter was intentionally dropped. You think one in eight, that's not so bad actually, but the amount of litter that we pick up could be in the tens of thousands, tiny bits here and there, adds up.'
Council Investment and Response
A Liverpool City Council spokesperson said: 'We know how valued our parks and greenspaces are which is why we are investing further in them. We have secured a £4.2m capital programme over the next few years to refurbish and repair key infrastructure, this includes the replacement of 33 play areas, 10 of which have been completed to date with a further five due to start in the coming months with additional features being added to two of the earlier projects.'
'In addition, the capital programme is being used to replace and repair bins, benches and signage across our parks. We have also increased our grounds maintenance team who look after greenspaces, trees, and lakes, as part of our wider £7.5 million investment into street scene services over the next two years.'
'It is extremely upsetting for local communities when parks are deliberately vandalised, and we would appeal for anyone with information to get in touch or report these matters to the police on 101. We take these matters seriously and will take appropriate action where evidence is available. Our ground maintenance, enforcement and City Watch teams work all year round to keep our parks and greenspaces looking clean and welcoming for all visitors, and we ask that everyone treats them with respect.'
Cabinet Member Highlights New Funding
Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Communities & Streetscene, added: 'Thankfully we have been able to put some serious investment into all our parks and greenspaces in this current financial year due to the Labour Government providing additional funding for areas with higher levels of need - unlike the last 10+ years when council was faced with austerity and budget cuts. This means over 100 additional jobs are being created in parks and in other street services (cleansing, recycling) - including two new teams to focus on park lakes.'
'We have refurbished 10 play parks in the last year (inc Botanic Park in Wavertree, Walton Hall Park, and at Banks Road in Garston). We are about to install eight more including in Seeds Lane in Fazakerley, and Parkhill in Dingle. Another six are about to go out for consultation with councillors and residents including in Dovecot Park and Greenbank Park.'
