The leader of Liverpool City Council has conceded that key locations in the city centre have not been thoroughly washed for more than a decade. Residents, visitors and councillors have all raised the issue of the state of the heart of Liverpool over the summer.
In a bid to establish what can be done to give the city centre the clean-up it deserves, the ECHO put these concerns directly to Cllr Liam Robinson. Some have said the jewel in Liverpool’s crown is “dirty and tatty” with some streets strewn with uncollected rubbish, bird poo and chewing gum.
Council leader admits decade-long neglect
The Labour group boss said Liverpool’s centre had much more to offer architecturally than some other big cities but admitted some key areas had not had the thorough clean – street washing with high-pressure jets – they have perhaps needed for some time. Cllr Robinson described the cleanliness issue as a “constant battle.”
Speaking to the ECHO from his office in the Cunard building, he said: “I always believe that in this city we should always be proud but never satisfied, so while I know there are parts of the city that have improved from where we were two, three, four, five years ago, I’m not going to sit here and say that’s good enough, there’s so much more we’ve got to do. We’re so lucky we’ve got a beautiful city centre.
“When I go to other cities across the country, I don’t mean to be unfair to them, but they’re perhaps a bit more what I call mechanical whereas I think we’re lucky we’ve got something that is historic, it’s beautiful, it mixes modern and heritage in a really lovely way. It’s got that great friendly feel to it because that’s the nature of what Liverpool’s all about.
Plans to recruit more street washing staff
“I think one of the key bits we’re very, very keen to do to improve the city centre is recruit more people to our street washing team. Now, your readers are unlikely seeing that in action, because they’re largely doing it at 4 o’clock in the morning.
“We’re really kind of determined to upgrade not just the city centre with that team, but also key district centres.”
When the ECHO wandered around the city centre, we found plenty of examples of dirt, rubbish and grime. Liverpool has received chewing gum funding for four consecutive years, totalling more than £100,000 to support clean-up efforts across the city. Funding, Cllr Robinson said, was one of the key drivers to keeping hot spots tidy.
Enforcement and future plans
He said: “I’m very, very conscious that because of austerity, we’ve got parts of the city that haven’t had the opportunity to be street washed for more than a decade. With the street washing team they’ll be focusing on the key areas where there’s high footfall and there are specific places; outside Lime Street Station, Williamson Square, places like Church Street where you’d expect us to be going all of the time because there’s high footfall areas.
“I think equally as well it’s linked to the fact that the reason sometimes places get dirty is because of the behaviour of a minority. That’s why we’re really pleased with the levels of enforcement that we’ve been doing.
“We really have ratched stuff up over the past two, three years. We do have patrols going out there, we issue fines to people, because it’s not acceptable to drop litter, rubbish and fly tip i in parts of the city as well.
“It’ll be a constant battle, but from our perspective, it’s something we’re determined to keep focusing on in town but also right across the city.”
On the outskirts of the city centre sits another great eyesore, the Littlewoods building. The city council, along with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, continues to have discussions with officials from government on how best to move forward with the site. Cllr Robinson couldn’t be drawn on a date as to when we may see tangible progress, however.
Littlewoods site and tourism tax
He said: “The real detailed work that we’ve been doing with the government has been great. There’s been a lot of enthusiasm around it, from the government as there is here, and the fact that we’ve been working our way through, the details of demand for a createch hub, costs in terms of what it would cost to create that, plus an onscreen academy that would be about how we train 16 to 18 year olds across the city and the wider region to potentially do those jobs as well.
“We’re pushing it all through the government machine, but it feels as good as it ever has done as I’ve been sat in this office.”
One of the issues that may determine footfall back into the city centre is the newly announced powers for an overnight levy on hotel stays, dubbed the tourism tax. Cllr Robinson said he was “over the moon” at the government’s announcement. He added: “This is something we’ve been campaigning for, as the city council, alongside the city region for many years.
“I think from our perspective, you go to any big global cities, that have a visitor economy like Liverpool has anywhere in the world, and you pay it, don’t you? It absolutely helps give an even better visitor experience.
Cllr Robinson said the private sector accommodation bid had done an “exceptional job” in establishing the principle of payment towards the visitor economy. He added: “It really allows us to take it onto the next level.
“It means that we can do not just the city centre, the whole region. I think something I’m really keen to make sure we do is level the playing field with Airbnbs.
“At the moment, they aren’t charged and I think that undercuts hardworking hoteliers.”
