Parents in Netherley have raised concerns over land outside a church, which is being used as an illegal dumping ground for rubbish. The quiet residential road of Brownbill Bank is home to dozens of families, many with young children who once enjoyed playing out in the street. It also has a school and a small church tucked away at the end of the cul-de-sac.
In recent weeks, a surge of vans "flying up and down" the road, dumping loads of rubbish on the land, has worried parents in the area. Concerns were raised by the families, and when the ECHO visited the site on Friday, August 21, it saw huge mounds of rubbish abandoned by the church.
Residents describe rats and speeding vans
One mum, who wished to stay anonymous, said the fly-tipping has become a "huge" problem recently. She said: "They fly in and out fly-tipping in their vans, beeping their horns, speeding. It started off small but as soon as the school finished for summer it got bigger and bigger. The gate has been padlocked now but we've seen them jump over the fence to unload their vans in there. We have complained."
She added: "It's been causing us so many problems. People further up the street have seen rats in their garden, thankfully I haven't seen any yet. And, with the recent hot weather I've been afraid to leave the doors open in case a rat comes in. We bought this house because it's on a quiet no-through road."
Another mum, who has seen rats running across the street, described the situation as "terrible". She said: "It's getting worse and worse. I won't let my kids play out on the front while it's going on. They're flying up the street at least once a day, sometimes it can be 3am. It's really bad."
Fire hazard fears and community pleas
The first mum highlighted a further danger: "My biggest concern at the moment is the dry weather, it could be a fire hazard. There's gas bottles in there, piles of mattresses, and all it takes is for kids to get in and start a fire, we've seen it happening all over the news. And, last Bonfire Night kids were in there with flares."
She also described a close call involving her daughter: "My daughter had to jump out the way of one of the vans. Their trailers bang about over the speed bumps, it's so bad. Any other time it's so quiet here, it's lovely."
The community had been fighting for the area to be turned into a space for local children, whether it was a youth centre or park. The second mum added: "Anything would be better than this, a community park, youth club, anything. There's loads of kids in this street, when we got this house we thought it was going to be lovely and quiet with the school opposite. It was perfect but with all this happening it's terrifying, something needs to be done."
Diocese responds to concerns
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Liverpool said: "We are aware of the serious concerns regarding waste being deposited at Christ Church Netherley, and understand the distress and disruption this is causing within the local community. We are working with the relevant local authorities to resolve the situation and ensure the site can be cleared and properly secured. As this process is currently ongoing, we are unable to provide further details at this stage. However, we are committed to taking the necessary action as soon as circumstances allow."
