Lights will finally be installed at a North Liverpool park before Christmas after months of campaigning.
After concerns were raised about safe routes and a lack of lighting at Everton Park, the ECHO has been told Liverpool Council will begin work installing fittings “on or before December 12.” Cllr Jane Corbett, Everton ward member and Deputy Mayor of Liverpool, said further safety measures including CCTV cameras had been a success already.
Conditions at Everton Park have been a sore topic for residents over the past 12 months, with the green space being blighted by anti-social behaviour throughout this year, with a burned out motorbike and graffiti were left at the Netherfield Road area of the public space. The Friends of Everton Park (FoEP) group reached out to Merseyside Police and Liverpool Council in a bid to bring the vandalism to an end.
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More than 100 people have added their name to a petition to try and convince Liverpool Council to put lighting in place at the green space. Kevin Robinson-Hale, who launched the petition, said it was a matter of time before someone was “injured or worse” if no lighting was installed.
Cllr Corbett told the ECHO: “The lights and light fittings for Everton Park have been ordered and work will start on or before December 12 and will take up to a week. I’ve identified safe routes through the park with residents input and those will be prioritised for the lighting work.
“The extra CCTV cameras put in place across the park have already made a difference with images passed on to the authorities as evidence regarding anti-social behaviour involving bikes in the park, as well as gun crime and flytipping. Several fines have been given out for flytipping.”
The local authority spends £9.5m a year cleaning up litter, has invested more than £8m in its alleyways programme to create safe and cleaner neighbourhoods, and has rolled out improved litter bins in the city’s major parks. In July, Merseyside Police said it has held “productive meetings” with partners from the local authority and City Watch to agree upgrades to the CCTV system, which already covers the park to deter would-be criminals.
Sarah Rotherham, Merseyside Police Community Policing Inspector, said officers took a “zero-tolerance” approach to anti-social behaviour. A spokesperson for Liverpool Council said in February that the local authority was open to discussions around additional signage at the site.
A spokesperson for FoEP told the LDRS earlier this year how the park had “endemic maintenance and vandalism issues” and “community education” was needed to change the culture around park usage.
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