A prominent social media account started a conversation this week about the state of our city centre – so we went for a look ourselvesWhen the ECHO wandered around the city centre, we found plenty of examples of dirt, rubbish and grime”How can our councillors and council officers possibly be walking around our city centre and not see and act upon what we are offering locals and tourists? Dirty, tatty, unmaintained, unsightly streets.” These were the striking words put out on social media this week by a prominent account, which takes an interest in Liverpool and particular its city centre.The Liverpool1207 X account, named in tribute to when the city was founded by royal charter, has spent years documenting life in the city centre and flagging up issues when they arise. The man behind the account, who always seeks to remain anonymous, lives in the city centre and walks the streets each day.Clearly, from his latest comments, he is not impressed by what he is seeing on those streets at the moment.We got in touch with Liverpool1207 and asked him to expand on what it is that is frustrating him about the state of Liverpool and its world famous city centre.He told us: “It would be a long and growing list sadly, everything from not replacing the damaged or missing trees and benches on the expensively restored Strand, to ignoring the everyday build-up of seagull droppings in specific places around town.”He said he believes there is a lack of “concerted and long-term anti-littering campaigns” and believes the council’s litter wardens are not speaking with businesses that continue to place clear bags of rubbish on the street for collection, inviting seagulls to attack them and open them up.Images taken by the Liverpool1207 twitter account show mess and rubbish around the city centre (Photo: @Liverpool1207)When we asked Liverpool1207 to highlight some of the specific areas where he believes the city is looking frequently untidy, he said some of the city centre’s most prestigious areas are high on that list.He told us: “St. George’s Plateau, the jewel in our crown, is often simply embarrassing.” He also shared pictures of litter, smashed glass and discarded pallets around the town hall, adding: “The town hall sums it up perfectly. Pride of the city, used by councillors every day.”He added: “I honestly don’t think anyone involved with the council walks round and views the city from a visiting tourist point of view. I could go on and on, but the key point is that those who can direct policy must be able to see what I and many others do in the city centre every day”Anyone who looks at my Twitter account knows I post many pictures of the great buildings etc in the city, and through them want more and more tourists to enjoy what we have to offer. But now I honestly feel I may be doing an injustice and creating a false impression.”After our conversation with Liverpool1207, we decided to head out around the city centre to see what he was talking about – and sadly we ended up sharing his frustrations.Like the man behind the account said, the area around Lime Street Station and particularly St George’s Plateau is the most important gateway to the city centre and the first view people get of Liverpool when arriving by train.The Liverpool1207 account documents life around Liverpool city centre but says recently he has been dismayed by the state of the place (Photo@ @Liverpool1207)But when we visited we found chewing-gum and bird-poo staining the floors in front of the station and rubbish strewn across the famous plateau.Other parts of the city centre were even worse. Parts of Williamson Square were covered in a fulsome layer of bird faeces and cigarette butts, while the city’s main shopping areas around Lord Street and Church Street were splattered with chewing gum stains.Now it would be unfair to say the city council hasn’t been trying to address issues of littering, rubbish dumping and other issues that blight the city.Last year it was announced that the council had hired a team of environmental enforcement officers from a company called Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE), who are now working around the city issuing fines to offenders. Litterers in the city now face a £150 penalty, while those caught dog fouling will be ordered to pay £100.And in its budget this year, the council committed a further £7.5m for parks, green spaces and street scene services such as rubbish removal, street cleansing and maintenance of grass verges.When the ECHO wandered around the city centre, we found plenty of examples of dirt, rubbish and grimeBut clearly for many who are passionate about our city centre, there is much more to be done. Many people responded to Liverpool1207’s posts this week to say they agree about the state of the place.Joanne Livens said: “You go to London, Birmingham, Manchester or any other big city and the main areas in the city centre have been scrubbed clean in the early hours. Liverpool is smelly, dirty and grimy on a daily basis and even worse at the weekend.”Even former council cabinet member Frank Hont agreed. He responded to the tweets to say: “Keep on keeping on 1207 – the city centre needs a good ( regular ) clean.”Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: “This year we are heavily investing in our street scene services, which includes street cleansing and waste removal, and have put aside over £7.5 million to tackle these issues over the next two years.“As part of this investment, we are currently bringing in 12 more street washers to focus on areas that need additional street washing, increasing the team’s numbers by 300%.“Our environmental enforcement teams speak to local businesses about correct waste management daily and have a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping. Where investigations find those responsible, appropriate action is taken.“However, we also urge people to take responsibility for their own rubbish. We are constantly cleaning up litter and waste that irresponsible people have dropped. If people just placed their rubbish into a bin, took it to a recycling centre, or disposed of it at home, we would be able to focus our efforts elsewhere and invest in other vital Council services.”
Liverpool city centre branded ‘dirty, tatty and unsightly’
