Merseyside town wants more visitors but one really horrible thing is stopping them

Sefton Council hopes to make Bootle into a destination people will want to visit, and are looking to expand its hospitality and night-time economy.

Last year’s opening of the Salt and Tar events venue was the unofficial launch of that vision, and attracted thousands of people to the town to watch music icons such as Tom Jones and Billy Ocean. The council wants to build on that success and is looking to forge transportation and cultural links with Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium and create a fan-friendly atmosphere in Bootle.

However, over the last year, there have been growing concerns around anti-social behaviour, particularly around the entrance to Bootle Strand. The local authority said this is acting as a deterrent for people to visit Bootle and has launched a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) consultation.

According to the council’s web portal, a PSPO would allow it to lawfully challenge behaviour that negatively impacts the community. The council is now asking for people to share their experiences of anti-social behaviour and what rules should be put in place.

This thread was picked up by Cllr Liz Dowd, Sefton Council’s Cabinet member for Communities and Partnership engagement, she said: “All of the types of behaviour covered by these proposed Public Space Protection Orders in Bootle and Southport town centres have a negative impact and will deter people from visiting them to shop, for recreation or as tourists.

“Residents, visitors and local businesses have expressed concerns about things like street drinking and aggressive begging. The measure in the proposed PSPOs are the result of evidence gathered by Sefton Council’s Community Safety and Engagement team, in partnership with Merseyside Police and other agencies.”

The consultation closes on Sunday December 7, so the LDRS visited Bootle to ask local people what they thought about a PSPO being imposed on the town centre and whether it was the right approach.

The LDRS understands Stanley Road has been cited as an area of concern with numerous reports complaining of anti-social behaviour outside The Strand shopping centre, discarded beer cans and cigarette butts, as well as people loitering.

These are issue which were identified by a number of people we spoke to including Stan, 68, who has lived in Bootle for over 30 years and visits The Strand every day, he said: “There is a problem with people making a nuisance of themselves, but let’s be honest, its like that in every town.

“In the summer, it can be a bit chaotic around here with the ones that are drinking outside and you can see some of the arl girls and arl fellas do feel a bit intimidated.”

We also spoke to Helen Smith, 65, who mentions people hanging around Bootle Strand, she said: “It does make you feel unsafe, even if you ignore them, some of them approach you and what not. Something has to be done, maybe some security guards and employ local people and some intervention for those that need help.”

Valerie Dixon, 72, said she has witnessed street drinking and, like many people we spoke to, is unsure what can be done but would like to see safer streets and also help for people who may have issues around substance abuse.

Valerie added: “There’s a lot of people with no money and it’s very sad. Sometimes you don’t know what to do, because you’ll give people a pound and then you’re told not to because it might be used to feed a habit.

“I hope with all this going on (Bootle Strand renovation) there be some more focus on these issues and maybe some more help offered.”

Rose Killeen, 84 has lived in the Bootle area for large parts of her life, and has noticed lots of changes, many of them positive, but said there is an ongoing issue with anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

Rose said: “It stems mostly from people drinking, and they end up fighting and shouting, only between themselves, but it spills over.

“I’ve been stood at the bus stop and seen people pushed and then they end up bumping into someone at the bus stop. It’s not nice and that’s what I mean when I say it can spill over.

“It feels very intimidating, because my balance isn’t very good because I’ve got osteoporosis, brittle bones, so I can’t afford to fall and I’m always very wary of people coming close, so when there’s shouting and fighting I do get scared.”

Another aspect of the proposed PSPO is more powers for the council to tackle fly tipping and other illegal waste dumping, and this is something which Rose is fully supportive of, she said: “One of the problems is people – law abiding people – they see an advert in the paper for removal of rubbish, so for example, a friend of mine paid quite a lot of money to have all this rubbish removed.

“But instead of those people dumping his rubbish legally, they did it illegally, and my friend ended up getting fined after they found his name and address on some paperwork in it.

“That’s a big problem, because people are trying to do the right thing but being taken advantage of by these private rubbish removals so I hope whatever new powers come in, they can use them on those people.”

Sefton Council is planning to step up its fight against fly-tipping, dog fouling and other environmental offences, by increasing the maximum for fixed penalty notice (FPN) fines.

The local authority is proposing to raise the maximum penalty for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000 and doubling the maximum penalty for littering from £75 to £150. Maximum penalties for household waste duty of care breaches would rise from £200 to £500.

A Sefton Council spokesperson said: “We are proposing to implement the PSPO as they are a helpful tool used to address some of the concerns communities have raised with us.

“The restrictions within the PSPO reflect these concerns in Bootle and Southport Town centre, and the consultation is an opportunity for residents and businesses to comment on them.”