‘Our city’s parks are being destroyed by vandals’

Friends of Festival Gardens community group now want action to be taken

Otterspool’s Festival Gardens has been vandalised again. The Japanese Garden was found to “still be smouldering” when a volunteer, from Friends of Festival Gardens community group, went to the tranquil space on the morning of Wednesday, September 27. This isn’t the first time the garden has been targeted as a rare tree, likened to Sycamore Gap and given to the city by Japan decades ago, was destroyed.

A spokesperson for the community group told the ECHO: “The city’s parks are being destroyed by vandals and there seems to be complacency about the issue, to the frustration of Friends groups.

“It is just the latest in a series of incidents in the Festival Gardens. Since we reported the damage to the 40-year-old Japanese maple, most structures have been damaged – the moon wall, the viewing platform, gabion walls, and bridges – and all remain in disrepair. Traffic cones are thrown in the waterways, planks pulled off and graffiti appears. We were told that such vandalism will not be tolerated.”

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The incident was reported to the Safer Parks team, a partnership led by Liverpool City Council and Merseyside Police. Councillor Peter Norris, the Labour representative of the ward, told the ECHO: “This further occurrence of mindless vandalism is another example of continuing damage to the furniture of the park.

“The park has recently received a number of repairs by the council as part of the 40th anniversary of the opening. It is a continuing frustration to those volunteers who have made huge efforts, and who work tirelessly to provide an environment that visitors can enjoy.

“Personally, I condemn this destructive behaviour, absolutely. Several options must now be considered as to how we can prevent these incidents from happening again, and I look forward to exploring them with the police, council, park users and volunteers.”

The Liverpool City Council confirmed the “mindless act of vandalism has been logged and CCTV footage is now being analysed to see if the culprits can be identified”.

In a separate incident, a viewing platform, which at the time had only just been fixed, was “trashed” and trees were cut “to make a den”.

The spokesperson added: “We are dismayed with the latest spate of vandalism. It is unlikely the platform will be reinstated. This is all the more senseless as there are many fallen branches in the wooded area. No one should be bringing axes and saws into parks. One has been recovered if any parents are missing one.”

Kate Parry, secretary of the Friends of Festival Gardens Association, previously told the ECHO how the vandalism has been going on “for a few years”. In light of the attacks, the group want to see CCTV installed and has been asking for the gates to be closed in the evenings to avoid further damage.