Author: Ollie Cowan

Sefton Council have been working closely with Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and partner agencies after a significant fire in the Hawthorne Road area of Bootle.

Fire crews were called to an industrial unit early on the morning of 20 August to find a building containing a large amount of waste on fire.

Access to the site to extinguish the fire was very difficult, resulting in parts of the building being removed.

A significant amount of Fire Service resources were committed to fighting the fire and local residents and businesses were subject to days of disruption and unpleasant conditions after smoke affected the surrounding area.

Sefton Council and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service worked closely with partners from the Environment Agency and Public Health England to minimise the risks to public health and restore normal conditions as soon as possible.

Sefton Council assisted firefighters by providing a digger to break up the refuse and transport it to open ground where the seats of fire could be extinguished.

A spokesman for Sefton Council said:

“We continue to assist Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service in dealing the fire and will continue to do so until it is fully extinguished.

“We are also currently reviewing how waste management is handled on private sites in relation to this incident and across the borough.

“Sefton Council continues to work with partner agencies including Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the Environment Agency to address how incidents like this can be prevented in the future.”

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service has been proactive in supporting local authorities and the Environment Agency regarding the poor management of waste sites over many years – large waste fires of this type are not unique to Merseyside and are in fact a national problem.

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service will be engaging with local businesses and the community to prevent fires of this type through the early identification of potential risks and problem sites.

Arson Officers and Business Safety Advisors will be visiting light industrial areas within Sefton to identify potentially problematic sites and will engage with local businesses to identify emerging risks at an early stage and undertake arson risk assessments where appropriate. Local Fire Stations will undertake operational audits of businesses in the area.

A multi-agency debrief will take place and lessons learned will inform the development of a robust, coordinated and ongoing strategy to prevent fires of this type as we move forward.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Group Manager, Gary Oakford said:

“Large waste fires such as this are a problem not only in Merseyside, but nationally.

“Poorly managed waste sites are an accident waiting to happen and we have been working proactively with partner organisations over many years to reduce the risk of these fires.

“We will be committing significant resources across the business community in the area over coming weeks to identify any potential risks and prevent fires of this type which are highly disruptive and of great concern to residents and businesses.
 
 “We would like to thank the public for their patience at this time and for observing the minor traffic diversions, we have also worked hard to ensure continuity to local businesses.”

 An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

 “This is an abandoned site with no environmental permit.

 “The Environment Agency as the regulatory body have given advice and guidance to the landowner to make the site safe and to clear the waste.

“The company and directors are currently part of an ongoing investigation.

 “The Environment Agency will continue to work with partners including Merseyside Fire and Rescue and Sefton Council to minimise harm to the local community and environment.”

 For free fire safety advice or to request a home fire safety check, call 0800 731 5958.

 Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service also provides free smoke alarms for Merseyside residents aged 65 or over or those referred by partner agencies.

Sefton Council is warning motorists that they are not above littering laws after a taxi driver was caught on dashcam footage throwing rubbish out of his window.

 Paul Morttram, 32, a Sefton licensed taxi driver, was found guilty in his absence of three counts of littering at a hearing at Sefton Magistrates Court on August 15.

 He now faces a fine of £300 and £333 in costs and victim surcharges after originally failing to pay a fixed-penalty-notice.

 Dashcam footage filmed by a concerned motorist on January 9 clearly showed Mr Morttram throwing rubbish out of his drivers’ window three times in the space of two minutes while travelling through Bootle.

 The footage was passed to Sefton Council’s Environmental Enforcement Team and, when interviewed, Mr Morttram admitted to the offences.

 He was issued with three separate fixed-penalty-notices, totalling £150 but after repeated failed attempts to contact the defendant, legal action was taken.

 Magistrates this week found in favour of Sefton Council and Mr Morttam was ordered to pay £633.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services, said:

“We are very pleased with the outcome and want people to realise no matter how big or small an item is, dropping litter is an offence and this applies to all members of the public, regardless of if you’re on the pavement or in a vehicle.

“The best way to avoid a fine or a court appearance is to not drop litter.

“Littering is consistently one of the main concerns raised by residents and the council spend over £3 million per year cleaning up litter.

“We pursue a vigorous enforcement approach by issuing fixed penalty notices and it is only by prosecuting individuals who don’t pay, that the council can present a robust enforcement deterrent.”

Travellers are being reassured that the Liverpool City Region will remain ‘open for business’ when the first phase of a major transformation of Liverpool Lime Street kicks off next month (30 September – 22 October). This is the biggest upgrade the station has seen since the 19^th Century.

The plan is to keep people on trains wherever possible, including diverting many mainline rail services to Liverpool South Parkway and getting people to and from the city on the Merseyrail network. Where rail replacement buses are required they will be high quality and will offer both express/limited stop and stopping services.

The Lime Street upgrade is one of 10 major railway upgrades as part of a £340m railway investment in the Liverpool City Region, and sits within the wider Great North Rail Project to transform rail travel for customers in the north of England.

Once complete in 2018, the work will enable an extra three services per hour in and out of Lime Street station, including new direct services to Scotland. Longer, better managed platforms will allow bigger trains, with more space for passengers, in and out of the station.

For the first nine days of the closure, engineers will also be working to complete the installation of the fourth track between Huyton and Roby. This will allow faster no-stop intercity services to overtake local stopping services along this route.

Key travel advice

• The Liverpool City Region remains open for business. You will still be able to get where you want to go, but you will need to make some small changes to your journey.
• Please plan ahead and allow extra time for your journey. Estimated additional travel times will be provided, where possible, to help you plan.
• Based on your final destination, the alternative travel arrangements may actually get you closer to where you need to be.
• Stick to public transport where possible to keep the city moving. If you live within the Liverpool City Region, commercial bus services may also offer a good alternative travel option.
• There will be additional staff on hand at key interchanges to help you get where you need to be.
• Please print/pick up pre-paid tickets before the day of travel.
• Employers and staff should consider what the impacts may be on working patterns and consider adjustments if necessary, such as the potential for flexible working, starting and finishing later and the opportunity for home working.

Over the 23 days, engineers will be remodelling station platforms, increasing them in number and in length. Work will also take place to install overhead line equipment to power electric trains and upgrade track.

This is the first of two phases of work at Liverpool Lime Street, with a further station closure planned in summer 2018. Key travel details are below, but to find out more visit Find out more: www.networkrail.co.uk/lcr 

 ***Key detail***

 Journeys via Liverpool South Parkway

Mainline services from destinations such as Manchester, London, Birmingham, Leeds, York and Crewe will start/terminate at Liverpool South Parkway, with the Merseyrail network taking passengers to/from Moorfields station in Liverpool City Centre.

Tickets will be valid on the Merseyrail network during the work so there is no need to purchase a separate ticket.

It is estimated that transferring onto the Merseyrail network should add only 10-15 minutes to your journey. There will be 4 trains per hour, Monday to Saturday, and 2-4 trains per hour on Sundays (depending on the time of travel).

Journeys via Hunts Cross

Services via stations between Warrington and Hunts Cross will start/terminate at Hunts Cross station. Passengers can choose between a quality express rail replacement bus service, non-stop between Hunts Cross and Moorfields station in the Liverpool City Centre or a stopping service calling at stations on the City Line (Liverpool South Parkway, West Allerton, Mossley Hill and Edge Hill) to/from Liverpool Lime Street.

The express rail replacement bus service will run every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and every 30 minutes on Sunday. This will add, approximately, up to 18 minutes onto journeys (based on peak-time travel).

Stopping rail replacement bus services between Hunts Cross and Liverpool Lime Street will run every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and every hour on Sunday. This will add, approximately, up to 22 minutes onto journeys.

 Journeys via St Helens/Huyton

Between 30 September and 8 October, services between Manchester Victoria, Wigan, the Lakes, Scotland, Blackpool and Preston will start/terminate at St Helens Central or St Helens Junction. Quality rail replacement bus services will offer an express/limited stop service and a stopping service calling at all stations on both routes.

Express/limited stop services (calling at St Helens Central, Huyton and Liverpool Lime Street or St Helens Junction, Lea Green, Huyton, Wavertree Tech Park and Liverpool Lime Street) will run hourly on Monday to Saturday. Stopping services, calling at all stations, will run every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and every hour on Sunday.

From 9 October until 20 October, limited rail services will run in and out of Liverpool Lime Street between 6am and 8pm. For services before 6am and after 8pm, quality rail replacement bus services will run between Huyton and Liverpool Lime Street.

On the final two days, 21 – 22 October, services will start/terminate at Huyton station with quality rail replacement bus services on hand to get you to/from Liverpool Lime Street. On Saturday they will run every 15 minutes and on Sunday every 30 minutes.

The rail replacement bus service calling at all stations between St Helens and Liverpool Lime Street will add, approximately, up to 60 minutes to your journey. Those travelling on the express/limited stop service will need to add approximately 35 minutes to their journey. From Huyton station, rail replacement bus services will add approximately up to 28 minutes to journeys (all based on peak-time travel).

Weekend work on the Ordsall Chord in Greater Manchester from now until 23 October will also mean there will be some changes to services in and out of Manchester Victoria. Passengers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they travel.

For more information on the schemes that make up the £340m rail investment in the Liverpool City Region by the end of 2019 visit www.keepliverpoolmoving.com