The Wavertree Society was invited to a meeting with United Utilities, (on 30/10/2025) hosted by Paula Barker MP and our local Councillors to inform us about the major engineering works that are proposed for Wavertree Playground (The Mystery). We again attended another meeting on the 20/10/2025.
Members of our Committee attended and sought answers to a number of questions that had been raised by our members at the AGM the previous week.
Our response is below:
“On 30 October 2025, members of the Wavertree Society attended a meeting with United Utilities, hosted by Paula Barker MP and local councillors, to discuss major engineering works proposed for Wavertree Playground (The Mystery). The meeting followed concerns raised by our members at the recent AGM, and we sought answers directly from United Utilities and their civil engineering partners, J. Murphy & Sons.
The proposed works aim to increase the capacity of the wastewater system in south Liverpool by constructing a large underground stormwater tank capable of holding 5-7 million litres. This initiative is both a response to the increasing frequency of heavy rainfall due to climate change and a long-term solution to flooding issues affecting areas such as Mossley Hill and Queens Drive.
At the latest committee meeting these proposals were discussed in detail including all the pros and cons and it was concluded that the position of The Wavertree Society should generally be supportive of this development as it represents a once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure improvement, not just to the Wavertree area but the entire of south Liverpool.
The Society however does have some reservations and after our discussion we outline these five points below:
- The Society will request that design engineers AtkinsRealis attend a public consultation meeting to explain the projects background, optioneering and design constraints and a Q&A session.
- The Society will request copies of the projects soil resource plan and landscaping design for comment. Dumping of excavated spoil in the park may create unattractive, useless hills and mounds that reduce the area of usable land in the park. This has happened previously under the guise of ‘landscaping’.
- The Society will insist that the hoardings on the site are of high quality and as attractive as they reasonably can be. There is talk of ‘greening’ the hoardings with plants but the society is concerned that after two years what would happen to the planted mature plants when the hoardings are removed?
- The Society will insist that the final surfacing of the ‘hard standing’ areas designed for maintenance vehicles is of high quality and least intrusive. The proposal for basic grasscrete is not appropriate within the park setting and less intrusive system should be used.
- The Society will insist that any railings or historic features removed shall be adequately protected and securely stored for reinstallation in the same positions and any new gates/railings are designed to harmonise the match with the existing features.
We will also try and ensure that any ‘improvements’ offered are substantial and meaningful rather than just a few token ‘extra park benches’.
We will express these points to United Utilities and Liverpool City Council and will update with any response in our next newsletter. We remain committed to an open dialogue with United Utilities, their contractors and The Council. Whilst we know some in the community are steadfastly against this development we do not feel the Society can be. Our motto is the protect Wavertree past, present and future and if this work makes our drainage system more robust then we feel we must support it in principle but try for the best outcome for Wavertree.”
We have subsequently supplied United Utilities with an article, written a number of years ago by Society member Florence Gersten – ‘Before the road there was a river: The streams beneath our streets’ about the streams and rivers that lie under Wavertree and south Liverpool.
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