‘Satisfied’ neighbors wake up to ‘horrendous mess’ as students pack up for summer

People described feeling “completely fed up and stressed” after waking up to a “disgusting mess” as students packed up to leave areas of Liverpool.

The area around Smithdown Road in Wavertree is a hot spot for students in the city. In recent years, long-time local residents have complained about huge amounts of trash dumped on area streets as students pack up and leave their properties for the summer.

This year, Liverpool City Council says it has been working hard with its partners, including the city’s universities, to try to stop the same grim scenes that were witnessed last year.

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The local authority says it has seen significant improvements and far fewer complaints about the spill this time around – but in one street residents still woke up to some horrendous rubbish on Sunday morning.

Pictures sent to the ECHO by residents in Wellington Avenue show bins full, with large amounts or rubbish spilling onto the road and footpaths.

Household goods can be seen scattered around the local area – including quilts, clothes and kitchen items.

One resident, who asked that we only use his first name, Vincent, said: “It is the perennial problem of the absolutely disgusting mess caused by the wholesale dumping of property when they leave their houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

“All the long-term residents are completely fed up and heartbroken that they have to put up with all of this again.”

Vincent, who has lived in Wellington Avenue for decades, added: “Unfortunately, all this mess does not mark the end of the students’ impact on our daily lives, but actually brings the stress of the next unpleasant cycle on. , when the new arrival invariably starts the new rentals with all-night parties.”

There was some good news, however, on Monday morning when the mess was cleared by the council, prompting Vincent to add: “We’re kind of relieved, but we wish we hadn’t been subjected to the rubbish strewn all weekend in the first place.”

Cllr Laura Robertson-Collins is a councilor for the nearby Arundel ward, which has similar issues with student housing, and is also the council’s cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods.

She said there were large-scale efforts to address these issues this year.

She said: “We’ve stepped it up with every organization this year, we’ve really pushed the issue. I put a lot of plans in place, working with universities and sending letters home.

“Unfortunately, there’s always a crunch time on June 30 because that’s when all the landlords close the contracts for the student houses and have them vacate or face losing their deposits. It’s a fundamental way of doing things.”

But the cabinet member said that overall things had improved considerably compared to recent years.

She added: “We have had far fewer complaints from residents to local councilors this year. We would continue to ask anyone experiencing problems in their local area to continue to report them and we will deal with them and ensure that landlords who do not do their part are fined.”

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