People are “extremely concerned” about living in their homes on a Liverpool street

Locals on Beauclair Drive say they want clarity from the council about what is being done to ensure their safety

Local people felt “extremely concerned” at their homes on a Liverpool street where several trees have fallen in stormy and windy weather in recent years.

Earlier this month, the ECHO reported that several people had been evacuated from their properties on Beauclair Drive in Wavertree after a tree fell due to the strong winds of Storm Darragh, which hit the Merseyside region. Locals said this was the fourth tree to fall in recent years, causing residents on the road to fear for their safety.

Several weeks after the storm, Beauclair Drive residents say they are still unhappy with the city council and its plans to deal with the threat of falling trees in the area. A frustrated resident wrote to council leaders to express his ongoing concerns. Council chiefs said a team had returned to the road to tackle another dangerous tree.

In a letter dated December 19, the resident said: “I am continuing to monitor this matter as it has now been almost two weeks and there has been very little communication regarding the issues we have raised. My wife contacted LCC again yesterday because there was significant movement in the tree outside.” With further strong winds forecast for this weekend – and considering that both the police and your own staff contacted us two weeks ago for safety reasons advised to vacate our house – we remain extremely concerned, as does our elderly neighbor.

“Apparently an ‘inspection’ took place today. My wife received a phone call while we were both at work informing her that concerns had been identified about the cottonwood trees on Beauclair Drive. We were told they were a priority and needed to be removed, but the main issues were a lack of resources and funding.

“This statement has been made before and it appears we are being given the same assurances over and over again without any significant progress being made. This suggests that action is only taken when dangerous incidents occur – something we fear could have tragic consequences.”

In the city council’s response to our story earlier this month, the local authority said it routinely expects all trees across the city but says removing trees is a last resort. The council said it visited Beauclair Drive in October and found no trees were in a dangerous condition that meant they needed to be removed.

This explanation was not well received by some residents of the street. The resident wrote via email: “We urgently demand clarity on what is being done, what the actual resource or funding constraints are, and a clear timeline for resolving these critical issues.” We need proactive solutions, not just assurances, to ensure the safety of residents.”

The email has now received a response from Chris Lomas, the council’s director of environmental services, who said: “The council’s immediate response was to arrange for one of its arborists to visit Beauclair Drive to meet with several local residents .”

“I have advised (councillor) Cllr Carl Cashman that once the fallen tree has been felled, an inspection of the adjacent tree will be carried out in response to residents’ concerns. This assessment is necessary because the fallen tree rests lightly on the lower trunk of the adjacent tree.

“The tree in question has failed at its roots some distance from the trunk. Once the cleanup is complete, an inspector will closely examine the stumps and protruding roots. Initial results indicate that the massive amounts of rain have saturated the soil and roots. Combined with gale force winds from an unusual direction, the tree fell.

Mr Lomas said council staff had been on the road following further storms since then and that a team had been sent to remove the branches and canopy of the tree in question to make it safer and that the trunk would need to be removed in the new year.

He added: “In response to your concerns about the inspection process, the council’s routine inspection process is thorough and has been reviewed by the Health and Safety Executive to ensure it complies with statutory requirements and can demonstrate that the council is meeting its responsibilities to the extent reasonably possible to protect public safety.

“This process includes risk-based inspections to identify defects and illnesses that could lead to structural weaknesses. All deficiencies identified during the inspection are documented and the necessary measures are taken to correct them. Inspection records are maintained in an auditable format to ensure transparency and accountability.”