WE SAID NO

Rimrose Valley means so much to so many people of all ages. In a fascinating departure from our investigative episodes of the We Said No podcast series, we’ll talk to people who have a wealth of stories and experiences about the park. Their park.

Esther recently attended her first ever protest event. 

On the 20th August 2021, along with nearly 1000 others, she marched to the gates of Peel Ports to add her voice to the increasing calls to halt this destructive government-backed scheme and look at alternatives that work for the communities that surround this vital green space. Rather than simply benefit the privately-owned Peel Ports.

At the age of 91, Esther walked the entire length of the protest march. Not only an amazing achievement, but a powerful illustration of how this scheme will affect people of every age, young and old. And how people of every age want to make their voice heard.

This is Esther’s story.

On Friday 20th August more that 1,000 people gathered together on Rimrose Valley to make their views known and to hear from speakers that included local MPs and Councillors, national environmental groups and transport campaigners. 

We heard about the non-road alternatives that Highways England want to ignore. And calls for parity in how transport schemes are funded by central government in the north and the south.

Reported as the ‘largest anti-road demonstration in decades’ the crowds then marched to the gates of Peel Ports, the major beneficiary of this devastatingly dangerous scheme. The call of the protesters was that Peel Ports acknowledge their role in supporting the road proposal and join the communities the scheme will affect the most by opposing it. The communities that live around the Port of Liverpool.

This is the story of that day. The speakers, the marchers, the children, the families. All with one voice. We said No.

It is estimated that air pollution kills up to 40,000 people each year in the UK alone. But what does this shocking statistic have to do with Highways England’s proposed road through Rimrose Valley?

In this episode we pick our way through the complicated issue of air quality in South Sefton. We hear from people already suffering the damaging effects of vehicle emissions from Highways England’s existing A5036 and from a local primary school which sits on the path of the proposed route. We speak to experts who explain what this pollution is and the harm it does to our bodies. We learn how environmental groups are questioning the value Highways England places on the public’s health in pursuit of its road building programme and ask what role the Port of Liverpool’s own shipping activity plays in air quality in our borough.

We also cover the tragic story of 9-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah, who lost her life in 2013 due to the pollution she inhaled on her busy road.

This is a tough but important listen and we thank everyone who contributed.

How to get involved with the campaign
https://www.saverimrosevalley.org/get-involved

British Heart Foundation - Information on air pollution
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-public-affairs/creating-healthier-environments/air-pollution

The controversial road proposal covered in this podcast series is called the Port of Liverpool Access Scheme and yet, whilst the port’s owners, Peel Ports, are regularly in the news cheering the expansion of their operations, you won’t hear them talking about their Port Access Road. Ever. 

So, we’ve done this for them. Here, we share the views and concerns of local residents, hear one HGV driver’s story and ask whether Peel Ports really contributes to the local economy and cares about the surrounding community. Or does its interest end at the port gates? 

Find out just how closely Peel Ports is working with Highways England and learn about Friends of the Earth’s efforts to engage with the company on the key issues
of pollution and the environmental damage resulting from its operations. Anyone who has
been keeping an eye on developments this past few years needs to listen to this powerful
episode.

In Episode Two, we hear how a small, but committed team of people, determined to stop a road being built through their local country park, soon come to realise that this is part of a much bigger problem. They learn about the wider environmental and public health impacts of road-building and gain the support of leading, national organisations. This episode features contributions from Friends of the Earth, Transport Action Network and the Chief Executive of CPRE (the Campaign to Protect Rural England). We also hear how Highways England's public consultation presented just two options; neither of which was acceptable to local communities and ask why the outcome was ignored? Local people explain how history is repeating itself and talk about the devastation caused by another of Highways England's roads, decades before.

In episode 1, we learn about the origins and the history of Rimrose Valley and its creation. And how the plans by Highways England, the Government's own road building company, affected the communities that surrounded it. A community that relied upon it. Known as the green lung of Sefton, Rimrose Valley has grown and matured into a green space that is vital to those who live and work in the area. Here we listen to the stories of those who want not only to preserve it, but to fight for it. And when your battle is one with the UK Government and a powerful, privately-owned port working together, it takes determination.

In 2017, Highways England announced that they wanted to build a dual carriageway right through the middle of Rimrose Valley, a country park in Sefton near Liverpool. The only green space in a heavily populated and urbanised area. The purpose of this dual carriageway? To increase the capacity of the nearby Port of Liverpool, owned by Peel Ports. A privately owned organisation based in the Isle of Man.

Please subscribe to the We Said No podcast and hear the story of how the campaign to fight the road and the damage - to both the environment and to public health - came to be. And how its actions brought a community together in defiance of the Government's plans.