Everton stadium inquiry: Residents have their say

CAMPAIGNERS in Kirkby claim their homes, green space and even the appearance of their town is being blighted by an unnecessary development.

First4Kirkby campaigner Tony Barton claims that Tesco has run Kirkby down in recent months, making the case for wholesale regeneration artificially attractive.

Standing outside the former Golden Eagle hotel and Cherryfield Residents home, he told the Daily Post: “This is ground zero. Tesco have tinned these buildings up, blocking off the windows and creating an eyesore.

“When I came round campaigning for the elections in May, the nursing home was open, but suddenly they were shut down and jobs have gone.

“So I don’t buy this idea that Tesco is putting energy back into the town. This is regeneration Tesco style and obvious manipulation of the real story of Kirkby.”

He is even more horrified at the transport plans that will see up to 4,000 people pour through the tiny railway station on match days.

Meanwhile, Keep Everton In Our City (KEIOC) spokesman Dave Kelly termed the designs on the green space off Valley Road as “urban vandalism”.

He said: “We’re not Luddites, we recognise change is needed. Just not this sort of change.

“The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (Cabe) have said the proposed new stadium is a missed opportunity and will have a detrimental impact on the town, and what bothers me is that it is a stadium that our grandchildren and their children will have to live with.

“If Everton want to progress, they should listen to the construction groups that say an all-seater 55,000 capacity stadium can be built in iconic sites within the city boundaries.”

His group attracted about 100 people to the dockers’ bar, Casa, over the weekend to hear about alternative plans at the Kings Loop site in Liverpool. But, Mr Kelly argues, these alternatives are not being listened to. At Spicer Grove, one of the streets earmarked for demolition under compulsory purchase orders if the plans are given the go-ahead, Dot Reid claims her whole world is under threat.

She hit national headlines this year by submitting a planning application to Tesco supremo Sir Terry Leahy’s local council in Hertfordshire – to demolish his multi-million pound mansion in leafy Cuffley.

Now she is simply incensed that efforts to build a tight-knit community are under threat.

She said: “We formed a co-operative to build good housing. It was a struggle but it was a fantastic achievement and a real community was born. Now we feel like everything is going to be destroyed.”

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