People in one part of Merseyside said they are confused and frustrated after £178,000 was spent clearing up weeds and rubbish, only for it to return after just a few weeks. The verges of the A5036 have previously been subject to numerous complaints due to the overgrown foliage, bushes and rubbish which borders the busy carriageway.
The maintenance of the verges is managed by National Highways (NH) who are responsible for the upkeep, general appearance and safety of the roads. The government-owned company is contracted to take care of motorways and major A roads in England including gully cleaning, grass cutting and weed management.
The verges of the A5036 were covered in weeds
In June 2024, the LDRS reported on the issue of ‘6ft high weeds’ growing on all verges bordering the A5036. At the time, a spokesperson for National Highways said weed and foliage growth along the carriageway was exacerbated by weather conditions. It said:
The combination of rain and warmer weather can lead to very fast growth in vegetation.
Since then, National Highways partnered with Sefton Council to deliver a roadside maintenance programme which cleared the weeds and overgrown foliage along the A5036. The LDRS understands this was completed at the start of summer and saw the removal of more than 600 tonnes of litter and weeds.
Cllr Peter Harvey, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleansing and Street Scene said:
This successful clean-up shows what can be achieved for residents and road users by working closely with partners and specialist contractors.
Our focus now is on ensuring we keep standards as high as possible.
Two weeks after the clean-up, the weeds are back
However, photos taken this week show that a lot of the weeds and foliage have started to grow back, causing concern among local residents about the effectiveness of the clearance project and particularly the cost.
Kenny Ferguson lives near to the road, he said:
As one of many Church Road residents, I am appalled by the current state of the A5036 road corridor. The council claims that they spent £178,000 on a ‘once in a lifetime cleanup’,but what was £178k spent on?
“If you look at it today, with all the newly grown weeds, they spent a fortune but it’s clear the money has been mis-spent or squandered.
Concern about the road maintenance
The South Sefton Community Alliance (SSCA) is a local community activist group whose members have raised their concerns about the maintenance of the A5036. A spokesperson for SSCA said:
In January 2025, we hosted an open meeting to hear the concerns of residents living in the vicinity of the A5036, frustrated with the lack of maintenance and poor living conditions along the busy road.
This led to a further meeting later that month with representatives of National Highways and Sefton Council to discuss the many issues, and residents were able to express their views.
We welcomed the programme of works that followed this summer but are keen to ensure that this wasn’t a one-off exercise, as vegetation is already taking over again.
We have therefore contacted National Highways asking them to share the new maintenance plan for the A5036, clearly detailing who is responsible for what going forward so residents along the route can hold them to account. We are currently awaiting a response to our request.
£178,000 spent on the work
Cllr Harvey added:
The major clean-up of the A5036 was the biggest operation of its kind in Sefton’s history. It has transformed the look of our busiest route for people living nearby and motorists driving through.
The area had become dirty and untidy so we acted decisively. We cleared more than 600 tons of litter, weeds and detritus over several weeks. The cost of the works, carried out by specialists during night-time lane closures, was £178,000.
We know residents have noticed how quickly weeds can return. National Highways is the responsible body for weed spraying on the A5036, not Sefton Council, and I am told that spraying is scheduled for the next few days.
National Highway responded:
A National Highways spokesperson said:
We constantly review the operation and maintenance of the motorway and major A roads network of which the A5036 is a part.
Some of the maintenance requirements, such as litter picking and road sweeping, are the responsibility of the local authority but where we have responsibility for issues such as gully cleaning, grass cutting and weed management we deliver maintenance along the A5036 through a set programme of activities throughout the year backed up with weekly inspections of the route which, alongside customer feedback, can also prompt maintenance actions or repairs.
It is worth noting that while we already work alongside closely with partners like Sefton Council to manage the route we are actively pursuing even better collaboration and coordination of our different maintenance activities.
A Local Democracy press release by Elliot Jessett
