Councillors are gathering at Bootle Town Hall tonight for a meeting over one of Sefton Council’s most controversial decisions of the year: the closure of Southport’s Botanic Gardens aviary.

Opened in 1939, the 87 year old aviary currently houses around 170 birds and small animals and is looked after by a team of dedicated volunteers alongside staff from Green Sefton.

The decision to shut the aviary and rehome the birds was made during the council’s budget process back in February. It formed a single line in a weighty budget report : ‘Operational In-house Services – Green Sefton – Close Aviary’ with a £60k saving attached to it, approved by a majority of councillors, all of them Labour.

Yet, when the closure was announced publicly at the end of June, it appeared to take many by surprise, including the people involved in caring for the birds.

Since then, volunteers and campaigners have fought to keep the aviary open, attracting considerable public support. Council leader Marion Atkinson has defended the closure on animal-welfare grounds, including at a testy full council meeting in the aviary’s home town of Southport in the summer.

After the council contacting animal welfare charities and organisations for support, at least one group approached change its decision after speaking to protestors, citing the negative impact of moving the birds. Opposition councillors across the spectrum have spoken out against the decision and the way it was made. The local Labour MP, Patrick Hurley has also got involved in trying to mediate a solution to a row that so far has refused to go away for Sefton Labour.

There have been petitions, public meetings, multiple FOI requests, several updated council FAQs and increasingly heated exchanges and memes online about the decision to close the aviary. The council has nevertheless stood firm behind its decision, claiming it is acting in the best interests of the birds.

Tonight, however, after opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Sammon has secured a call-in, stating ‘this decision warrants proper scrutiny – something that hasn’t been available so far’, the decision will be up for discussion at the regeneration and skills scrutiny committee.

The Botanic Gardens Aviary item on tonight’s agenda (image: Sefton Council)
It’s not the only item on tonight’s agenda of course. The council’s community asset transfer policy, weed spraying, pavement licenses and Merseyside Recycling Waste Authority’s delivery plan are all set to be mulled over too. It’s fair to say a busy meeting lies ahead.

The Monitor is reporting live from Bootle Town Hall for the first time tonight, and we’re delighted to say this evening we will also be joined by Ashish Prabhu, the multi-award winning journalist behind Prabhu Ventures.

We have not tried live blogging from this platform before so please bear with us if it gets a little messy.

8.19pm – Cllr Phil Hart’s cabinet member report now, talking about resurfaced roads and asked if there was any questions. No questions, report noted. Cllr Williams had left the meeting so didn’t speak on her update, although was noted. Meeting is now over.
8.16pm – Cllr Lappin’s regeneration and skills cabinet member report now. First up, Cllr Lappin speaks of improvements in NEET (not in education employment and training) levels and support. Cllr Lappin mentions regeneration activities, including Maghull Health Park.
8.15pm – Cllr Sammon asked about new waste disposal vehicles in the next few years and asked if there are any spare vehicles as there have been breakdowns recently. Officer Michelle Williams said there were but beyond that they’d have to hire.
8.11pm – Cllr Harvey is talking about the recent alley cleaning and how the responsibility lies now with residents to keep them clean. He also spoke of recent improved enforcement for flytipping.
8.07pm – Cllr Harvey’s cabinet report now. He talks about community payback teams working on unadopted roads which is proving ‘popular and successful’ for residents and mention of alley cleaning in areas around Derby Park. They are ‘relentlessly long’ he said and have become a hotspot for fly-tipping. He said he’s visited over the summer as residents have reached out for help and spoke of ‘up to six feet’ of flytipping with hundreds of families affected. He said recently there’s been a ‘transformation’.
8.06pm – Cllr Mike Sammon asked about Cornerstone Church and a planning application for demolition, he asked if there had been any further outreach or news around the demolition as it is a ‘much-loved community library’. Cllr Dowd has put them in touch with Sefton CVS to support. ‘We are hoping for an alternative’ she said and mentioned going into partnership with another organisation is being pursued.
8.03pm – Cabinet member reports now. Cllr Liz Dowd is mentioning work in libraries and ward work. ‘I felt it was important to give a flavour’ of ward work, she said. Cllr Dowd spoke of the effectiveness of the welfare and benefits team and ended on the ‘real success for Sefton’ of the summer reading programme. She spoke of over 3000 children taking part in the programme this year.
7.54pm – We’re now onto the new community asset transfer policy and mentions of three new assets due to go through the process – Hesketh Park Conservatory, Community Kitchen within Cambridge Road Adult Education Centre and the Former Toilet Block in Duke Street Park. There’s been a lot of commendation for this new policy from Cllr Lappin and Chair Cllr Hinde. Officer Stephen Watson said he was’ just presenting the report’, the work was his team.
7.53pm – After being left with the image of a comically oversized table in a bid to get round the new policy, councillors agreed for it to be approved.
7.51pm – The officer said it’s about not penalising small business, he said the tables do tend to be a roughly universal size.
7.50pm – Cllr Cavanagh asked about the policy referencing up to five tables and chairs and said she imagined people ‘getting inventive’ by having an exceptionally large table as a way to ‘challenge that description’.
7.50pm – Cllr Phil Hart said he’d spoken with disability groups about the impact of the tables and chairs on the pavements. ‘It’s things we don’t realise how much of an impact that will have, having this policy will make a huge difference in being able to enforce that’.
7.45pm – Cllr Hannaway – how do we decide if pavement tables and chairs have a detrimental impact? The officer said there are certain licensing laws that also come into effect. Cllr Braham mentioned one road where there are several cafes with tables outside that make it difficult for people with wheelchairs to get through. ‘We’re working with the businesses as much as we can’ the officer said, ‘but we need the policy approved’.
7.42pm – We’re onto pavement licenses now and a new policy. Cllr Grace asked if people who already had tables and chairs outside were aware of this. The officer said there is an intention to do engagement, through promoting on the website and make people aware there are new requirements (there had been ‘no regulation for four years’, which came about due to covid)
7.41pm – One councillor asked if the salt might ‘perish’ if kept outside over summer, was told that could happen but can be kept safe in a bin.
7.39pm – Cllr Sammon has a question about this. He said he had requested pavement outside schools to be gritted. There was mention of grit bins. He asked was there a cost to those schools. The officer replied to say it was a number of years ago when schools were contacted and ‘at the time none of the schools chose to take up that option’ but added there would be a cost but could be opened to all schools.
We’re on now to the Winter Service Policy.
7.35pm – There’s been a bit of back and forth between Cllr Braham and Cllr Harvey about whether there is a part of Sefton in Cllr Braham’s ward that is a ‘jungle’ or not.
7.35pm – Cllr Cavanagh asks about pavements close to fields and whether the council is responsible – depends on who maintains field and ownership, if within Green Sefton then yes.
7.32pm – Cllr Harvey continues to discuss the weeds. He speaks about how the existing contract comes to an end soon, which provides ‘time for a fresh start, a reset, regardless of the outcome of the procurement process’.
7.30pm – Cllr Harvey said it would be ‘wrong of me to pretend there weren’t any issues this year’ and said he apologised for this. ‘Cabinet members are responsible for their own portfolio’. He said he was performing so well in so many areas of his portfolio and so found this ‘disappointing’. He said officers have responded ‘robustly to complaints about quality’ in the Southport area in particular.
7.28pm – Cllr Harvey said weed control is a ‘very popular subject’ and said it presents an ‘increasing challenge for councils across the country’ and mentioned climate conditions. He said there were also problems of finding ‘effective, environmentally-friendly ways’. The effectiveness (or not) is ‘there for us all to see’. He added: ‘there’s no hiding place’.
7.28pm – A question about taking the contract in house. ‘Likely to be cost prohibitive’ says Michelle Williams. ‘I certainly wouldn’t preclude it moving forward’ she added.
7.27pm – Cllr Sammon said it always seems to be ‘a month behind’ and asked if it could start earlier. Michelle Williams said that there have been times spraying has started in February. She said it’s clear there needs to be ‘multiple areas addressed simultaneously’ rather than moving through from one area to the next.
7.26pm – Cllr Sammon asked about the number of sprays. Of the 22 wards, he asked, how many have the sprays been done in? Michelle Williams said while all three sprays are likely to be done by end of September, the current contract runs until the end of October.
7.25pm – Cllr Hannaway said when approached by residents he ‘just didn’t know when the area has been sprayed or was due to be sprayed’. He requested with the new contract ward councillors could be in some way updated. Michelle Williams said it was ‘really important’ a new provider would have systems that could meet our requirements and that could certainly be included.
7.21pm – She said ‘it’s a random number of sites but it’s not just a random inspection within the whole borough but of the geographical ward that was inspected ten days previously’
7.20pm – ‘Do we have enough resources to carry out random inspections?’ asked Cllr Conalty and whether other resources should be used to check. ‘We’ve got weekly refuse collections going on, we’ve got our street cleaners going on’ and asked if they could be used as part of the monitoring process.
7.19pm – Cllr Conalty said it was ‘interesting to hear’ that weed scraping in some areas is part of the contract.
7.18pm – Cllr Conalty asked about whether the new contract for weed spraying has gone out to tender. He asked if scraping of the weeds afterwards was done by in-house people. ‘There is a combination’ Ms Williams said. ‘There are a number of roads where there are contractual relationships such as dual carriageways and highways’. An example was Derby Road and problems with getting highway permits.
7.15pm – Cllr Costello said a request has been made for a schedule of respraying, speaking of a stretch of road near where he lives. ‘I’d like to know when they’re doing Norwood area’ he said.
7.14pm – Senior officer Michelle Williams is talking councillors through the weed spraying policy. Focus is on areas with high footfall and some areas can’t be sprayed on. The council is coming to the end of arrangements with existing contractor and will be going out to procurement in due course.
7.12pm – That’s the discussion of the aviary over. We’re now onto weed spraying.
7.10pm – Cllr Williams said it is ‘not mutually exclusive’ or ‘either or’. Cllr Sammon has asked for a report to be brought to committee setting out the decision making process behind the decision. Cllr Costello seconds. Democratic services officer Paul Fraser gives the opportunity for a vote. Three for and five against – motion is lost. No report is coming back to committee.
7.09pm – Is it cost, is it the bird’s health or is it a combination of the two? asks Cllr Braham. Cllr Hinde said we can’t go back to the decision: ‘I don’t want to go back over a decision that has been approved by full council’
7.09pm – Cllr Sammon said it was unfair to accuse him of being disingenous when the budget line didn’t include reference to Botanic Gardens. He questions if this allowed for fair scrutiny. Cllr Williams responding said ‘again Cllr Sammon there was the opportunity to scrutinise so if you weren’t sure there was more than one aviary in the borough or what that referred to there was the opportunity to object.’
7.07 pm – Cllr Williams is responding. She said it is ‘demonstrably not the case’ that there hasn’t been an opportunity to scrutinise the decision. She lists a series of meetings where she said there was an ‘opportunity for scrutiny’. She said there hadn’t been scrutiny by opposition councillors, ‘particularly as you point out your party represents a ward in which the aviary sits’. She added ‘it is disingenous’ claiming there wasn’t an opportunity to scrutinise. She added that the council has been in touch with various organisations and will take advice about rehoming. Thank you, she concluded.
7.05pm – A key decision is not just about the financial impact, it’s also about a community impact. ‘The impact goes far beyond one ward and one community.’ He added: ‘There are people all across Sefton, Southport and beyond who care about this.’. Cllr Sammon spoke about the lack of an officer’s report being brought to committee tonight. ‘Was there a community impact test and how can it be that a decision that is so clearly having a huge amount of concern and worry, and also about the welfare of the birds who are in captivity and there has to be an impact on moving those birds and I struggle to see how that is not a key decision in its own right.’ This needs to be a ‘key decision in its own right’ he concluded.
7.02pm -We’re onto the aviary now. There’s a couple of people leaving. Cllr Sammon: ‘The aviary at Botanic gardens has stood for 87 years, I was stunned, when I went to this meeting, it said at the top of the page for the decision it is type ‘non-key’. That has led to the problem of where we are today.’ He spoke of the lack of reports and consultations and lack of transparency behind the decision. ‘How an aviary can be closed seemingly based on a budget line that didn’t even manage to name Botanic Gardens’. He quoted the budget line ‘Green Sefton – Close Aviary’ saving £60k.
7.01pm – ‘They’d have to have a phone … for me’ Cllr Paige added.
7pm – ‘At the moment they’re high level proposals’. In response to a question about people who don’t go online and how they’d book, she said the details hadn’t been worked out yet and nothing would happen until 2029.
6.59pm – Cllr Paige said ‘booking systems have been in Berkshire and places for over 25 years this is not something new … and people like it… because you can go along’. She added ‘these are all options to get people thinking as much as anything… it’s certainly got people talking’.
6.58pm ‘It’s not about restricting access for residents, it’s about fair use’. The MWRA representative said there was ‘a lot of detail to be worked up’ and it’s about ‘improving experience’.
6.55pm – The waste presentation is over, on to questions. Cllr Mike Sammon asked about the fair use policy on the consultation. ‘I’m concerned it’s going to put people off recycling’. He also asked what evidence there was people were using household recycling for trade use.
This proposed changes could involve restricting tip use for some Merseyside residents to include a ‘fair use’ limit and introduce a booking system. This could impact two sites in Sefton and has already led to concerns being raised by some local councillors.The consultation on this closes on 22nd September.
6.47pm – Now we come onto an issue that’s been quite contentious so far in Sefton – there’s a public consultation about future plans for household recycling centres, which could have a big impact for local residents.
6.46pm – Talk now comes on to planned change to household waste and recycling centres and ‘significant improvements’ coming. The work started in January 2024 and should be coming to an end in 2029.
6.44pm – It’s quite a whistlestop tour of Merseyside waste so far – we’re now on to legislative and other changes now and a contract for future waste services which is coming up for procurement. ‘It’s about improving recycling and reducing amount of residual waste’.
6.41pm – Very quick update on how waste disposal services are paid for – by a levy from each local authority. Moving on to recycling rates for Sefton, which has seen a recent increase which is ‘really positive’. For the region, the rate is around 35%.
6.39pm – The MRWA representative is racing through a presentation about the various waste contracts for waste on Merseyside. ‘Teeside is still accepting a significant amount of residual waste’ councillors are told.
6.33pm – After all the formalities, we’re kicking off with a presentation from Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority. There are technical problems which means the slides aren’t coming up on the screen, causing a moment of confusion. One of the officers is collecting copies of slides from the empty chairs around the room. The meeting looks like it’s going to head ‘old school’ with paper, although someone did mention turning the TV off and on again. Who knows which way this will go. Suddenly there are cheers as turning the TV on and off again had the desired effect.
6.30pm – The meeting has now begun. Cllr Hinde, chair of the scrutiny committee opens the meeting. There’s a bit of housekeeping, including reminding councillors to use the microphones when speaking. No apologies, full house tonight (except for the public gallery).

The assembly hall, Bootle Town Hall
6.24pm – There’s a sound of wind blowing somewhere in the building, which, coupled with the water from the fountain and little else, is creating something of an eery atmosphere in the largely empty town hall. Still no sign of the anticipated protestors. Councillors are starting to make their way up the stairs ahead of the meeting, which is in the assembly hall today as opposed to one of the committee rooms, a further indication of the expected numbers in attendance. Just six minutes to go and little evidence so far. Residents can of course also watch the meeting on livestream. The link for that is here https://modgov.sefton.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=767&MId=12163

The Temptation of Eve (image: Lisa Rand/ Mersey Monitor)
6.15pm – While we’re waiting, listening to the water gently cascade at the fountain, where the Temptation of Eve sculpture (formerly of the now closed Bootle Museum) sits pondering, we’ll give you a little update of what we’re expecting to be discussed tonight. While the decision around the aviary was made back in February, there have been many hoping the council might change its mind – so many in fact that over 15,000 people have signed petitions against its closure. Whether Sefton Council were expecting quite than number to turn up tonight is anyone’s guess, but we’re fifteen minutes away from the meeting starting and we’re still the only ones waiting in the lobby.
6.03pm – We’re here now at a suprisingly quiet Bootle town hall. As we entered, security guards flanked the building – they don’t usually. It seems we weren’t the only ones expecting a few more people than usual for a Sefton Council scrutiny meeting. The lobby is blocked off by a table. There are half a dozen staff, but so far we appear to be the only ones here.

Here we are at Bootle Town Hall waiting for the meeting to begin
4.34 pm – It’s still quite a while before the meeting kicks off, but we do have one little update regarding a rumour we heard earlier today from a little bird who asked the Monitor to find out if Southport College has expressed an interest in helping to run the aviary. We approached Southport College for comment and received this response from Michelle Brabner Principal/CEO at Southport Education Group: ‘Animal Care students at KGV Sixth Form College undertake placements at the Botanic Aviary. Southport Education Group, of which KGV is part, always welcomes opportunities to discuss the aviary with the council and explore how we might work together.’