Residents opposite the new Mossley Hill Hospital have hit out at the disruption caused
Frustrated residents living opposite the building of a new mental health centre in south Liverpool have hit out at the “disruption, filth and noise” caused by contractors on site. Work got underway in 2024 on the creation of four, 20 bed wards on the site of the former Mossley Hill hospital.
Proposals for the new facility were signed off by Liverpool Council’s planning committee in 2022, with a reduced number of beds – down from 106 originally put forward by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust which owns the land and will operate the new centre. Original planning permission was granted for the scheme in 2017.
It had been hoped that a new facility would be completed in 2020. Speaking to the LDRS, irritated residents at Grosvenor Court across the road from the new hospital have hit out about how their area has been treated during the construction phase.
The amalgamated facility will provide acute care services previously found at the Broadoak Unit in Broadgreen Hospital and Windsor House, Toxteth. The revised scheme will no longer incorporate the services from the STAR Unit, located at the Rathbone Hospital site, and as a result the number of beds required has been reduced, with only four wards now being built.
Demolition of the former hospital buildings, which previously consisted of a series of predominantly single and two storey blocks for mental health care, was completed in December 2021. Northern Ireland-based contractor GRAHAM has been working on site for the past year.
Janet Rowland has lived in Grosvenor Court for more than two decades and is secretary of the property’s management company. She said: “The noise has just been horrendous.
“You hear beeping throughout the day and we’ve flagged up the parking issues. They’ve systematically destroyed the road.”
Graham Ward has been in his home for eight years. He added: “We just thought they would have started clearing up by now, it’s gone on and on and on.
“We’ve all had issues with the lorries coming up and down the road, it’s been horrendous, we can’t open our windows because of the dust. There’s a nursery down the road, people try to drop their kids off but they can’t because there’s contractors’ cars everywhere.”
Mr Ward also expressed his annoyance at litter being left around by workers, with cans and bottles dumped in hedgerows alongside dust covering for work boots. He added: “We moved here because it’s beautiful and quiet.”
Dave Cook also lives on Grosvenor Court and joined Mr Ward and Mrs Rowland to speak to the ECHO. Mr Ward said: “We’ve endured nearly four years of the building of it and the disruption, filth and noise.”
The residents have set out a list of requests to the contractor, including road sweeping, damaged road surfacing repairs and “acknowledgement of the disruption, nuisance and loss of use caused.”
A spokesperson for GRAHAM said: “We understand the frustration and disruption residents are experiencing, and we appreciate their continued patience. Regarding parking and access difficulties on Park Avenue, we understand this is a major concern.
“We have continued to reinforce this with our supply chain, however we do not have jurisdiction over this road and there are currently no council enforced parking restrictions in place. We also note that this road/area is used by other construction sites in the surrounding area.
“We anticipate that major construction works will be completed in approximately one month’s time. We are fully committed to minimising the impact of this essential development on the local community during this final phase, and we thank residents for their understanding as we work to resolve these issues.”