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Welcome to Liscard: No Bikes. No Masks. No Logic.

If you were looking for a case study in bureaucratic breakdown, strategic contradiction, and reactionary politics, look no further than Liscard. Wirral Council has spent the last five years publicly promoting cycling, face coverings, and active travel. But now? They want to criminalise all three.


Wear a mask? Don't wear a mask!
Wear a mask? Don't wear a mask!

Encouraged to Cycle — Now Fined for It


A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is being proposed to tackle anti-social behaviour in Liscard town centre. It would ban:


  • Pedal cycles

  • E-bikes

  • Scooters

  • And even face coverings, if an officer deems you're "concealing your identity"


The council claims this is about safety. But the real story is a spectacular collapse in joined-up thinking.


Because Liscard isn’t just any street. It’s a key part of Wirral Council’s own Core Active Travel Network (CATN).

“Improved access into Liscard and onward connectivity to Birkenhead and Seacombe Ferry via Route 1.”— CATN Consultation Draft, Route 1, 2024
“Liscard to Wallasey and Seacombe – Active Travel link (Route 18)”— CATN Medium-Term Corridor, 2025–2030

The CATN was developed with Mott MacDonald, approved by committee, funded through government programmes, and promoted as Wirral’s “vision for the future of travel.”


Now, that future is illegal.


Is the Council For or Against Cycling?


Conservative Cllr Ian Lewis said it best:

“While one part of the council is dogmatically working to encourage more cycling in Liscard… another part is now actively trying to ban it.”

But the situation took a deeper turn when Liscard Labour councillors Janette Williamson, Graeme Cooper and James Laing told the Wirral Globe on 3 July:

“We have made it quite clear to Liscard residents that there are currently no plans for any cycle paths in Liscard... Proposed cycle lanes are unworkable and not supported.”

Wait—what?


We’ve spent years consulting on CATN. Millions allocated. Public exhibitions held. Maps, strategies, draft policies. And now ward councillors (one a former council leader) are saying it never existed? This is not just a communications failure. It’s a complete collapse of governance.


Formal Request for Clarity


On July 4th, I sent a formal letter to Cllr Janette Williamson:

“Your statement suggests a total disavowal of any such scheme in Liscard… Has the council formally withdrawn plans for a cycle route through Liscard? If not, on what basis are you making assurances that contradict published council strategy?”

No response yet.


But the implications are enormous. If elected councillors can disown strategy documents that remain active on paper, then CATN is no longer a strategy. It’s a fiction.


😷 Face Coverings? Also Banned


Let’s not forget: face coverings were mandated during COVID. Vulnerable people still wear them. So do people with respiratory conditions, cancer patients, and religious observers. Now the council wants to fine people up to £1,000 for covering their face in Liscard—if an officer thinks they might be hiding their identity. This isn’t public safety. It’s performative politics.


Anti-Social Behaviour Is a Symptom — Not the Cause


There have been 300 reported incidents in Liscard over the past year. That’s serious. But you don’t solve that by banning transport and layering fines.


You solve it by addressing what caused it:


  • Years of cut youth provision

  • Empty units and declining high streets

  • Lack of safe spaces for young people

  • And a total failure to engage the community


This PSPO is a lazy, zero-imagination response to a deep social problem.


Real Alternatives Were Proposed


In The Future of Cycling on Wirral: 2025–2035, we outlined real solutions to the issues Liscard faces today:

Convert derelict or electrified brownfield sites into youth-designed e-bike parks
Provide training, maintenance hubs, and e-bike skills centres
Run outreach programmes with local bike shops, clubs, and youth workers
Empower the so-called “North Face ninjas” to become ambassadors and designers
Use mobility to foster community, not criminalise it

We don’t need blanket bans. We need vision and investment.


This PSPO Must Be Scrapped or Rewritten


This PSPO is not fit for purpose. We demand:


  • Removal of all anti-cycling clauses

  • Removal of face covering restrictions

  • A clear public statement on the current status of CATN Route 1 through Liscard

  • Transparency on how council strategy aligns with ward councillors' statements


Final Thought


You can’t build a better borough by banning the behaviours you encouraged last year. You can’t deliver active travel while criminalising it in town centres. And you can’t inspire trust when councillors disown strategy after the fact.


This isn’t just inconsistent. It’s dangerous.


References

  • Wirral Council (2024). Core Active Travel Network – Consultation Draft, Routes 1 and 18.

  • Wirral Council (2024). Places for People Strategy, Environment Committee.

  • Wirral Council (2025). Liscard PSPO Consultation Draft.

  • Department for Transport (2020). Cycle Infrastructure Design – Local Transport Note 1/20.

  • Wilmer, R. (2024). The Future of Cycling on Wirral: 2025–2035 White Paper.

  • McGrath, R. (2025). “Confused approach to anti-social behaviour in Liscard slammed.” Wirral Globe, 3 July.

  • Personal email correspondence: Rory Wilmer to Cllr Williamson et al., 4 July 2025.

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