Hundreds of protestors gathered at Liverpool’s Walton Hall Park this morning to protest about plans to build a new stadium for Everton FC on part of the site.
They waved banners and chanted at the Lifestyles Walton Centre car park as the campaign to stop the proposed development gathered pace.
Protestors have now formed two groups, Friends of Walton Hall Park and Save Walton Hall Park, to fight the plans.
A petition has so far gathered more than 2,000 signatures and further demonstrations are being planned.
Everton FC said it wanted to move the short distance from Goodison Park to Walton Hall, in a bid to increase their capacity and build a more modern stadium.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, who is backing the scheme, said he wanted to see a comprehensive regeneration of the area and believes more than 1,000 jobs could be created in the process.
The city council will be involved as an official partner, along with housing association Liverpool Mutual Homes, which will build new properties as part of the overall scheme.
But residents who were protesting this morning said they wanted to stop the loss of green space for future generations.
Chrisie Byrne of the Friends of Walton Hall Park said the turn-out for the protest about the proposed stadium development was “brilliant.”
She added: “People round here are really passionate about it and we are going to fight this all the way. This will be detrimental to not only our area but to Liverpool as a whole and its environment.
“The residents do not want to deal with the rubbish, noise and traffic this will inevitably generate to our area. The Goodison ground is a mile away from the park and already has an impact on our area through parking and noise pollution, so we do not want it on our doorstep.”
Ms Byrne said future plans included a leaflet drop and regular meetings for different communities affected by the proposals.
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