For the first time since 2019, Aintree racecourse has welcomed racegoers back to the Grand National festival.
Thousands of people are expected to visit the city over the world famous three-day event, with millions of pounds to be generated for the Liverpool City Region economy this weekend. The eyes of the world will shine on our region once again and the work that goes into getting ready for starter’s order has been revealed.
From roads to rubbish, no stone has been left unturned by local authorities to ensure Aintree, the city centre and surrounding areas are looking their best. It is expected that an extra 40 tonnes of waste are likely to be collected in Liverpool City Centre alone over the course of the next three days.
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As a result, an additional 60 240-litre bins are to be put in place by Liverpool Council as the festival takes place, including at the city’s transport hubs such as Merseytravel ’s bus and rail terminals, and main city centre walking routes. Under the cover of darkness for the last two weeks, Liverpool Council officers have been working to blast the city’s streets clean while verges on major routes from Aintree to the Airport have been cleared of rubbish, taking in the M57 and M62 in partnership with neighbouring councils.
To avoid disruption to motorists coming into the area, repairs on the M62 were completed two weeks ago with the increased traffic in mind. When punters do make their way into Aintree for a day’s racing, a full licensing operation will be in place.
A dedicated team of 10 enforcement officers will be on site at the racecourse monitoring bars and taxis for compliance, while on the lookout for illegal street trading, touting and the operations running throughout the day. As previously reported, the transport network is also doing its bit to welcome people into the city, with additional services put on by Merseyrail from the city centre to Aintree and Northern trains scheduling extra services into Lime Street for the big day as racegoers and those going to Goodison Park for Everton’s home game against Manchester United descend on Liverpool.
While Minella Times may be hoping for a second Grand National victory, the local authority will be hoping for safer times as crowds return to Liverpool for the first time since 2019.
