Justice For New Ferry

Watch the story of a community's ongoing struggle for justice after the devastating gas explosion of 2017.

Cllr Jo Bird: New Ferry is a proud and hard working community just south of Birkenhead.

Lisa: Going back to the olden days, growing up and that, I mean, you could come out, you could leave your front doors open. It's been fantastic. I love New Ferry, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Mark Craig: Back in the 1950s and 60s, it was one of Wirral's thriving district centres. Things were doing really well until the 1980s when they started on Croft Retail Park and that's when the life started to drain away from New Ferry and it just spiralled as many places have done ever since.

Jo: Though there were still plenty of popular shops and eateries like Griffiths Butchers and Lan's House.

One of the large shops sold furniture and above it was a dance studio. On Saturday, the 25th of March 2017, the disused gas pipe was opened and the furniture shop filled with gas. At 9.15pm, it exploded with devastating force. 81 people were severely injured. Lewis was in a coma for several weeks. 83 people became instantly homeless. It was pure luck that nobody died.

The explosion changed the lives of hundreds of people, including Christopher Power.

Jo: Chris, what happened?

Christopher Power: OK, so behind me is where I lived with my wife and my son. Quarter past nine or just before, bang, huge explosion. I initially thought it was a car bomb and it frightened the life out of me. My legs were like jelly. I jumped up and you're right, I had my pyjamas on. And I started to panic. And so I ran out of the back. I saw a group of people screaming and crying and pointing to the old furniture shop. There was glass everywhere. There were cracks everywhere. There were people screaming outside. I was worried about my family. My family were worried about me. It was just horrific.

Jo: The police declared a major incident, but really strangely, there was no gold command meeting. The council didn't follow its own procedures for disasters and emergencies. The Labour Council leader ordered Labour councillors to vote against emergency funding for the victims. Victims were blamed for not having insurance, when we all know that insurance is a luxury, especially when you're struggling to pay the bills. The council didn't apply for emergency funding exactly for this purpose.

Chris: We were displaced. We have to remember that businesses were lost. These were family run businesses. Some of these buildings that are no longer here crumbled to the ground. The houses behind us were damaged terribly. The impact financially was horrific. The council, and this is where I get angry, had actually billed the victims for the boarded up windows and the scaffolding. Those bills weren't just bills. They were red bills. And they were threats that if we did not pay the bill, that bill would be passed on to a debt collecting agency. It wasn't just a physical thing that people went through. It was mental health. I had terrible flashbacks for years walking past this shop.

Jo: So I was first elected in 2018.

Chris: 2018, yes.

Jo: I think that's when we first met. And I was really shocked at how badly victims of the explosion were being treated. It was like insult after injury and one injustice after another. So remember we had a meeting and we formed Justice For New Ferry.

Chris: We did. We had Justice For New Ferry and that was a long journey.

Jo: Yeah. The group had three demands. Put victims first. Rebuild the blast site. And support local traders.

On the second anniversary of the explosion, we organised a lovely event.

Jo: We're expecting hundreds of people to come out with lanterns and thoughts and prayers and to replace some of the bad memories with good memories.

Chris: As we pay homage to the people's fight, the butterfly is now the emblem of New Ferry, which brings freedom to the fore. At last, a light at the end of the tunnel will help heal those wounds so raw. Thank you very much.

Chris: That lantern parade was very special to me and it made me cry because it just showed us the resilience of a community coming forward.

Jo: Justice for New Ferry spoke at many meetings and in the media and persuaded the council to make hardship payments to the victims. £1600 was paid to everybody who were made homeless or whose business had to close. The guy who owned the furniture store, he was found guilty in court and the gas company, the private gas company, pled guilty in court and they've since gone bust. And victims didn't want that kind of awful experience to happen to anybody else. So I called for a scrutiny report, an investigation which set the record straight.

Jo: When disaster struck in Salisbury, London and Belfast, the government chose to rip up their rulebook and paid out quickly. Seven and a half million pounds was given to Salisbury businesses for loss of trade, but not a single penny has come for traders in New Ferry. Why? And as a Wirral councillor, I would like to apologise to people directly affected. I'm sorry that some of the safety nets didn't hold you and I'm sorry that's taking so long to do right by you.

Jo: So what about rebuilding on the actual blast site? Well in 2021, the council started consulting the community about what its plans are. In 2023, the good people of New Ferry, Port Sunlight and Bromborough re-elected me as their Green councillor. And the following year, work actually started, construction work to rebuild 70 new affordable warm homes thanks to Regenda Homes and some public government funding. And the new car park. Last year, people moved into the new homes and flats and they're very welcome here. Together we want to rebuild New Ferry as a community and as a thriving high street, loads of local independent shops, great places to eat, brilliant pavement and a lovely place to hang out and enjoy with all the community.

Mark: Last year, Griffiths came, which was a big one, it was to get Griffiths back. That's made quite a change here. And there's a new charity shop has just opened up a couple of weeks ago. And also there's a new secondhand furniture shop has just opened where Pearson's used to be. So people do come, you know, and start new businesses here.

Tony Norbury: This is a pedestrianised precinct. So we want to make it as safe as possible. We don't want speeding cars coming up and down here. So we've pressurised the council and we've consulted with the traders and people of New Ferry to get number plate recognition and hopefully that'll happen.

Chris: I look at this community and what I want for the next generation is a community where people can come once again to shop with local businesses. And I want this to be a memory of the past.

Lisa: Griffiths has opened again, which is fantastic. The first day it opened, there was a big line outside, like the length of Lime Street [station] and it sold out completely. They're trying to do New Ferry up now, as you can see, they're putting houses on the car park and they're trying to do it all up. So I think it's gonna be a lot better around here.

June 2026