Fire at university site 'deliberate', fire service says

A fire at a former Liverpool university campus was started deliberately, investigators have found.

Fire crews were called to a fire in the roof of the unoccupied Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) IM Marsh site on Barkhill Road shortly after 15:40 BST on Saturday.

A joint investigation by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Police concluded the cause was "deliberate ignition".

The campus has been closed since 2020 and is believed to be the subject of discussions about a potential sale to developers.

Local Liberal Democrat councillor for Mossley Hill, Rob McAllister-Bell, said he, along with local residents, had been warning for some time the site was at risk.

He said residents had previously raised concerns of a possible fire due to ongoing anti-social incidents at the site.

"Residents predicted that one of the buildings could be exposed to fire or somebody could get injured on that site," McAllister-Bell said.

"It felt like what happened was an inevitability."

Residents who live near the former university campus have said they are "fed up", and claim the building's security had "lapsed", leaving it vulnerable.

Dave Thomas, chair of Mossley Hill Residents Association, said the university was "not looking after it properly".

"They're not looking after it properly, and the people of the area are fed up with it," he said.

A LJMU representative said security had been stepped up after reports of anti-social behaviour in the summer, including dog patrols and CCTV, and additional security measures would now be put in place.

A LJMU representative said the institution was "in the process of disposing of the IM Marsh site", which had "not been an active part of our estate since 2020".

"Despite leaving the site six years ago, it has remained under our protection and part of our security rota, we have also remained in close contact with both the local residents and councillors, keeping them up to date with plans," the representative said.

"The university became aware that the IM Marsh site had become the target of anti-social behaviour in the summer and immediately stepped up the security measures with our contracted security company, including daily dog patrols and the installation of nearly 200 sensors and security cameras on site."

IM Marsh was founded in 1900 by Irene Mabel Marsh as a physical education teacher training college for girls and included a sports hall, playing fields, a swimming pool and tennis courts.

The site also features the Grade II listed Bark Hill, an early 19th century neo-classical villa.

It was closed in 2020 when LJMU moved teaching to the city centre.

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