Table of Contents
One of Merseyside's biggest community bonfires has been cancelled.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, the annual bonfire, which is held on the Woodchurch estate, will not happen this year, following charity Woodchurch Connect withdrawing from the event.
In a Facebook post on 14 October, the charity announced they wouldn't be involved in this year's bonfire.
The charity said: "Unfortunately Woodchurch Connect is now not involved with the community bonfire this year, the lads who normally organise this have faced "numerous challenges for the last couple of years".
The statement continued saying the usual organisers have found the challenges to be "disappointing" as they have organised the bonfire for years. Their efforts to organise the bonfire were praised by Woodchurch Connect.
The chariy said they "tried their best to make this event happen". They concluded by thanking everyone who helped with fundraising, and called the event cancelation a "sad day" for Woodchurch locals.
Wirral Council shed some more light on the cancelation. They had been working with the charity on ensuring the bonfire was safe and an agreement was reached after a meeting of the multi-agency Wirral Events Safety Advisory Group last week to use council land.
Talking to the Echo, a council spokesperson said the reason for the cancelation and charity's withdrawal was due to "size restrictions of the bonfire and ongoing discussions about other safety control measures."
The statement added that the dimension agreed on are the "maximum size for a community bonfire recommended across the country", and these dimensions are supported by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.
However, the council didn't say there was no hope for the event. They said they are working with the Woodchurch charity to see if the event can be salvaged for November 5.
Reports from the Echo state that a separate group of organisers is looking to try to get the event to go ahead on the estate.
The fairly-recent bonfire policy came into effect in 2025 over rising concerns of increasing bonfires across the borough.
Woodchurch Estate has been the site of many bonfires in the past, with huge bonfires being lit in October 2025 in Woodchurch and Birkenhead, thought to be a protest to Wirral Council supposedly considering banning bonfires around Bonfire Night at that time. Events last year still went ahead as planned across these areas and in Seacombe and Beechwood.
