Author: Bridie Finnan

Sefton Council is urging residents to lend their support to three new  ideas which will put local people at the heart of the efforts to create more vibrant, resilient and connected communities.

Residents can give financial backing to three projects this Spring, including a borough-wide women’s volleyball scheme and a campaign to create a living and green alleyway space in Formby.

The funding opportunity is part of Sefton Crowd, an initiative that aims to give anyone who lives locally with ideas about how to improve their area the opportunity to gain funding via the UK’s leading civic crowdfunding platform Spacehive.

The aim is simple – to fund and deliver exciting and innovative ideas to improve Sefton put forward by the local community, for the local community.

The council has allocated a dedicated match-funding pot of £50,000 to help these projects achieve their goals.

In this latest round there are three campaigns residents can lend their backing to. They are:

• The Sefton Volleyball Club, who are looking for £1598 to start a club specifically for women and children in the borough.
• The 8 Alleyways Project, who are looking for £11,058 to rejuvenate and transform an alleyway in Chapel Lane, Formby
• The Made In Bootle Project, who are looking for £3,483 to create an online platform for residents of South Sefton to showcase artisan goods and wares.

So far, over 746 residents, businesses and other organisations, have come together alongside the council to get behind 16 ideas, with over £91,000 raised across Sefton. From wildflower meadows to virtual music festivals, Sefton Crowd is helping people bring their ideas to life.

The Woodend Community Woodland Project is just one example.

Frank Sharp, Trustee of Friends of Maghull District said:

“In the most challenging of times, the rich, accessible, friendly collaborative support from Spacehive and the incredibly generous motivational pledges from their partners Sefton Council, Idverde and others made the seemingly impossible possible.

“This enabled us to exceed our £23,803 funding target by 14%, to reinvigorate an historic woodland entrance to Maghull, with a welcoming, accessible, safe, iconic and engaging wildlife friendly space, focusing on enhancing the environment, history, community, and legacy.”

Sefton Crowd forms part of an innovative approach to civic planning by Sefton Council which sees crowdfunding as a key channel to involve communities and local organisations in regeneration.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said:

“These three  projects are all about putting local people at the heart of the efforts to help Sefton recover from the pandemic.

“I’m also calling on companies and foundations to join us in offering support – whether funding or in-kind – to the ideas people post on the platform so we can work together to make them a real success. The more people that get involved in Sefton Crowd the more amazing places we can create together.”

And it’s not just the council offering funding to local projects. The idverde Community Investment Fund could pledge up to £1,000. It aims to empower local people to deliver sought after projects that improve their local green space or the public realm, enhance the local environment, and boost the wellbeing of local people.

If you are interested in making a pledge or want to find more information about any of the projects above, please visit –www.spacehive.com/movement/seftoncrowd or email info@spacehive.com.

Sefton Council have launched Your Streets, Your Say, an online active travel consultation seeking views across the borough on proposed active travel routes in Crosby and Southport.

The new proposals would see improvements to existing routes and new routes to link up existing cycle and walking paths in the Borough.

Crosby

The routes would see a new and upgraded cycling and walking route between Crosby Leisure Centre and Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre. It will also link to the new cycling provision being delivered on Great Georges Road, and provide a link to Potters Barn Park and beyond to the Rimrose Valley.

This route will be funded by the Sustainable Urban Development funding which has been awarded to the Liverpool City Region.

Southport

In addition to the route in Crosby, Sefton Council also have proposals in Southport, which would link to the existing town centre route. The existing town centre route links Birkdale to Southport Town Centre and Hesketh Park.  The two planned routes are Birkdale to Ainsdale, linking to Greenbank High School and Birkdale High School and Hesketh Park to the Plough Roundabout.

This work is part of a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority bid for government funding to improve active travel routes across the UK.

The Your Streets, Your Say consultation will run from the 21^st May and invites opinion from across the borough.

Cllr John Fairclough, Cabinet Member for Locality Services said:

“We are improving our active travel networks throughout the whole of the Borough to support our Sefton 2030 Vision. The intention is to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle in Sefton whilst also encouraging people who have never travelled in this way to do so, especially for short journeys.

“The proposed active travel routes for pedestrians and people who cycle are at a very early stage of development, and we would encourage all residents and businesses to use this consultation period to get involved and help to shape the scheme as it moves forward.”

Cllr Ian Moncur, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing said:

“Active travel can have a hugely positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing as well as our physical health. We want people to take part in this consultation so we can maximise the health and wellbeing benefits of our plans.

“We have a beautiful borough here in Sefton and the new proposed active travel routes will make it easier and safer for people to enjoy our landscape and get out into nature.”

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services said:

“Active travel is a key part of our response to the climate emergency. It is vital that we facilitate green travel, reduce our emissions and allow people to make greener travel choices.

“Cycling and walking reduces the amount of vehicles on our roads, improving our air quality and minimising our contribution to climate change.

“We encourage all residents to participate in this consultation to shape our plans and make Sefton cleaner and greener.”

Simon O’Brien, Walking and Cycling Commissioner for the Liverpool City Region said:

“Cycling is great for air quality and the environment, and brilliant for our physical and mental health and wellbeing. But we shouldn’t just think of getting on our bikes as exercise – it’s also a cheap and easy way to commute to work, travel to school or college and even pop to the local shops.

“But to encourage more people to leave the car at home for short journeys we need to make cycling a really attractive option by building safe, separated routes where people can ride their bikes with confidence. That’s why routes like the one being planned in Crosby and Southport are so important.

“We know that across our city region support for new, safer cycle lanes is really high – about 70% of people back this infrastructure being built – but it’s vital to get feedback from residents, road users and cyclists about specific routes, and that’s why we’re asking people to take part in this consultation let us know what they think.”

Find out more here: www.sefton.gov.uk/YourStreetsYourSay

Fill in the online questionnaires here: https://yourseftonyoursay.sefton.gov.uk/yourstreets/

Notes

European Regional Development Fund

The project is receiving up to £980,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.  The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for ERDF. Established by the European Union ERDF funds help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.  For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding

The transformation of Bootle town centre has taken another step forward as Sefton Council has submitted a planning application for a multi-functional events, entertainment, and hospitality venue.

The plans will see the space adjacent to the Strand opened up to create a dynamic, multi-purpose open air venue that will sit alongside the waters of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. This will include a food and drink offer, new events spaces and an urban garden.

The work will improve the environment and open up the canal for use as part of the Canalside project, with the aim of bringing new activity to the under-used land as the long term regeneration of Bootle develops. This will stimulate the local economy, transform the look and feel of the town for residents, businesses and visitors and improve the quality of life for the community.

If the planning application is approved, the space looks set to host an exciting calendar of events which would include a Food and Drink Festival in the Summer and Christmas Markets in December with a more detailed events programme to be published for future years.

Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council said:

“The plans for Bootle Canalside will transform the space in the interim; creating a multipurpose events space to kickstart the regeneration of Bootle Town Centre.

“Bootle Canalside offers a fantastic opportunity for growth and recovery for one of our hardest hit communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am thrilled to see that the plans make full use of our natural landscape alongside the canal and will incorporate an urban garden and community space. It is great to see a regeneration project like this one, with local businesses, the local community and economic recovery at its heart.”

The work, which is funded with £1.65m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, is the first part of Sefton Council’s plans to invest in the improvement of the Bootle New Strand Shopping Centre.

£370,000 of the total funding is from the Local Growth Fund, which is awarded to the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and invested through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

“Places like the Strand have always been at the heart of our communities – but too many of them have seen better days. Making our town centres and high streets places that local people can be proud of again is one of my key priorities.

“The last year has been incredibly tough, but we can start to see better days ahead and we’re investing £1.65m to help Sefton Council with their plans to revitalise the area and boost the local economy. Working together, we will breathe new life into Bootle Strand and make it a place for people to meet, shop and socialise again.

“It’s because of devolution, with local people being able to make decisions about our areas, that we’re able to prioritise places like Bootle Strand for regeneration.”

These proposals form part of wider regeneration and transformation plans Sefton Council has for Bootle including Bootle Area Action Plan and the recently announced government Levelling Up Fund bidding round, which Sefton are exploring to help deliver Sefton’s economic recovery plans.

The planning application can be viewed online at our website and residents are encouraged to take a look at our exciting plans for further details.