Author: Bridie Finnan

The 2021 Southport Air Show will not take place this year due to continued uncertainty over large scale events.

Anyone who has already purchased a ticket for the show, which was due to take place in July, will automatically receive a full refund within ten working days.

Sefton Council has made the difficult decision to cancel the popular Southport Air Show, despite months of hard work and planning by the authority’s Tourism team and partners.

While this decision has not been taken lightly, we know that thousands of people visit to see our air show and Sefton Council continues to put the safety and wellbeing of our communities and visitors first throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owing to the large scale of planning and preparations required for an event as large as Southport Air Show, work began in late 2020 with the aim of delivering the spectacular and jaw dropping weekend of aerial displays that is an icon of Southport’s events calendar.

A number of factors have been considered in the decision, including safety of visitors and staff as well as the availability and quality of aircraft available.

A spokesperson for Sefton Council said: “The decision to cancel The Air Show has not been taken lightly.

“Keeping our visitors, communities, staff and partners safe remains paramount and is just one of a number of factors being at the forefront of this decision.

“At this time there is no certainty that the event would be allowed to take place on the scale that such an iconic event deserves.

“We have also taken the decision to delay the Southport Food & Drink Festival until later this year and will confirm a new date as soon as we can.

“While this is disappointing news to us all, we continue to do everything we can to bring incredible and amazing events back to our borough and we are working hard towards hosting the British Musical Fireworks Championship (September 24 to September 26) and a rearranged Southport Food and Drink Festival at Victoria Park, Southport.”

Southport and Sefton has 22 miles of coastline, with cultural highlights that include Anthony Gormley’s Another Place, the most independent eateries and restaurants outside London, plus a brand new food and drink market and lots of outdoor space for you to enjoy safely this summer.

To find out more about visiting Southport or Visit Southport’s current situation with coronavirus (Covid-19) visit www.visitsouthport.com

Sefton Libraries have been awarded £9,400 in grant funding to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the Bootle Blitz.

The funding has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Grant after a successful application in December 2020, which focused on local, community-based projects.

The focus of the commemorations will be a previously unseen manuscript from Major George Salt, Bootle’s Air Raid precaution officer. In the text, he records the pre-war planning and night by night details of the Blitz.

Sefton Libraries will work with the Bootle Library Local History Group as well as children from Bedford Primary School to transform the manuscript into a published work featuring unseen wartime photographs from the Stewart Bale Collection.

The Bootle Blitz was a significant part of Bootle’s history that has been overlooked in the past. This funding will help shine a spotlight on the events that took place.

Over eight days in May 1941, Bootle became one of the most bombed towns in the country. Over 1,000 people were killed and 80% of the houses damaged or destroyed.

The funding will also be used to create a walking trail of former bombed sites. It will feature stories of the bravery and heroism displayed at each spot. The trail will also talk people through the recovery of Bootle after these tragic events.

The Bootle Blitz commemorations will also form part of Remembrance Day 2021 events in November.

People can find more details about Sefton War Memorials and Commemorations at the Sefton War Memorials website.

Household Waste Recycling Centres in Sefton will open for an extra three hours every day from Thursday 1^st April.

The Recycling Centres will be switching to their summer opening hours until October, meaning they will be open from 8.00am until 8.00pm, seven days a week.

Sites can become extremely busy at peak times so visits should be planned carefully.

There is a car booking system in place for Formby, Rainhill and Sefton Meadows. These sites have a limited number of slots for each day, so please plan your visit in advance.

There is also a temporary allocation system in place for those who wish to visit a HWRC in a van or with a large trailer, this is while the existing Van Permit Scheme is suspended.

Bookings for both systems can be made at www.merseysidewda.gov.uk.

Sites in Sefton include:

Formby: Altcar Road, Formby, L37 8EG

Sefton Meadows: Sefton Lane, Maghull, L31 8BX

Southport: Foul Lane, Scarisbrick New Road, PR9 7RG

South Sefton: Irlam Road, Bootle, L20 4AE

The Recycling Centres situated throughout the region accept a range of household materials for recycling, from batteries, cans and cardboard, through to garden clippings, glass bottles, wood, and white goods. They also accept lesser known items such as takeaway food and drink cartons, clothes, hard plastics and electrical items. Householders can check www.merseysidewda.gov.uk for details of what can be accepted at their local site.

More information on what you can do with your household waste items can be found at www.recycleright.org.uk.

Sefton Community Learning Service have revealed their latest list of courses to run for Summer 2021

Whether you want to learn new skills to improve your mental wellbeing; support your children with school work; develop or change your career path: there are lots of courses for you to explore.

People in Sefton can access courses from photography, digital skills, Emergency Paediatric First Aid, local history, Languages and many more from a range of different locations across the borough.

People on low incomes can access some courses for free and others can pay £10 for their first course.

Sefton Community Learning Centre also offer English, Maths and ESOL courses for free subject to assessment.

Due to covid restrictions, some courses will be online only, however some will take the form of blended learning while others will be delivered face to face, subject to the current roadmap of the easing of restrictions.

All face to face courses will be delivered in covid secure environment and all necessary steps will be taken to ensure the safety of students.

For further information or to enrol contact us by email at, by phone on 0151 934 4546, or visit our webpage

Additionally, we are looking to expand our team with high quality tutors who are passionate about helping Sefton residents by providing opportunities to develop and thrive through participation in high quality education programmes.

For further details visit the Sefton Council website