Author: Bridie Finnan

Vital works are set to take place at Southport and Bootle Town Halls in an effort to make the buildings more energy efficient.

Sefton Council has recently secured £875,000 from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund to undertake works at Bootle and Southport Town Halls, with the aim of reducing heat loss at both sites through roof and glazing improvements.

A specialist heritage contractor will work to improve the glazing and roof insulation in both buildings, ensuring that key historic features are maintained and protected.

Works are scheduled to be completed in 2022 and will be carried out simultaneously alongside other essential maintenance projects.

In addition to these improvements, the local authority has also secured funding for the production of a Heat Decarbonisation Plan (HDP), covering 14 main corporate buildings.

This plan will help to determine how the Council can move away from using fossil fuel heating and utilise alternative low carbon options, such as heat pumps

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

“The town halls are a vital part of the heritage of the Borough of Sefton and are much loved and valued by residents and communities, maintaining them to a high standard is key priority and objective.

I’m delighted to see these carbon saving projects are getting underway at our Town Halls as this is a crucial element of the Council’s carbon footprint.  

She added:

“If we are to meet our commitment of net zero carbon by 2030, it is important we take every opportunity to reduce our emissions. These historic buildings are notoriously poor on energy efficiency and I am pleased that we are addressing these issues as we move towards a greener future.”

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund is part of the ‘Build Back Better’ programme launched by the government and will save energy as well as carbon. The £1 billion scheme is part of a commitment to support the UK’s economic recovery from COVID-19 as well as net zero and clean growth targets.

This work will support local businesses and jobs as well as significantly contributing to the Council’s Climate Emergency Strategy targets, to reduce emissions from public buildings and reach net zero carbon by 2030.

More information on our Climate Emergency response can be found on the Council website

The surge testing operation to understand the spread of a South African variant of Covid-19 in Southport has now been completed.  Door to door testing in Dukes and Cambridge wards was paused over the weekend, and today (Monday 22/02/21) Sefton Council have received confirmation that no further testing will be carried out at the mobile testing unit at the Southport Theatre and Convention Centre after it closes tonight at 6.30pm.

The number of tests from the mobile unit and the home testing combined mean that sufficient testing has taken place in this area.

Initial numbers from the operation, which is aimed at understanding any community spread of a variant of COVID-19 known as SARS-CoV-2 (or VOC-202012/02) which originated in South Africa, show around 89% of the tests delivered have been completed and collected.

Sefton’s Executive Director, Andrea Watts, said

“Our teams have visited over 17,000 addresses in the last 3 weeks delivering home testing kits; which has been no mean feat.

“The residents in the areas tested rightly deserve a huge thank you for being so willing to support us in this important task and help Government scientists learn more about this disease.

“Positive COVID-19 tests from our targeted testing will be sent for genomic sequencing. This will help us to understand the spread of COVID-19 variants locally.

“The community have been magnificent with people being so supportive on the doorstep and wanting to do whatever they can to help our efforts.

“Everyone in all of our communities should continue to follow the national lockdown restrictions in order to protect our most vulnerable.”

Although the targeted testing in Southport is complete, residents can still have a Covid-19 test at Splashworld (if no symptoms) or can book a test at Southport Town Hall if they do have symptoms.

Alternatively, they can call 119 and request for a home testing kit to be delivered.

All over 70s who have not received a vaccination appointment are urged to get in touch with the NHS.

The last invites to those aged 70 and over or on the Shielded Patients List who are yet to be vaccinated have now either been delivered or are due to arrive this week (w/c 8th Feb), meaning vaccines have been offered to everyone eligible whose contact details the NHS has.

So if you are aged 70 and over and haven’t had your first dose yet, please come forward now and make an appointment here, or by phoning 119 if you can’t use the internet.

GPs and their teams will also be prioritising going out to housebound patients this week too.

The large numbers of very sick patients hospitals are seeing and the emergence of a new variant of the virus also shows that we cannot let our guard down now, and even those who have received a vaccine still need to follow all the same guidance as everyone else to help protect others.

The public have an important part to play to help them do all of this, so we are asking:

• please continue to follow all the guidance to control the virus and save lives – that means staying at home as much as possible and following the ‘hands, face, space’ guidance when you are out;
• please don’t contact the NHS to seek a vaccine unless you are 70 or over or on the Shielded Patient List, we will contact you when it is the right time;
• and when we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments, and try to arrive exactly when you’re asked to, so that we can avoid queues in this cold weather.

This past year has seen a huge change in the way many of us live and work. With more people working from home, there has been a significant increase in energy bills, and many are struggling.

The Merseyside Collective Switch helps local people find cheaper energy tariffs, and reduce their energy bills.

Set up in 2013, the Merseyside Collective Switch is one of the longest running Local Authority Collective Switches in the country. Together, we’ve helped people across the Liverpool City Region save over £1.5 million on their energy bills.

Run by local charity Energy Projects Plus, in partnership with your local authority, the Merseyside Collective Switch uses the power of the group to negotiate cheap energy tariffs, available exclusively to its members. Anyone can join and it’s completely free.

The winning tariffs have often been the cheapest on the market. Previous winners have included Big 6 suppliers such as British Gas, E.on, SSE and EDF Energy as well as Ovo and Green Energy.

The Merseyside Collective Switch also includes a full market comparison, so if the winning deals aren’t right for you, you can find one that is.

Once you’ve registered, you will be able to access exclusive offers time and time again, and can make sure you’re not missing out on a great deal on your energy.

Plus, by switching with the Merseyside Collective Switch, you will be helping to support Energy Projects Plus, who provide vital support to local people who are living in fuel poverty.

Switching your energy tariff with the Merseyside Collective Switch is both quick and easy, and it could save you hundreds of pounds a year.

Peter Owen, CEO at Energy Projects Plus said “We are proud to have been offering this switching service, which is specifically designed to benefit people across the Liverpool City Region, for eight years now. The Merseyside Collective Switch is here to support everyone, including those working from home, through the switching process to make sure you’re not paying more than you need to, particularly at this challenging time”.

As exclusive deals are only available to members, you will need to register to be eligible. Registration is completely free and your data will only be used to provide you with information about the winning energy tariffs.

Registration for this round closes on 16^th February.  

You will be contacted with about the deals that have been negotiated for the group.

To join the Collective Switch visit www.lcrenergyswitch.co.uk

or call the local Save Energy Advice Line on freephone 0800 043 0151, where you can also get other free and impartial support to help reduce your energy bills.