Author: Martin Driver

England star and Sefton’s very own Alex Greenwood has cemented herself as an inspiration to budding footballers in the Borough, says the Council’s Active Sefton team.

Valiant

Alex, who has passionately represented her hometown of Bootle in the world of women’s football from an early age, was one of the valiant Lionesses who lifted the 2022 Women’s European Championship Trophy last night. The Lionesses beat Germany 2-1, with Bootle’s Greenwood playing a major part after coming off the bench in the second half.

In doing so Greenwood and her teammates have won the hearts of the nation and firmly put the spotlight on women’s football, says Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing Cllr Ian Moncur.

Heroics

Cllr Moncur said: “The reality is Alex’s sporting heroics come as no surprise to her family, friends and young sporting stars back home in Sefton. 

“Alex has continued to inspire and motivate the next generation of women footballers and other youngsters in the Borough.”

Alex’s continued impact in the game is likely to be felt strongly at her former schools. As a former pupil of both St Monica’s Primary School and Savio Salesian High School, Alex has often cited motivation throughout her school years in the Borough as a catalyst for her later career.

Tireless

Cllr Moncur continued: “Many will recognise Alex from her time training at our very own Litherland Sports Park, where she tirelessly honed the skill and commitment that saw her rocket to the very top of the Women’s game.

“Others will vividly remember Alex’s motivational speech at our Sefton Sports Awards night a few years ago, as she encouraged youngsters to remain resilient and determined in everything they do.

“I would urge all our young sporting stars to take a look at Alex’s hard work and dedication to getting where she is today as one of the world’s best female footballers. Her progress is a testament to the excellent school and sports facilities we have within Sefton.

“On behalf of us all at Sefton I would like to place on record a massive congratulations to Alex and her fellow Lionesses for their incredible Euros victory.”

You can find out more about Active Sefton here.  

Sefton Council is urging Ministers and Civil Servants to take a closer look at the Borough’s specific problems when considering its new bids to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

Most deprived

Despite areas of Bootle being among the most deprived in the UK, Sefton has been placed in ‘Category 3’, the lowest priority for Levelling Up funding. This means it will be judged alongside the City of London, Cambridge and Windsor.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and the City of London have both been placed in the top 20 of prosperity ratings for the UK by the London-based think-tank Legatum Institute, while Sefton is rated 263rd.

Centred around Bootle and Crosby, Sefton’s bids are for a total of £30.3 million and are designed to regenerate the areas, tackle local deprivations and support the creation of investment and employment opportunities in the two towns.

Transform

The Bootle bid is for £20 million to underpin a major regeneration scheme to transform Bootle town centre, focused on the iconic The Bootle Strand at its heart.  Additionally, a large area of unused land alongside the Leeds-Liverpool Canal will transformed into green spaces for local communities to use. This will support more healthy lifestyles and improvements to the overall the environment. 

Opening up access to the canal will provide a connection to an active leisure space and a natural highway for boats, canoes, cyclists and pedestrians. People will be able to travel sustainably to the New Bramley Moore Dock football stadium, a short distance away along the canal, and beyond into Liverpool. 

The development will also contribute to a more diverse and better-quality town centre with new food and drink; culture, arts and entertainment spaces. A hi-tech gigabyte fast digital hub, education and training, business support and a new integrated health and social care hub will all be available on the high-street. This will complement, refresh and improve the retail outlets on which local people rely. 

More visitors

The investment will drive the growth of night-time economy, attract more visitors and drive inward investment from new businesses. This will enable Bootle to re-build after having been one of the boroughs hardest hit in the UK by the Covid pandemic.

The £10.3 million bid for Crosby Town Centre will underpin a programme of regeneration support ambitions of the local community set out in the Crosby Investment Strategy.  The proposals will enhance the viability and vitality of Crosby town centre and support local businesses by helping to attract more residents and visitors.

Building a new learning, skills, health and well-being hub housing a library, GP/community health care and a place for people to both work and develop skills is at the heart of the Crosby bid.

Levelling Up Fund resources would also allow for a significant upgrade of the main gateways into the town centre, better pedestrian and cycle access and new electric vehicle charging points in car parks, while also fund on the appearance of public spaces.

Suffering

Sefton Council Leader, Cllr Ian Maher said: “Our bids contain exciting, ambitious and realistic plans of what can be sustainably achieved with support through the Levelling Up Fund.

“As its name suggests this funding is for the purposes of levelling up, which is why we have focused on Bootle and Crosby where levels of deprivation are at their highest and people are suffering most from the current economic climate.

“We are fortunate in that we have already secured £37.5million of Town Deal funding for Southport, which we are using to support our delivery of a range of large-scale projects to regenerate the town and its surroundings.

“These bids now focus on parts of the Borough which have the greatest need, some of which are among the areas hardest hit in the country by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Hit

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bootle had also been hit by the news that the Government’s Revenue & Customs service and others were relocating out of the town and that Very Group were leaving nearby Aintree.

Sefton Council is committed to keeping The Strand at the heart of plans to regenerate the town. It has developed a bold vision for the future of Bootle, which would be supported by a successful Levelling Up fund bid.

In Crosby the money would be used for a range of schemes to revitalise Crosby Village, including creating a new ‘civic hub’, which would contain a library, healthcare facility and other uses.

Bootle MP Peter Dowd and Bill Esterson, MP for Sefton Central, have written letter supporting Sefton Council’s bids, in which they state the project packages have the ability ‘to significantly improve the prospects for residents and the communities’ of their constituencies.

Pressing need

Peter Dowd MP said: “Bootle town centre’s economy has been severely impacted by COVID 19 and the relocation of HMRC, and includes one of the country’s most deprived areas in terms of health, employment, income education and skills.

“There is a pressing need for significant intervention to break the spiral of decline and Sefton Council’s decision to acquire Bootle Strand and put it at the heart of the town’s transitional regeneration programme is a brave and ambitious step.

“With support from the Government through the Levelling Up Fund this project will act as a catalyst for change and will help provide support at the heart of the local community.”

Successful

Bill Esterson MP said: “Sefton includes some of the country’s most deprived areas. 

“Crosby has significant strengths and could, with the scale of Levelling Up funding requested, become an even more successful place where people can live, work, be educated and spend their leisure time.

“I urge Ministers and officials to give full consideration to this proposal, which could deliver transformational change and address many issues of deprivation and decline. It would offer support to the local community where it is needed most and help aid economic recovery and resilience, which is what the people of Sefton deserve.”

Cllr Maher has previously expressed his disappointment at the Government’s decision not to back the Council’s previous Levelling Up Fund bids for Bootle and Crosby, despite the high levels of need in those areas. He added that Government methodology has also resulted in the region receiving an allocation of Shared Prosperity Funding that is insufficient for the needs of the borough and the region.

Opportunities

Cllr Maher added: “We were disappointed at the recent Government announcement that Sefton would, once again, be assessed in the lowest Category 3 for the Levelling Up Fund.

“This put us on a par with areas such as Windsor, Cambridge and the City of London.

“However, I am urging Ministers and Department of Levelling Up officials to see beyond these broad criteria, take a close look at the specific problems we are facing and work with us to address them to create opportunities for the people and businesses of Sefton.”

Merseyrail is reminding its passengers that due to a planned 24-hour strike by Network Rail staff who are members of the RMT union, it will be running a limited train service on Wednesday 27 the July.

Merseyrail staff are not part of the industrial action, but it will involve Network Rail staff who operate the signalling systems and provide maintenance support.

Hourly service

Because of this on Wednesday 27 July an hourly service will run calling at selected stations only, between 07:30 and 18:30, to help passengers make essential journeys.

• Chester & Ellesmere Port line – There will be no trains from Chester or Ellesmere Port. Trains will start at Rock Ferry, only calling at Rock Ferry, Birkenhead Central, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central. 
• New Brighton line – Trains will start at New Brighton and call at Wallasey Grove Road, Birkenhead North, Birkenhead Park, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• West Kirby line – Trains will start at West Kirby and call at Meols, Moreton, Leasowe, Birkenhead North, Birkenhead Park, Hamilton Square, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Southport line – Trains will start at Southport and call at Formby, Blundellsands & Crosby, Waterloo, Moorfields and Liverpool Cental.
• Ormskirk line – Trains will start at Ormskirk and call at  Maghull, Aintree, Kirkdale, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Kirkby line – Trains will start at Kirkby and will call at Fazakerley, Rice Lane, Kirkdale, Moorfields and Liverpool Central.
• Hunts Cross line – no services will run.

You can find details of the strike timetables here.

There will be no rail replacement buses on strike days and Merseyrail is advising passengers to make alternative travel arrangements if they cannot make their planned journey using the train service that will operate.

People with assisted travel bookings or who require assisted travel between strike days are being advised to:

• contact Merseyrail;
• use the National Passenger Assist App.

Local journeys are also being affected by the ongoing industrial action by Arriva bus drivers, which means the company  is unable to run any services in Merseyside.

Thursday 28th July – Early Morning Services

On Thursday 28 July, trains will be reintroduced from 07:00, when the 24-hour strike ends. There are no rail replacement bus services for the early morning disruption due to lack of availability. A normal, full train service will resume from 07.30 across the Merseyrail network.

Saturday 30 July – Normal Service

On Saturday 30 July, drivers from other train operating companies who are part of the ASLEF union will be striking.

Merseyrail drivers are not on strike and it will not affect train services. The normal regular timetable will run across the Merseyrail network this weekend.

Find out more about Merseyrail

With the 2022 Cazoo Classic teeing off today at Hillside on Sefton’s celebrated Golf Coast, the Council is reminding people about the opportunities to play locally.

Anyone inspired by the arrival of the DP World Tour on our doorstep, can play at the historic Southport Golf Links nearby for just £16 and for as little as £12 for a twilight ticket. Juniors can play a round for £8.

World leading

Originally opened in 1912, the course was designed by Harry Shapland Colt, one of the world’s leading golf course architects of his generation.

Across Sefton, around at Bootle Golf Club costs from just £13 and £8 for Juniors. Adult twilight tickets are £8.50.

And, until the end of July Sefton Council is offering free one-year junior golf memberships worth £80 to under-16s. Junior membership provide a year’s no-cost play at the Bootle and Southport courses.

Details of both courses and how to sign up for the free Junior membership can be found at www.sefton.gov.uk/golf or by calling Southport Golf Links on 01704 535 286 or Bootle Golf Club on 0151 928 1371.

Driving range

Anyone wanting to polish up their game to classic standards can also just turn up and play at Sefton Council’s 10-bay, floodlit Bootle Driving Range. Prices are just £6 for 100 balls or £4 for 50 balls.

People can find out more about Bootle Driving Range at www.sefton.gov.uk/driving-range.

Boost

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing said: “As well as providing a major boost to the local economy, hosting an event like the Cazoo Classic on our famous Golf Coast can help inspire local people to enjoy this fabulous sport, as can successes like Southport’s Tommy Fleetwood coming joint fourth in last week’s Open at St Andrews. Well done Tommy.

“In Southport Links and Bootle, we have two great courses with equally great prices and the Driving Range, which opened last year is an excellent facility where people can improve their game or just try it out.

“We are keen to ensure young people in Sefton can experience golf, which is why we have introduced the Junior Membership offer for under-16s, which offers great value for money.”

Find out more about golf in Sefton