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Author: Ollie Cowan

Get in shape this new year with Active Sefton

17 December 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Active Sefton, Front Page, Health, Latest News

Active Sefton has lined up a raft of fitness activities starting in January to help residents make a jump start on their new year’s resolutions.

The ever-popular Couch to 5k programme will return to Litherland Sports Park at 6pm, January 7 where it will take place every Monday and Wednesday for 10 weeks. This is the perfect opportunity for beginners to build up their confidence and fitness levels with the goal of running 5k without stopping by the end of the programme.

This year, external funding will not be available to support the Couch to 5k programme and therefore participants will be asked to pay a £10 registration fee to cover the 20 sessions. To book a place call 0151 288 6286.

New mums can try their hand at one of Active Sefton’s Active Buggies classes held at Litherland Sports Park, Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre and Dunes Splash World in Southport. This energising fitness class is a great way for mums to kick-start weight-loss, tone up and meet like-minded people.

The session removes the need to find childcare as babies and buggies are both welcome and are all part of the workout. Sessions are held Mondays 11:30am-12:30pm at Litherland Sports Park, Wednesdays 1:30pm-2:30pm and Thursdays 11am-12pm at Crosby Lakeside and Fridays 10am-11am at Dunes. The first session is free then you can buy a loyalty card for ÂŁ10 for 6 sessions, no need to book just turn up.

Those interested in finding their way back into team sports can head to the Back to netball sessions at Chesterfield high school in Crosby from Wednesday, January 23, 6:30pm-7:30pm or Now Netball at Crosby Leisure Centre from Monday, January 7, 8pm-9pm, ÂŁ3.50 per session. This is the perfect opportunity to explore netball, particularly for those who may not have played the game since school.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “January is the time of year when we start to make decisions to improve our health after a few weeks of enjoying the party season.

“The programmes offered by Active Sefton are great for those wanting to make their first steps back into fitness after a busy Christmas period. There are lots of activities on offer and I encourage all of our Sefton residents to give one a go and make a positive lifestyle change in 2019.”

Active Sefton offers a wide array of sports and activities for all ages and abilities throughout the year, including its popular Be Active holiday camps. To see a full list of activities on offer visit www.sefton.gov.uk/BeActive or follow @ActiveSefton on twitter and Active Sefton on Facebook.

Keep safe, fit and health during the cold weather

17 December 2018
Ollie Cowan
No comments
Categories: Front Page, Health, Latest News

With the met office issuing a yellow warning for snow and ice across Sefton this weekend, the local NHS want us to stay safe, fit and healthy.

Cold weather can cause treacherous conditions underfoot which can lead to dangerous slips, trips and falls for elderly or frail patients. Cold, damp conditions can also leave people with long-term conditions – such as respiratory problems – more vulnerable to winter illnesses.

NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Southport and Formby CCG have put together the best tips to stay healthy:

Keep your home warm – If you have reduced mobility, are 65 or over, or have a health condition such as heart or lung disease, you should heat your home to at least 18C. If you’re under 65 and healthy and active, you can safely have your house cooler than 18C, if you’re comfortable.

Eat well this winter – Food is a vital source of energy, which helps keep your body warm. Try to make sure that you have hot meals and drinks regularly throughout the day and keep active in the home if you can.

Stay active – If you can stay active, even moderate exercise can bring health benefits. If possible, try not to sit still for more than an hour or so.

Wear lots of thin layers – clothes made from cotton, wool or fleecy fibres are particularly good and help to maintain body heat. Wear shoes with a good grip to prevent slips and falls when walking outside. If possible, stay inside during a cold period if you have heart or respiratory problems.

Help your neighbours – Check on older neighbours to make sure they’re safe and well. Make sure they’re warm enough, especially at night, and have stocks of food and medicines so they don’t need to go out during very cold weather.

If you’re worried about a relative or an elderly neighbour, contact your local council or ring the Age UK helpline on 0800 00 99 66.

Debbie Fagan, chief nurse at the CCGs, said: “It’s really important that you keep yourself warm both outdoors and indoors this winter.

“We recommend that you keep your indoor heating to at least 18˚C.  Before you go outside, make sure you check the weather forecast in advance and dress appropriately with lots of layers.”

Outdoor surfaces such as steps and footpaths can become slippery in cold weather.  You should use grit on outdoor surfaces to prevent any slips or falls.  Falls can be especially harmful to elderly people who are much more likely to break bones.

If you need medical attention you should call NHS 111 (available 24/7) or visit your local pharmacist for advice.

City Region launch action plan to boost employability skills

14 December 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Essential Sefton, Front Page, Latest News

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has today published an action plan setting out 12 priorities for improving employability skills across the city region.

Set out in its Employability Skills for Growth Action Plan, launched at an event hosted by Knowsley Council, priorities identified include:

• Identifying any gaps in existing employability skills provision across the city region
• Increasing support for residents already in work to improve their employability skills
• Developing routes to high-level employability and English, Maths and digital skills for those in lower level roles to ensure the city region is ready for the development of further technical and professional jobs.

The Employability Skills for Growth Action Plan draws on existing evidence and primary research with key stakeholders across the city region to identify actions to address existing employability skills gaps and potential future demands from employers.

It sets out actions for the Combined Authority, local training providers and employers to address current and future employability skills needs in the city region.

Councillor Ian Maher, Liverpool City Region Portfolio Lead for Skills and Apprenticeships, said: “The priorities identified here are challenging and will require input from many partners to deliver. In some cases, they will require public sector reform, and we will use the Ways to Work programme to provide vital intelligence and learning to help us do that effectively.

“Working together we have made great strides in recent years, and there is more to be done to drive collaborative working across providers and employers for the benefit of us all.

“A sustained collaborative effort is required to see our ambitions realised.”

The report also identifies ways in which providers and employers across the city region are tackling the employability skills gap through schemes including:

The Ways to Work programme – delivered by the six Local Authorities across Liverpool City Region, this programme provides a range of services to residents across the Liverpool City Region to enhance their employability skills and assist them in gaining employment. The project is designed to assist unemployed people, and people not in education, employment or training, aged 16 plus.

The Working Futures programme – delivered by a partnership of 13 not-for-profit training providers based in Liverpool City Region, Working Futures supports people aged 16 to 29 who are not currently in employment, education or training (NEET) to take control of their own lives and move towards a better future.

Sefton cycling route in first phase of a 600km City Region network

14 December 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Active Sefton, Essential Sefton, Front Page, Latest News

Work is set to begin on the first phase of a potential 600km key network of cycling and walking routes across the Liverpool City Region.

Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority ratified the £8.3m funding for the first 55km phase of the network– including a Sefton route– at its meeting on Friday (December 14).

The 15km route between Southport and Seaforth will link into a wider strategic cycling route into Liverpool City Centre. The route links major growth areas with new areas of housing and completes the Sefton Coastal cycle route.

The proposed 600km cycling and walking network is based on upgrades to around 31 key routes across the Liverpool City Region over the next 10 years.

The network will be planned on a whole city region basis, both improving links to the public transport network and between residential areas, employment, training and retail sites.

Meanwhile, work is already underway on bidding for funding for the next phase of the network with the launch of a questionnaire on people’s cycling and walking habits to help shape what a wider network would look like. It can be accessed here .

Two thirds of all journeys in the city region are less than five kilometres but half of those are made by car. Through the Local Journeys Strategy, Steve Rotheram and the Combined Authority recognise that getting the infrastructure right is key to encouraging people out of their cars, particularly for shorter journeys.

The cycling and walking network is one of the first actions bringing the Local Journeys Strategy to life.

Making places walking and cycling-friendly not only reduces congestion, improves air quality and brings significant health benefits, it also has wider economic benefits – boosting inward investment and attracting new talent by helping create the places that people want to live and work in.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:
“This route will mark the beginning of a much-awaited era of clean travel in Sefton that will give our residents better access to walking and cycling opportunities, cleaner air and an infrastructure that supports alternative travel.”

The programme will also see the management of new wood and grassland areas and the planting of trees alongside the routes.

In addition, the funding will support a new pilot project by Liverpool John Moores University, trialling innovative methods of collecting cycle and walking trip data and the development of a cycling app and journey planner.

The LCR Transport Partnership was successfully awarded ÂŁ8.3m ERDF Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) funding for the first phase of the cycling and walking network, with the LCR Combined Authority giving approval to draw down this funding. Match funding for the project is being sought from the

Transforming Cities Fund and other contributions will come from the LCR CA’s constituent local authorities.

No Appeal over Judicial Review

12 December 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Front Page

Sefton Council has taken the difficult decision not to appeal the Judicial Review decision relating to the A5036 Port Access Road.

Unfortunately last month Sefton Council lost its legal fight to order Highways England (HE) to re-consult on proposals to build a dual carriageway through Rimrose Valley Country Park which in their view would improve access to the Port of Liverpool.

Mr Justice Kerr ruled that he would not order Highways England to re-consult and include the tunnel option for the proposed Port Access route through Rimrose Valley.

A letter has just been sent to Highways England informing them Sefton Council will not make an appeal about this particular decision and the Council will now only follow its statutory duties on the matter and will not co-operate further with HE.

Cllr Ian Maher, Labour leader at Sefton Council, said: “This was a difficult decision for us as we still firmly believe Highways England should engage with our communities on a tunnel option.

“We also believe Highways England should try much harder to find a better solution which would not have such a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of our residents.

“Not only will their plans deprive us of a much loved urban green space, it will also by Highways England’s own admission have a negative impact on vehicle pollution which goes against the Government’s own agenda to improve air quality.

“One of our major considerations for not appealing was the statement in court by Highways England’s legal Counsel that we would be able to object later in the process by advocating for the tunnel as a less environmentally damaging alternative.

“So, while we will not appeal this particular judgement, we will be watching carefully the actions of Highways England throughout the statutory consultation stage to ensure that it is conducted in such a way that all affected communities can have their say on Highways England’s disastrous plan. In no way is it a closed matter and we will continue to fight for the benefit of our communities.

“If the process moves through to the Examination Phase we will be making appropriate representations on behalf of our communities regarding the significant adverse impacts the current preferred option has on everyone who lives and works in the area.

“We will continue to comply with our statutory responsibilities in this process and will always look after and advocate for the interests of our residents. However, we will not otherwise co-operate with Highways England in a scheme which, in our view, will leave all our communities much worse off.”

 

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