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Essential Sefton

War hero’s family found in time for Victoria Cross commemoration

21 August 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Essential Sefton, Front Page, Latest News, Regeneration, Sefton Council

Genealogy detective work by Sefton Council has successfully led to finding the long lost family of a Victoria Cross hero from Seaforth.

Earlier this year the Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Dave Robinson, asked for help to trace the family of Arthur Evans VC ahead of a special event in his honour next month.

The appeal went global with potential family links being unearthed in Australia, but for Sefton’s super sleuths, the family tree trail ended in success a little closer to home.

Now Arthur Evans VC’s first cousin, twice removed, Stuart Kirkland from Aigburth, will join Mayor Robinson and members of the Armed Forces to pay tribute to the Seaforth war hero.

Arthur evans

Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Dave Robinson, said: “Arthur is one of five local Victoria Cross recipients who are being honoured with a special commemorative stone and I am delighted that we have been able to find a family member to be part of this momentous occasion.

“Arthur’s stone will be laid at Bowersdale Park on Friday September 7. Present will also be members of the Duke of Lancaster’s (Kings) Regiment and also the Anglian Regiment, under which Arthur served.

“Arthur was a true hero and his actions on the battlefield of Etaing, France, are something of legend.”

All are welcome to attend the unveiling of the commemorative stone from 11am on September 7 at Bowersdale Park, Seaforth.

Sefton tourism worth a staggering ÂŁ555m to the local economy

14 August 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Business and Economy, Essential Sefton, Front Page, Latest News

Tourism in Sefton is worth a staggering ÂŁ555m to the local economy and continues to grow.

The findings are contained in the latest independent research for 2017 commissioned by the Visitor Economy Team at Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

On a local level, some of the key findings for Sefton include:

• Visitor Numbers – 9.1m – 4.2% increase
• Staying visitors – 755,000 – 4.6% increase
• Economic Impact – ÂŁ555m – 7% increase
• Total Employment – 6,755 – 4.8% increase

These figures are published by the STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity) model, which is used throughout the UK tourism industry to measure economic impact of the visitor economy, and International Passenger Survey.

The results are calculated using a range of tourism inputs including hotel occupancy, transport figures, attractions attendance figures and event figures.

Long term trends show that from 2009 to 2017, there has been 66% growth in the economic value of the visitor economy to the Liverpool City Region, rising from £2.73bn to £4.53bn – this is equivalent to an average growth of around 6.5% per year. Over the same period there has been an increase in the number of day and staying visitors, rising annually from 52.3m in 2009 to 64.2m in total by 2017.

Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member Regeneration and Skills, said: “These figures are hugely impressive and clearly show that tourism across Sefton continues to rise and the borough really is open for all businesses.

“Visitors come from all over the UK and beyond to Sefton and our attractions and events programme really stand out with the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale in 2017 a perfect example of this.

“Tourism is crucial to the success of our borough and the wider Liverpool City Region supporting thousands of jobs while generating millions of pounds to the local economy.”

Peter Sandman, Head of Visitor Economy for the LEP, added: “In the ten years since Liverpool became European Capital of Culture, the city, and region as a whole has seen the visitor economy experience a healthy growth and the sector continues to contribute significantly to the region’s economy.

“It is particularly encouraging to see our overseas visitors staying longer, as well as the number of jobs supported by the sector continuing to grow – which covers a wide range of employment options across accommodation, food and drink, recreation and retail.”

For more information please click here

Sefton helps Legions to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One

13 August 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Essential Sefton, Front Page, Health, Latest News, WW1 Centenery Year

Sefton Council have helped to fund a number of events across the borough to mark the Centenary commemorations of World War One.

Throughout the coming months Sefton branches of the Royal British Legion will be holding special events to mark one hundred years since the end of the Great War, including poetry readings, themed lunches and quiz nights.

The following events are taking place across the borough:

Southport: WW1 Themed Lunch (Thursday September 6, 1pm)
Formby: WW1 Themed Quiz Night (Wednesday October 24, 7.30pm)
Netherton & Sefton: Armed Forces Night (Friday October 26, 8pm)
Crosby: Poetry & Reading Night (Friday November 2, 6.30pm)

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “This year marks the centenary of the end of World War One and we are proud to be able to support the various local legions in supporting our communities.

“These events go hand in hand with our Beyond The War Memorials campaign as we look to honour our WW1 heroes and heroines from across the geographical area which now makes up Sefton.

“We’re also looking for budding poets and writers to get their thinking caps on and compile emotive, thought provoking and fitting poetry for our BTWM project.”

More information about the Legion events will be released in due course.

For further details and to obtain an entry from for the BTWM Poetry competition, email information.service@sefton.gov.uk or call 0151 257 6401.

Mayor takes on Liverpool Cathedral abseil for charity

13 August 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Essential Sefton, Front Page, Health, Latest News

Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Dave Robinson, will be taking part in a daring abseil in support of a local charity this weekend.

Cllr Robinson will be joining 16 others in the Sefton 4 Good team, including colleagues from WEA North West, Sefton Council, Sefton CVS and members of the community, in the challenge at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on Saturday August 18.

The volunteers will face a 150-foot, free-fall drop over the main entrance to the iconic building, all to raise money for good causes in Sefton.

Sefton 4 Good is a fundraising initiative from Sefton CVS which provides small grants to local voluntary, community and faith groups across the borough.

“There are so many good causes making a real difference to people’s lives in Sefton,” said Cllr Robinson. “That’s why I want to take part in the abseil, because grants from Sefton 4 Good can really help those groups.”

This year Sefton 4 Good has awarded almost ÂŁ15,000 in grants to 25 groups, including the Plaza Cinema in Waterloo.

Mike Howlett, Senior Citizenship and Volunteering Officer for Sefton CVS, commented: “Sefton 4 Good is all about encouraging borough residents to support local causes that make a real difference in their immediate community.

“I am so grateful that the Mayor and his fellow volunteers have stepped up to the challenge to help us at this exciting event.”

Anyone who would like to support the Sefton 4 Good team in their fundraising efforts can sponsor them at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/s4gabseil2018

Platform Upgrade Work: Merseyrail getting ready for 2020

13 August 2018
Ollie Cowan
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Categories: Essential Sefton, Front Page, Latest News, Merseytravel, Regeneration

Transport leaders have announced a programme of platform upgrades designed to prepare the Merseyrail network for the arrival of the new, state of the art trains in 2020 that will transform how people travel.

The phased programme of upgrades will take place between 20 October 2018 and 16 June 2019. These vital works, delivered by Network Rail, will involve upgrading existing platforms and realigning track to ensure that they are compatible with the new trains and their ground breaking, sliding step technology that will provide unassisted access for all.

This means that wheelchair users can board the train without a ramp and passengers with prams and cycles can get on and off the train with ease. This technology represents a pioneering approach for the UK.

There will be 11 phases of works during this period. Only short sections of line will be closed at any one time, with all stations on that section closed. Closures will vary in duration, but most will be between nine and 30 days at a time.

High quality, rail replacement buses will get passengers to where they need to go as quickly as possible and some of these will be express services.

Merseytravel, Merseyrail and Network Rail have worked collaboratively on this project and significant planning work has been carried out to minimise the time needed to complete these important works and reduce disruption to passengers.

More detailed information will be made available in advance of each phase and travellers will be encouraged to plan ahead and consider their travel options including commercial buses and the Mersey Ferries.

Businesses and organisations are advised to think about what they may need to put in place to support staff and customers.

Key advice:
• You can still get to where you need to go
• Check before you travel. Closures are taking place at different locations at different times on the network so it’s important to keep checking what’s happening and when. Some timetables may change.
• Plan ahead – use journey planners and National Rail enquiries
• Leave more time for your journey. Timetables may change and your journey may be longer.
• Consider avoiding travelling at peak times where possible.
• Consider your options –including commercial buses and the Mersey Ferries.

For more information and further details about how your rail journeys will be affected visit www.merseyrail.org/itshappening

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