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Gabrielle to headline Ladies Day at 2018 Grand National

Aintree Racecourse is pleased to announce Gabrielle will be headlining Ladies Day at the Randox Health Grand National Festival on Friday April 13.

Gabrielle will be performing in the Aintree Pavilion from 17:30, after the days racing, singing some of her chart topping hits including ā€˜Dreams’, ā€˜Rise’, ā€˜Out Of Reach’ and Give Me A Little More Time’.

Gabrielle’s career got off to an incredible start in 1993 when she broke the record for the highest chart debut by a female with the single ā€˜Dreams’. A 23-year-old club singer from Brockley, South London, she was the archetypal outsider. Following her dreams Gabrielle launched her career wearing an eyepatch that made her visually striking a voice that made her distinctive – and her differences contributed to her becoming Britain’s most successful soul singer.

In 2000, Gabrielle notably returned to the charts with the hit single Rise, which featured a Bob Dylan sample of ā€˜Knocking on Heavens Door’ and again reached the number one spot. The multi-platinum album ā€˜Rise’ followed in the same footsteps and topped the charts at number one.

In an industry where longevity is becoming increasingly rare, the hits have been unstoppable: ā€˜Give Me A Little More Time’, ā€˜If You Ever’, ā€˜When A Woman’, ā€˜Sunshine’ and ā€˜Out Of Reach’ which she wrote for the soundtrack of Bridget Jones’ Diary. Then there are the multi-platinum albums; ā€˜Gabrielle’ ā€˜Rise’ and ā€˜Dreams Can Come True’. Gabrielle will be performing songs from all of her multi-platinum albums on Ladies Day.

Gabrielle said ā€œI can’t wait to perform at Aintree’s unique Ladies Day, Liverpool is one of my favourite cities. I am looking forward to seeing everyone dressed up and dancing to all of my songs after a great day of racing.ā€

In 2013, Gabrielle released a seventh album with the iconic Island records. A double album of all her greatest hits, some of her favourite album tracks and seven brand new songs. With the new songs came a new sound, the album titled Now and Always 20 Years of Dreaming also includes a new version of the classic Dreams re produced and re-recorded by Naughty Boy.

2014 saw Gabrielle go on her first UK tour since 2008, The Now and Always tour was a huge success and Gabrielle felt re connected with her fans, at every show she could be seen taking selfies from the stage with audience members.
Over the years, Gabrielle has picked up a number of prestigious awards including
Brit Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Female Vocalist, MOBOs for Best Single and Best Album, an Ivor Novello for Outstanding Song Collection and Gabrielle appeared with not just one but two albums in the official UK 100 records of the decade.

Gabrielle is currently recording a new studio album, her first in eleven years which will be released in 2018.

John Baker, Managing Director of Aintree Racecourse said: ā€œWe are delighted to have such a talented and globally recognised female artist headlining Ladies Day of the Randox Health Grand National Festival.

ā€œGabrielle has a superb collection of hits and we are excited for her to put on a great show for the crowds at Ladies Day.

ā€œTicket sales are 2,000 ahead of last year so we are in a fantastic position. I would recommend racegoers to buy early to avoid any disappointment.ā€

ā€œWe look forward to announcing further exciting acts in our Randox Health Grand National music line-up soon.ā€

Tickets for the 2018 Randox Health Grand National Festival are available to purchase at www.randoxhealthgrandnational.co.uk or by calling 0344 579 3001. Racegoers can also buy tickets directly from the sales office at Aintree Racecourse. Hospitality packages are currently available to purchase, please call 0151 522 2911 for more information.

Have your say on changes to Sefton’s gambling & licensing policies

Sefton Council wants to hear residents’ views on its revised Licensing and Gambling policies which will come into effect later this year.

The local authority is responsible for regulating pubs, clubs, late night takeaways, gambling and gaming premises and activities, including casinos, bingo premises, betting shops and gaming machine arcades across the borough.

The policies can be viewed here 

Under regulations, Sefton Council is required to publish a policy statement which forms the basis for deciding any applications submitted. The authority is now consulting on a revision to its existing policy and is asking people to give their views and opinions on both policies by April 2, 2018.

The Gambling Act of 2005 has three objectives: Preventing gambling from being a source of crime, ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way and protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

The Licensing Act of 2003 has four objectives: ensuring public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

Cllr John Kelly, Sefton’s Council’s Chair of Licensing & Regulatory Committee said:

“We are consulting with operators and businesses in both the licensed and gambling trades but we also want the views of local residents.

“Any opinions on either trade, including on how we can meet each Act’s objectives are welcome and people can write or email us.

“Both draft revised policies is currently available in local libraries and on the Sefton Council website.”

People wanting to register their views should send them in writing to: Kevin Coady, Senior Licencing Officer, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle, L20 3NJ or email: licensing@sefton.gov.uk.

Council welcomes prosecution of unlicensed Southport dog kennels

Sefton Council has welcomed the successful prosecution of an unlicensed dog boarding company in Southport.

A representative of Paw2Paw Ltd, based on Scarisbrick New Road, plead guilty at South Sefton Magistrates Court this week (Wednesday January 31) to three offences under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act relating to keeping an unlicensed dog boarding establishment.

They were fined £990 and ordered to pay a £33 victim surcharge and £1007 in costs, totalling £2030.

Sefton Council’s Trading Standards team were alerted to issues at Paw2Paw after receiving three complaints from members of the public regarding alleged treatment of their dogs while boarding at Scarisbrick New Road.

In one complaint it was alleged that a French Bulldog had suffered trauma and bloodshot eyes after boarding with Paw2Paw, while the owner of another noticed a change in the behavior of their pet after being taken for walks by the company.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regulation and Compliance, said:

“This is yet another successful prosecution for our Trading Standards team and my sympathies go out to those owners whose pets fell foul of Paw2Paw Ltd.

“When customers tried to challenge Paw2Paw and ask to see their licence, they were refused so they turned to our Trading Standards team for help.

“We welcome the guilty plea and hope that this conviction serves as a stark warning to other unlicensed businesses and those that fail to comply with rules and regulations that we will seek to prosecute.

“We would like to thank those that came forward to report their concerns, and would encourage others to be vigilant in order to tackle other incidents of a similar nature.”

For more information about licensing or to report any concerns you may have visit www.sefton.gov.uk/business/licensing-registration.

New forum to give a voice to those with disabilities in Sefton

A new forum to help give a voice to those living with disability has been launched with support from Sefton Council.

Ability Plus, a brand new scheme open to and representing people of all disabilities across the borough, is a joint initiative by members of the previous Sefton Access Forum and Ability Network groups.

The forum will allow anyone wanting to consult or engage with Sefton’s disabled community to get a better understanding of the needs of disabled people and the experiences they have of various services.

Councillor Trish Hardy, Sefton’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, welcomed the creation of Ability Plus, saying: “Our aim for Ability Plus is to make Sefton accessible, safe and welcoming to any disabled people living, working or visiting the borough.

“Members of Ability Plus are all experts by experience, and will act as a critical friends to services across the borough giving feedback on their services and the experiences disabled people have.”

The first meeting of the Ability Plus forum takes place at Bootle Town Hall on Monday February 19 at 1.30pm.

For more information or to register your interest in attending, call 0151 934 3202 or email Paul.McCann@sefton.gov.uk.

Intelligent cat’s eyes to improve Switch Island road safety

Intelligent cat’s eyes, which light up in response to changing traffic lights, are to be used for the first time at a motorway junction to improve safety for drivers.

Highways England is installing around 170 of the innovative LED road studs at one of England’s busiest motorway junctions – used by over 90,000 vehicles every day.

The intelligent cat’s eyes are being introduced as part of a Ā£3 million project to improve journeys and safety at Switch Island in Merseyside, where the M57, M58 and 3 A roads all join together.

The LED road studs light up when traffic lights turn green so drivers can clearly see which lane they should follow. Cables under the road surface connect them to traffic lights through a nearby automatic controller unit.

The studs can be visible up to 1,000 metres away – far greater than traditional reflective cat’s eyes – and have been proven to help stop drivers drifting between lanes, reducing the risk of collisions.

 

Construction work on the Switch Island scheme, which is being funded by the government’s Ā£220 million congestion relief programme, is due to start on Monday February 5 and is expected to take around a year to complete.

The scheme is designed to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety, following 49 collisions at the junction in the past two years – an average of one every fortnight. New traffic lights will be installed at a height of over 5 metres – higher than HGVs and double-decker buses – so that drivers approaching the junction can clearly see when the lights are changing.

Other improvements will include changes to the road layout and lane markings, new barriers between carriageways, coloured high friction surfaces and better signs. And a new 400 metre shared cycle path will be created through the junction, which will link up with the existing cycle path alongside the A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road.

Jerry McConkey, Sefton Council’s Transportation and Highway Infrastructure Service Manager, said:

ā€œWe have worked closely with Highways England and Merseyside Police to look at the issues at Switch Island and develop improvement proposals.

ā€œAs a result, we are delighted that these important safety measures are about to be introduced with Highways England implementing the latest technology solutions. This will further improve safety and give drivers a much higher level of confidence when negotiating this busy junction.ā€

The new intelligent cat’s eyes which are being installed at Switch Island were designed by Oxfordshire-based company Clearview Intelligence. Managing Director Nick Lanigan said:

ā€œThe introduction of intelligent road studs, reacting to traffic light changes on a busy roundabout is a continuation of the traditional cat’s eye legacy but takes advantage of new technology available. The new studs have been proven to reduce lane transgression by over 50% in certain conditions so it’s a great way to help improve the safety for all road users.ā€

 

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