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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.  

Running from today, Friday 29th July to Friday 5th August, Love Parks Week is a chance to visit and appreciate the many wonderful parks we have here in Sefton.

Across the Borough there are over 30 parks and a further 183 greenspaces with 61 children’s play areas ranging from Botanic Gardens in the north to the wide coastal landscape of Crosby Coastal Park and the historic Derby Park in the south. Whether it’s walking the dog, picnicking with friends, exercising and keeping fit, or pushing our little ones on a playground swing, they give our communities, our children, and our pets a vital space to play, grow, and bond.

National Love Parks Week is set up to celebrate and support the efforts of volunteers and workers up and down the country who maintain and protect our green spaces. Sefton’s Parks are managed by the Council’s Green Sefton service but their work is supported by around 20 voluntary Friends organisations whose members give up their time to keep Sefton’s parks at their best.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “Caring for our parks and greenspaces continues to be a priority for the Council and our Green Sefton team.

“Love Parks Week is an excellent opportunity to remind our residents and visitors of the role we all play in respecting and protecting our parks and greenspaces, which played such an important role in helping us all get through the pandemic.

“Whether you are a dog walker, keen jogger, or just enjoy a quiet stroll, it’s time to enjoy your local green space And all we ask is that you follow the simple rules, such as taking litter home to keeping dogs under control, to keep everyone safe and preserving the green beauty of our Borough.”

Anyone who might have an interest in joining a ‘Friends of…’ park group or would like to spend more time at parks and greenspaces as a Park Ambassador should get in touch by email at greensefton@sefton.gov.uk

Using #LoveParks, Sefton residents are being encouraged to take photos and videos of the various ways they Love, Respect and Protect our parks and tag @SeftonCouncil on Twitter, @OneCouncil on Facebook and @sefton_council on Instagram.

To find out where your local park is in Sefton, visit www.sefton.gov.uk/parks and to learn more about Keep Britain Tidy and their work, go to www.keepbritaintidy.org/

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.”