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Sefton residents are being asked to join people across the City Region in helping to shape plans to make it carbon net zero by 2040.

Countdown

As the countdown begins to November’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow people are being asked to help shape the Liverpool City Region Net Zero Action Plan by taking part in a survey, which closes on Wednesday 15th September.

Work already underway to reach the target includes investment in new, state-of-the-art trains and hydrogen buses for a London-style integrated transport system. Generating wind power in Liverpool Bay and creating a 600km walking and cycling network are also part of the plans along with fitting energy-saving measures in thousands of houses.

Visions

The City Region Combined Authority has developed a series of visions of what a Net Zero Liverpool City Region will look like in 2040. The visions are linked to aspects of life that everyone can relate to, such as the home, the world of work, and transport.

Views & Concerns

People across Sefton and the City Region are being asked to feed back their views on the visions, what concerns them and what ideas they might have that would address these concerns. Themes covered include:

• Our Neighbourhoods
• The Workplace
• Transport & Travel
• At Home
• What’s happening Now

You can take part in the survey here.

Young people

In addition, young people aged under 25 are being invited to take part in their own specially-designed survey. It takes just 10 minutes to fill in and will help shape the future world which they live in.

Young people can take the Young People’s survey here.

The closing date to complete the surveys is Wednesday 15^th September.

When the survey was launched in July, Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Compliance, Regulatory and Corporate Services said: “The Climate Emergency that Sefton Council declared in 2019 is one of the biggest challenges we will face in the coming years.

“Sefton is a coastal borough, it is particularly vulnerable to climate change, but it is also filled with opportunities to take action to protect our planet and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.

“Climate change will have an effect on all aspects of our lives, and it is vital that everyone takes the opportunity to have their say. I would urge everyone in Sefton to take part in this consultation.

“I hope young people especially feel empowered to shape the decisions that will affect their lives for many more years to come. ”

Emergency

The Combined Authority, led by Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, was the first to declare a climate emergency in 2019, and has set an ambitious target for net zero carbon by 2040 – a decade ahead of the national 2050 deadline.

Longer-term plans to deliver clean, predictable energy and thousands of jobs, through a multi-billion-pound Mersey Tidal Power project, are also coming together as the city region works to build a sustainable recovery after the pandemic.

Southport Market will be open this Bank Holiday Monday to cater for thousands of hungry and thirsty visitors.

The hugely popular King Street based Market will temporarily extend its opening hours to include Bank Holiday Monday (August 30th) to allow both residents and visitors to Southport to take advantage of the amazing dining offer.

In its first month of opening Southport Market has welcomed tens of thousands of people through its doors in the town centre, with traders serving up dish after dish from around the world.

Its soaring popularity has helped contribute to a boosted footfall number in Southport, with news this week that more than five million people have visited the town in 2021 so far.

Cllr Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, said: “With the sun set to shine on Sefton this weekend we have some fantastic offers to take advantage of over the Bank Holiday, from our pop-up Bootle Canalside event to the wonderful Southport Market.

“It’s fantastic news that there has been an increase in footfall in Southport this year and those figures indicates a step in the right direction as we look for the local economy to bounce back post-pandemic. It also demonstrates the clear confidence being shown by private investors right here in Sefton.

“Southport Market is quickly becoming the incredibly popular cornerstone of our recovery plans that we knew it would be and I’m certain that their visits are translating into a much-needed boost for other business across the town centre.

“We look forward to implementing more exciting plans at the market, plus we have the hugely exciting Events Centre to come as the next stage of the Southport Town Deal.”

The Market will be open 10am until late on Monday, August 30th before returning to normal opening hours.

Literary Arts organisation, Read Now Write Now, has been awarded funding from Arts Council England to run a FREE creative writing project for children aged 7 to 11 years across the Liverpool City Region and Cheshire West & Chester.

The theme for these workshops is all about climate change and will consist of a number of live online writing workshops, recorded workshops, as well as learning resources which will be available for schools to use.

During sessions, children will hear about real life climate change concerns and write a short story of their own which will be then shared via social media, displayed in local libraries, presented on YouTube and at a special event at Liverpool Central Library (Covid-19 dependent) to coincide with the 26^th UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021.

Working with Read Now Write Now is climate change charity, Hope for the Future, and six library services: Cheshire West & Chester; Halton; Liverpool; St Helens; Sefton and Wirral.

Sefton Council will be working with local author Charlie Lea from Read Now Write Now who says:

“Climate Change is and will be the major issue affecting our world, children and young people are, quite rightly, concerned about the future. The aim of this project is to help them write powerful stories which can reach out to everyone and highlight and persuade others what they must do to save our planet so that we can all become true climate champions ourselves.”

All live courses will take place online via Zoom and there will be a maximum of 20 free places on each course with registration on a first come, first served basis.

The live courses will be held on:

Wednesdays, 5pm to 6.30pm starting 29^th September 2021 for 4 weeks

Thursdays, 5pm to 6.30pm starting 30^th September 2021 for 4 weeks

Saturdays, 11am to 12.30pm starting 2^nd October 2021 for 4 weeks

There will also be a live course via Zoom during half term from Monday 25^th October to Thursday 28^th October from 10am to 11.30am.

All interested people need to do is choose one of the above courses and then email charles@readnowwritenow.org.uk to book on and register.

For more information please also contact charles@readnowwritenow.org.uk.

Pre-recorded courses will be available from 20^th September from www.readnowwritenow.org.uk