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Latest News

Calling all volunteers for the Great British Spring Clean!

18 March 2022
Amy Hitchmough
No comments
Categories: Front Page, Latest News

With the Great British Spring Clean fast approaching, Sefton Council is urging its army of volunteers to get in touch to help!

Litter picking is the theme of this year’s Keep Britain Tidy campaign with volunteers being urged to sign up to the #BigBagChallenge.

As part of the challenge, volunteers can pledge to collect a number of bags of litter over the two-week period in their local area.

The aim of Keep Britain Tidy’s campaign is to channel the dedication of volunteer groups, schools and individuals into making Sefton as clean, green and beautiful as we can.

Sefton Council wants people to get in touch so the campaign can be coordinated, effective and safe. The Council will assist with the provision of equipment such as bags and litter pickers.

With 22 miles of stunning coastline and numerous parks, volunteers will have plenty of spots from which to choose. Some may think their local high street would benefit from additional litter picking.

The Council is urging people to get in touch using cleanandgreen@sefton.gov.uk and tell us:

  • Location
  • Date
  • Time
  • Number of People
  • Do you need bags/litter pickers?

We will be in touch to arrange a designated drop off zone for all the bags collected.

If people want to go one step further and separate out recyclables, the Council is encouraging people to visit their local recycling centre to drop off their bags.

Details of Sefton’s Formby, Sefton Meadows, Southport and South Sefton Household Waste Recycling Centres are at www.sefton.gov.uk/tips

The Great British Spring Clean runs from the Friday 25th March – Sunday 10th April and people can find out more information on the website – www.keepbritaintidy.org/

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Council provide volunteers with any equipment for the litter pick?

Yes! The Council will provide bags and litter pickers for organised litter picking activity. We ask people to bring their own gloves and wear suitable footwear.

What happens with the waste collected from the litter pick?

Those planning a litter pick should contact the Council on cleanandgreen@sefton.gov.uk to arrange a designated drop off zone for all bagged litter, allowing our cleansing team to remove waste in a timely manner.

Can I recycle the litter I pick?

If people want to go one step further and separate out recyclables, the Council is encouraging people to visit their local recycling centre to drop off their bags.

Details of Sefton’s Formby, Sefton Meadows, Southport and South Sefton Household Waste Recycling Centres are at www.sefton.gov.uk/tips

Let there be light! Iconic buildings across Sefton to be lit up in dazzling light projection

18 March 2022
Ollie Cowan
No comments
Categories: Borough Of Culture, Business and Economy, Essential Sefton, Featured Friendship News, Front Page, Latest News

Southport and Bootle will play host to a spectacular light show capturing the history of the Sefton next week.

The Nightingale’s Song Reawakened is a triumphant series of video projection artworks taking place across Bootle and Southport, created with Illuminos, Guildhall Live Events, Lightworks, and artist Amelia Kosminsky.

The event will be free and will be hosted at:

Southport Market
Friday 25th 10am – 10pm
Saturday 26th 10am – 10pm
Sunday 27th 10am – 8pm
Wednesday 30th 5:30pm – 9pm
Thursday 31st 5:30pm – 9pm
Friday April 1st 10am – 10pm
Saturday April 2nd 5:30pm – 10pm
Sunday April 3rd 10am – 8pm

Bootle Canalside 
Saturday March 26th 8pm – 10pm

Accessed via Washington Parade/Stanley Road

The Atkinson, Southport 
Sunday March 27th (shows at 8.30pm and 9pm)

Food and drink will be available at Southport Market and Bootle Canalside throughout the shows.

March 2020 saw three iconic buildings lit up in celebratory stories, as part of Sefton Borough of Culture. Two years on the Nightingale’s Song is to be retold in a new and mesmerising collaboration.

The Nightingale’s Song is a tale of magic and wonder, of myths and wondrous creatures, spectacular nature, of ships and sailing, of peoples past and present and captures the history of Sefton.

The projections are anchored through following the journey of the Natterjack Toad – the endangered amphibian who lives in the Sefton dunes. Known as the Birkdale Nightingale because of its extraordinary night time song, it becomes the character we follow, symbolising the growth and transition through ever changing stages of egg, tadpole, and toad.

For this year’s spectacle, projection artists Illuminos have joined forces with Guildhall Live Events, Lightworks, and artist Amelia Kosminsky to create three distinct pieces, all thematically linked through the Song of the Nightingale.

The Echo begins the events at Southport Market.  In this unique video installation echoes of images morph and flow across screens, and visitors through their movements in the space trigger visual moments that interact and cause ripples across the artwork.  A toad hops, a biplane soars, waves roll in and seasons change.  By changing their positions and working together, visitors can uncover the many secrets and echoes of Sefton’s past and present.

The Whisper takes place at Bootle Canalside event space.  Here emerging artist Amelia Kosminsky transforms the surfaces of the buildings into vast dreamlike canvases of video art.  Making extensive use of archive images, newspaper cuttings, landscapes and histories of Bootle, audiences are invited to soak up a visual journey from land through canal and waterway to rolling sea.

The Song completes the events at the Atkinson Building, Southport.  In a vast and dramatic finale, the architecture of the Atkinson is transformed to tell the story of Sefton through egg, tadpole and toad as storms rage, arcades whirr, vikings rise, railways build, and the Birkdale Nightingale sings, in a celebration of Sefton and its coastline.

 

Community grants available to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

18 March 2022
Martin Driver
No comments
Categories: Front Page, Latest News

A new community grant scheme has been launched to help enable local community groups to participate and deliver social activities in recognition and celebration of the 70th year of the accession to the throne by HM The Queen.

Civic pride

The Platinum Jubilee Fund is open to Sefton-based voluntary, community and faith (VCF) sector groups who wish to host a range of activities and events including street parties and community events, as well as educational activities and heritage and civic pride projects.

The fund is a joint initiative between Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (CVS), Sefton Council, The Duchy of Lancaster’s Benevolent Fund, local fundraising platform Sefton 4 Good and Living Well Sefton.

Groups and organisations are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to ÂŁ1,500, and activities and events are aimed to be held during the Jubilee Central Weekend (Thursday 2nd June-Sunday 5th June 2022). However, the grants are open to proposed projects that will run between April and December 2022.

Recognition

Councillor Trish Hardy, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said: “On behalf of Sefton Council and as Cabinet Member for Communities & Housing, I am delighted to support the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Fund Grants which will enable local community groups to participate and deliver social and community activities in recognition of the 70th year of Her Majesty The Queen’s accession to the throne”

Sefton CVS Chief Executive, Angela White, commented: “Sefton Platinum Jubilee Fund will provide a unique opportunity for local groups and residents across Sefton to come together and celebrate this historic national occasion through local projects, events and initiatives in recognition of Her Majesty The Queen’s outstanding service.”

“The fund will be open for applications for a month and Sefton CVS can provide further advice and support to local groups who are interested in applying.”

Sefton CVS will be holding an online information session for groups who may be interested in applying on Thursday 31st March 2022, 10am-11am via Zoom Video Conferencing. To book your place, please email groupdevelopment@seftoncvs.org.uk

The deadline for applications for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Community Fund is 12 noon on Thursday 14th April 2022

For more details about the fund and how to apply, visit seftoncvs.org.uk/jubileefund or email jubileefund@seftoncvs.org.uk. Alternatively, groups and organisations can also contact Sefton CVS by calling 0151 920 0726.

Sefton Council welcome food and drink outlets return to coast this summer

17 March 2022
Amy Hitchmough
No comments
Categories: Business and Economy, Front Page, Green Sefton, Latest News

Sefton Council has launched a tender process to continue its coastal offering of food and drink at Ainsdale beach and Crosby coastal park after successful trials through the summers of 2020 and 2021.

In recent years the Council has received huge numbers of visitors flocking to the coast. With the goal of continually enhancing visitors’ experiences, the Council seeks to expand the coastal concessions from summer trials into longer term arrangements.

Ainsdale beach food and drink concession trial, B-Eat On The Street, manager Alex with Cllr Ian Moncur and Green Sefton staff earlier this summer
Cllr Moncur with Green Sefton staff at Ainsdale beach food and drink concession trial during summer 2021.

Cllr Ian Moncur, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said: “We were overwhelmed with positive feedback from residents and visitors alike after previous trials and we are pleased to confirm the Council has gone to tender for more food and drink outlets for this summer.

“We feel that there is a market for good quality food and drink offering along our coast, while ensuring the scheme supports the Council’s Climate Change Agenda by offering vegetarian and vegan options and using biodegradable and recyclable cutlery and cups.

“Previous trials have proven how initiatives such as this help create jobs and offer a boost to the local economy as well as enhancing our visitor attractions, complementing our longer-term vision to get the right offer for everyone while protecting our special landscape.”

Tender packs can be obtained by emailing tourism@sefton.gov.uk

As part of the wider investment at Ainsdale, the implementation of a new ‘off beach’ car park at Ainsdale Beach is set to be operational by the end of 2022, subject to final planning approval.

Toilet facilities at Ainsdale-On-Sea are undergoing refurbishment work in March to prepare them for reopening from 1st April as the beach car park re-opens. The men’s, women’s and disabled people’s toilet facilities will be re-opened. 

Walk-through COVID rapid test centres winding down ahead of Government end date

17 March 2022
Martin Driver
No comments
Categories: Front Page, Health, Latest News

With the Government ending funding for local testing from the start of April, Sefton Council is winding down the Borough’s COVID 19 Test Centres for people without coronavirus symptoms.

This week

Since Monday 14th March, the hours at Sefton’s Bootle Town Hall, Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and Southport Splash World rapid test centres have reduced to 8am to 4pm, from Monday to Sunday. The Strand Shopping Centre remains open 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

Free, rapid LFD test kits remain available at the test centres.

People who require support with testing can also get their test, and advice, at one of the Centres.

Next Week

From Monday 21st March, hours will be reduced to 8am to 3pm. On Sunday 27th March the Test Centre at The Strand will be open from 10am to 3pm.

During the following week, from Monday 28th March all three sites will be closed with dates still to be confirmed.

PCR tests

For the rest of March, people who do have coronavirus symptoms of a new continuous cough, a fever or a loss of smell or taste, can still get a PCR test at one of Sefton’s four local walk-through test centres.

These are located at Bootle Town Hall, Crosby Library Car Park, Haigh Road, Netherton Activity Centre and Southport Town Hall and are open every day from 8am to 6pm. They will also close after Friday 1st April.

Drive-through Mobile Testing Units will also be visiting Litherland Sports Park, Maghull Town Hall and Southport, Esplanade Park and Ride through March.

You can find a link to the schedule here.  

Book a test

People can book a PCR test by visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus  or calling 119.

Sefton Council is now working to help the people who have been working at its Test Centres through redeployment into other roles.

The Government has informed Sefton Council that it could take up to six months to dismantle PCR test centres after they close.

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