Sefton Council

Sefton’s Blundellsands and Victoria ward councillors have committed funding for a report on possible future uses for the lake in Crosby’s Coronation Park.

Prioritised

Following a recent consultation about the potential development of the Park, improvements to the lake have been prioritised by the Coronation Park Friends Group working with Green Sefton.

Cllrs Natasha Carlin, Christine Howard and Diane Roscoe who represent the Blundellsands ward and Cllrs Leslie Byrom, Janet Grace and Michael Roche who represent the Victoria ward have agreed to make funds available for a consultant feasibility report on potential ideas for the lake.

Family-friendly

Announcing the funding, the two wards’ councillors said: “The Lake is an important focal point in Coronation Park, and we want to develop a new vision for it that is family-friendly and is sustainable, not relying on mains water.

“There have been suggestions that it could be more of a natural feature where local people can experience local wildlife in the future.

“Like local residents and the Coronation Park Friends Group we are keen to see the lake returned to an attractive feature of the park and look forward to seeing the outcome of this feasibility study.”

Find out more about Sefton’s parks and greenspaces.

In May, Sefton Council will be a carrying out a public consultation on its proposal to extend its Selective and Additional (HMO) licensing schemes for a further five-years.

Under the scheme, private landlords in some parts of Sefton have been required to licence their properties since 1st March 2018. It ends on 28th February 2023.

Further five years

In December 2021, Sefton Council’s Cabinet agreed to consult with residents, private landlords, businesses, and other stakeholders on proposals to re-designate their Selective and Additional (HMO) licensing schemes for the further five-year period from March next year until March 2028.

The 12-week consultation will start on Monday 9^th May 2022 and will cover the proposals to re-designate Selective Licensing across Bootle. It will also include proposals for Additional (HMO) Licensing across parts of Seaforth/Waterloo/Brighton-le-Sands and central Southport.

Improvements

As a result of the current licencing schemes, Sefton Council has been able to make improvements in the standards of management by private landlords and the living conditions for tenants.

Extending the scheme for a further five years will enable the Council to build on this success and bring about further improvements in landlords’ management practices as well as in property conditions across the private rented sector to benefit tenants and the communities affected.

Standards

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “Thanks to the Selective and Additional (HMO) licensing schemes, we have brought about significant improvements to the standards of management and property conditions in the private rented sector in the parts of the Borough where the scheme was introduced.

“Through re-designating the licensing schemes, we can build on the improvements already made and will continue to engage with landlords to realise our vision of creating strong and resilient communities and the opportunity to live in good quality homes.

“We remain committed to make these areas safe and attractive places in which to live and through the proposed redesign of the licensing schemes we are seeking the full co-operation of landlords and their tenants in making this happen.”

Further details on the proposals and consultation will be available closer to the Monday 9^th May start date.

Anyone wanting to be kept updated on the proposed licensing schemes, can contact landlord.licensing@sefton.gov.uk.

You can find out more about Additional (HMO) Licensing in Sefton here.

This week is Social Work Week (14^th-18^th March) and Sefton Council is shining a spotlight on its Children’s and Adult Social Care workforce; from Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Social Care Practitioners to Business Support Officers, Family Support Workers and everyone in-between who helps to make a difference and support both services to run effectively.

The week, organised by Social Work England, coincides with World Social Work Day which recognises the hard work and dedication of social workers on an international stage. The theme for the day is ‘Co-building a New Eco-Social World: Leaving No One Behind’ and the theme for the week is ’Social Work and Me’.

Sefton Council will be hosting several events across the week and is encouraging staff to attend as many as possible. Highlights include an inspirational talk from brothers Andy and Matt Smith (Smash Life), a celebratory cinema night at local community cinema, The Plaza and various health and wellbeing drop-in sessions that will explain more about the Council’s offer to employees.

As well as the events, the Council is encouraging teams to take some time for themselves and step away from the desk, allowing time to reflect. Activities being promoted include taking part in a team beach litter pick, enjoying a team breakfast whilst reflecting on the challenges and achievements throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and taking the time to find out about local community groups and initiatives teams could get involved with.

Cllr. Mhairi Doyle, M.B.E., Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, said:

“Social Work Week and World Social Work Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate and shine a spotlight not only our Social Workers, but on every single person who plays a part in making a difference to our communities right across the Borough.

“Social work can be an extremely tough job, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. I hope by taking the time to reflect on their amazing achievements, our teams can see the amazing work they do day in, day out.”

Cllr. Paul Cummins, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said:

“I’d like to wish everyone a great week of celebrations and reflection. I know how hard both our adult and children’s teams work every day for the benefit of our communities, so I hope everyone can find the time to take a moment to reflect on that hard work.

“It has been an incredibly challenging couple of years for our workforce and this week is all about celebrating our people and their dedication to their roles and Sefton.”

Sefton Council currently has a range of exciting opportunities within its adult and children’s social care services. To find out more about our adult social care opportunities, please visit: https://ats-sefton.jgp.co.uk/vacancies?ga_client_id=b69e7212-766a-46c6-ab54-991244d24d0c. To find out more about our children’s social care opportunities, please visit: https://ats-sefton.jgp.co.uk/vacancies?ga_client_id=b69e7212-766a-46c6-ab54-991244d24d0c&occupational_areas=Children%27s+Social+Care.

As we head into LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering week (7^th-13^th March) Adoption in Merseyside (AiM) are encouraging people from all walks of life to think about starting their adoption journey.

AiM are the regional adoption agency for Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and Wirral and are keen to recruit a wide range of adopters. While the total number of adoptions fell in England in 2021, the proportion of adoptions to same-sex couples in England remained static. We want to encourage those to think about the adopting to request an information pack and explore their options.

AiM welcome people to apply if they are single, renting accommodation or already have children. If you can offer the space in your heart and your home, the chances are you could adopt.

Andy and Craig always knew they wanted to be parents and adoption was always their first option as they had a loving and safe home to offer a child.

“We always wanted a family and decided to start the process to adopt. The process was quite hard for us, it was very intrusive and in depth, but we understand why this must be done. It was an emotional process as it delved into our past and the reasons why certain situations happened and how we dealt with that. The training was also self-reflective and made us think about how we would parent our own child.

“Even though the process is hard work, when we eventually got to meet our little girl, it made it all real and worth it. We finally feel like a family and I just can’t wait to see how she develops and grows.

“Our adoption journey from initial enquiry to welcoming our little girl took around 12 months, we know the hard work isn’t over but we know support will always be there from Adoption in Merseyside.”

Check out their website for more information on the adoption process or request an information pack www.adoptioninmerseyside.co.uk.

For more information about Fostering with Sefton please visit www.seftonfostering.co.uk or call free on 0800 923 2777.