Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Councilâs Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing has today written to the Boroughâs headteachers to confirm funding for free school meals over the six-week school summer holidays.
In her letter, Cllr Hardy explains that the scheme to support children and families who receive free school meals will, once again, work through the provision of supermarket vouchers. As with previous holiday vouchers, they will be valid to buy food in store and online at local supermarkets.
Difficulties
Cllr Hardy said: âWe know that many families across the Borough will be facing difficulties in the long summer holidays, particularly with the additional challenges that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up for people over the last year or more.
âI am pleased that Sefton Council is able to help ease at least some of these difficulties by providing this support to families over the six-week.â
The scheme is available to children and families across Sefton who currently receive free school meals. Any that do not receive free school meals now but think they might be eligible can visit www.sefton.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals to find out whether they qualify and how to apply.
Thanks
In her letter, Cllr Hardy thanks headteachers and their staff you all their hard work in the past 12 months doing their best to keep our children safe and to continue to delivering education and emotional support. But she also explains that this is likely the last time that the Council can use fund free school meals in this way.
Cllr Hardy said: âThis time we are, once again, using the Covid Local Support Grant, formerly known as Covid Winter Grant Funding to fund free school meal vouchers over the summer.
âHowever, we have received some funding from the Department for Education to put in place a Holiday Activity and Food Programme through future Christmas and summer for children who receive benefits-related free school meals. The programme will be optional for eligible children to attend.â
Sefton Council’s ÂŁ14.5 million Levelling Up Fund bid will kick-start Bootle’s post-COVID recovery
Sefton Council has submitted a ÂŁ14.5 million bid to the Governmentâs Levelling Up Fund that will help kick-start Bootleâs economic recovery.
Proposals in the bid will transform the hard-hit townâs night-time economy and include plans for the North of Englandâs first âFlying Theatreâ.
Bootle is one of the towns in the UK hit hardest by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Council has submitted a bid based on a two-stage plan to establish the Bootle Canalside site as a destination for residents and visitors alike.
‘Bootle Canalside’
Stage One will see the completion of âBootle Canalsideâ, a multi-functional events, entertainment, food and drink space. Bootle Canalside has been designed to kick-start new energy and optimism in Bootle, attract more visitors to the town, increase footfall on the High Street and create new jobs in the area.
Located on a once-derelict site alongside the Leeds-Liverpool canal, it will include an urban garden, food and drink offer, leisure uses and events space. It will be a vibrant recreation and leisure area that makes full use of its fantastic setting and brings a new element to Bootleâs local economy.
Stage Two will see the construction and launch of a new, hi-tech digital and Virtual Reality (VR) venue hosting a unique visitor attraction and providing places for technology enhanced âcompetitive socialising.â
Bootleâs âFlying Theatreâ will use a robotic hydraulic platform to create the feeling of flight and will enable visitors to take an exhilarating airborne tour showcasing the geographic and cultural beauty and diversity of the British Isles.
Time-travel
A VR Time-Travel Tunnel will take visitors on a journey through the âHistory of Bootle and Liverpoolâ, including an experience of the Blitz with audio and visuals adding to this immersive and educational experience.
Additionally, the funding would be used to maximise the potential of Bootleâs proximity to Liverpool and the new Everton stadium development at Bramley Moore Dock, with Everton FC supportive of the Councilâs bid. Working with the Canals and Rivers Trust, there are plans to improve the tow-paths and the navigability of the canal all the way down to by Bramley Moore Dock, enabling a âblue-greenâ highway between the new facilities in Bootle and the new stadium. This will include improved walk-ways, cycle-ways and âcanal-taxiâ services.
Sefton Council Leader, Cllr Ian Maher said: âBootle is a proud, passionate and resilient place whose people have made many sacrifices during the pandemic on behalf of their communities, their families and friends and the Boroughâs businesses.
âBut as one of the countryâs towns hardest hit by COVID Bootle and its people now need support from the Levelling Up Funding, and we look forward to starting a conversation with Government about investing in the town.â
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Bootle MP Peter Dowd said: âI would like to commend the submission prepared for Bootle.
âThis submission comes with support from a wide range of local stakeholders who passionately believe that this bid could potentially have a significant and transformational impact on the prospects for Bootle , its residents and local communities, and help drive the much needed change this area deserves to help bring it level with the rest of the UK and contribute positively to the regional economy.â
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Steve Rotherham, Metro Mayor, Liverpool City Region said:
âI am excited by the opportunities arising from this project. Not only will it provide an immediate boost to the local economy through job creation, but it will act as a catalyst for wider investment.
âBootle lies adjacent to key investment opportunities including Liverpool Waters and Bramley Moore Dock Everton Stadium, as well as being only 10 minutes by train from Liverpool City Centre. The town is undergoing economic change but has strong fundamentals to enable it to revitalise its offer and thus benefit its community.â
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Sefton is eligible to submit up to three bids to the ÂŁ4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, which has been established to invest in projects focused on town centre and high street regeneration, local transport, cultural and heritage schemes. A second bid based on Crosby has also been submitted.
Cllr Maher added:
âOur Levelling Up Fund bid contains innovative opportunities to bring jobs, investment and recovery to parts of our Borough that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
âCommunity remains at the heart of our plans for regeneration and we want to attract people to our town centres as well as improving them for the people who live there.
âThe projects that will be submitted as part of our bid for funding are varied, ambitious and will shine a light on what Bootle and Crosby have to offer, bringing much needed footfall and focus to our town centres.â
Northwood Urban Logistics has committed to the development of a new trade and industrial park at its Mersey Reach development here in Sefton. The second phase will comprise Mersey Reach Trade Park and offer 12 high specification trade and industrial units between 4,036 and 29,719 sq ft.
Aerial view of Mersey Reach trade park
Construction at the park is underway with delivery by developers Chancerygate scheduled for early 2022.
The high-profile development fronting Dunnings Bridge Road will see approximately 40,000 vehicles passing every day and is within 1 mile of the M57/M58 Switch Island motorway intersection giving easy access to the wider regional and national motorway network.
Mersey Reach is supported by Sefton Councilâs business growth team, InvestSefton, and employment opportunities will be promoted to nearby residents through the Sefton@Work programme as the second phase attracts more companies.
Councillor Marion Atkinson, Sefton Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, said: âIt is fantastic to see the second phase of the Mersey Reach development taking off, offering a real sense of confidence about the future of business here in Sefton as we focus on recovery post-pandemic. I have no doubt that this next phase will bring a wealth of training and employment opportunities to our residents.â
Environmentally friendly technologies have been incorporated into all areas of the new development. These green initiatives will include low air permeability, 15% warehouse roof lights increasing natural lighting design, high performance insulated cladding and roof materials and electric vehicle charging points.
The commitment to speculatively develop this second phase of Mersey Reach follows the successful leasing of Phase 1, which is 90% let and has attracted companies such as Selco Builders Merchants, Euro Garages, Hardy and Skinny Tonic.
Iain Taylor, director at Northwood Urban Logistics, said: âWeâre excited to deliver the next phase of the Mersey Reach development in one of the North Westâs most undersupplied markets. We expect the park to gain a lot of interest, especially due to its prime high-profile location and excellent amenities.â
Richard Johnson, director UK industrial and logistics at JLL, added: âMersey Reach Trade Park sits next to Selco Builders Merchants, which is a strong anchor tenant for the scheme and with 40,000 vehicles passing by every day we expect strong occupier interest, in particular from national and regional trade counter operators. The schemeâs green credentials mean that not only will the units be highly carbon efficient they will also reduce the occupational running costs for occupiers.â
Dedicated testing for COVID variant in Sefton ending on Friday
Cllr Ian Maher, Leader of Sefton Council has confirmed that dedicated testing in the Borough for the COVID-19 variant first identified in India will end this week.
He said: âFollowing discussions with Public Health England and close monitoring of case levels in Sefton, we will be ending the dedicated testing in the Formby area on Friday 4th June.
âAfter a rise in local coronavirus cases and being informed that the variant first identified in India was present in the Borough, we quickly set up specific drive-through and walk-through testing in the Formby area.
Thanks
âWe encouraged people living, working and studying in the area to come forward for the specific testing and I would like to thank the thousands who have come forward and done just that.
âI would also like to thank all the Sefton Council teams involved in setting up and running the dedicated testing so quickly as well as all the work of Public Health England and our partners in supporting the initiative.
âFortunately, the proportion of cases related to the variant remained relatively low and we are now in a position where we can step down the specific testing.â
Over 3,000
During around three weeks of dedicated testing in Sefton for the variant first identified in India, over 3,100 PCR tests were carried out at drive-through, walk-through and pop-up test sites.
Sefton Councilâs Director of Public Health, Margaret Jones, said that the very high level of uptake for first and second doses of the vaccine in the Formby area offered protection which played a part in controlling the virus in the area.
But despite the end of dedicated testing and the low incidence of the variant detected, Cllr Maher warned that Sefton was far from being out of the woods. He urged people living, working and studying in the Borough along with visitors to remain cautious.
Vaccinations key
Cllr Maher continued: âVaccinations have played a key role in suppressing the spread of coronavirus and the variant and if we are going to continue making progress back to normality, it is vital that people go and get their first and second jabs when they are invited.
âWe also need people to carry on taking the free, easily-available rapid tests twice a week to ensure they are not infected but not showing symptoms.
âAnd itâs vital that anyone who does get a positive result or develops symptoms must self-isolate and book a PCR test straight away. Self-isolating means staying at home and not going out for any reason such as shopping or exercise and trying to reduce the risk of infecting other family members where possible. Advice on support and self-isolating tips are on our website at www.sefton.gov.uk/isolating.â
âAlso, we need everyone who is offered their first or second vaccination to go along and have their jabs, because the vaccines offer the best protection from the virus and its variants, particularly when combined with social distancing, mask-wearing and thorough handwashing.â
RAPID testing
RAPID testing for people without symptoms continues at Bootle Strand and Southportâs Splash World. The Splash World site is open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week. The Bootle Strand site, the former H Samuel unit, is open 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
RAPID Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) provide people with a result in around 30 minutes.
People without symptoms who are going to work or are out and about regularly should also be taking home RAPID home tests twice a week. RAPID home testing involves taking a throat & nasal swab, dropping the sample into the container supplied and then checking for the result after 20 to 30 minutes.
No symptoms
Around one third of people with coronavirus do not show any of the tell-tale symptoms of a new persistent cough, a high temperature or a loss of taste or smell. Taking regular rapid tests helps those asymptomatic carriers to help make sure we donât pass on the virus accidentally.
Free RAPID test kits are available from any Sefton pharmacy and between 2.30pm and 8pm, seven days a week from the Boroughâs walk-through Local Test Centres. These are located opposite Bootle Town Hall and at Crosby Library Car Park, Netherton Activity Centre and Southport Town Hall.
People who arenât confident about taking a rapid test at home can choose to go for an assisted test at Seftonâs new Bootle Strand or Southport Splash World test sites.
Latest COVID variant testing sites for Formby area
Our ‘Swab Squads’ are still out at pop-up sites, carrying out coronavirus testing for the variant first identified in India and providing advice.
They will be at:
Thursday 3rd June Waitrose 9am -7pm
Formby station 9-5pm
Friday 4th June Waitrose 9am -7pm
Freshfields Station 9-5pm
The drive-through and walk-through test centre at Deansgate Lane Park in Formby is now closed.
Living, working & studying
Health leaders have urged everyone aged 16 and over living, working and studying in the Formby area to take one of these dedicated tests.
The teams at the pop-ups are also handing out free home testing kits and will be joined by Community COVID Engagement Officers who can provide vaccination advice.
Local, dedicated coronavirus testing for the variant first identified in India was introduced in Seftonâs Formby area after cases of the variant were identified locally.
Dedicated
Announcing the testing last week, Seftonâs Director of Public Health, Margaret Jones said: âWe are encouraging everyone aged over 16 who lives, works or studies in Formby to attend one of our dedicated local test sites.
âItâs important that people go to these dedicated test sites and not to our other sites, as these are the ones specifically set up to identify the Indian variant.â
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