Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a round-up of important local news stories from the last seven days. Click or tap on each story to read the full article.
Sunday Times names West Kirby as one of the best places to live in the North West
West Kirby has been named by the Sunday Times as one of the best locations to live in the Northwest of England.
It is in a list of eight locations in the region chosen by The Sunday Times in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
The Sunday Times’s expert judges behind the guide assess a wide range of factors, from schools, transport and broadband to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street.
Young musicians take part in their first-ever live gig
Edsential’s young musicians from ‘New Noise’ and members of Future Yard’s ‘Sound Check’ training programme performed live music to a large audience on Saturday 2 April.
They have been working alongside each other over the past 11 weeks at the New Noise Music Centre in partnership with Future Yard, leading up to this spectacular day designed to showcase all the amazing work of the different bands.
The New Noise Junior project was created to support the next generation of music makers, offering a space for young people aged 14-16 to experiment across a range of instruments and music-making techniques – including guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, DJing and rapping – in sessions led by a team of hugely experienced and passionate tutors.
St. Anselm’s College Charity Run raises money for displaced in Ukraine
Despite the testing weather conditions on Thursday 7 April, staff and students from St. Anselm’s College, Birkenhead, completed a 15-mile charity run, raising funds for those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.
Mr Simpson, Dr Cooper, Tom R (Y12), Joshua L (Y12), Oberon K (Y9) and Sam C (Y9) took on the multi-terrain run, involved more than 50 inclines, four ascents of Bidston Hill and a route encompassing Prenton, Oxton, Noctorum and Claughton plus several loops in Birkenhead Park. The run was completed in two hours.
A special thanks also goes to Year 13s Harry RH, Joshua H and Jonny L for their morale and logistical support and for completing the second half of the route with the group.
Council fined for undertaking work without a marine licence
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council appeared in court charged with carrying out a licensable marine activity other than in accordance with a marine licence granted by the Marine Management Organisation.
The court heard how the offence took place at Hilbre Island, located in the mouth of the Dee Estuary, off the coast of the Wirral peninsula. It is an environmentally sensitive area and part of a local nature reserve.
Following a partial cliff collapse in 2016, Wirral MBC commissioned a report to investigate the stability of the area. The report set out several options to prevent further collapsing and the council chose the option of infilling a cave in the cliffside. The report noted at this time that a marine licence would be required for these works.
Petition to twin Birkenhead Park with New York’s Central Park
Birkenhead Park is 175 years old this week and was the inspiration for the design of Central Park in New York.
The 140 acre Birkenhead Park was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847 by Lord Morpeth and thousands of people attended the ceremony. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world.
New York’s Central Park is an urban park in New York City. It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually, and is the most filmed location in the world.
Ganneys Meadow Nursery School and Family Centre receives National Nurturing Schools Award
Ganneys Meadow Nursery School and Family Centre in Woodchurch has received the National Nurturing Schools Award, becoming the first nursery school in the region to achieve this recognition.
Staff and pupils were joined by Margaret Greenwood, MP for Wirral West, who visited the school to present them with their award and congratulate them on their achievement.
The award is given out by Nurture UK, a charity dedicated to improving the life chances of every child and young person by promoting nurture across the whole education system and beyond.
Stick ‘n’ Step looking for volunteers to step up to Wirral Walk
Cerebral palsy charity Stick ‘n’ Step is appealing for local people to step up to the challenge of this year’s return of the Wirral Coastal Walk to help them raise funds through sponsorship.
The charity provides free conductive education to children with cerebral palsy, to encourage their confidence, independence and mobility. 1 in 400 babies is estimated to be born every year in the UK with some form of cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition affecting movement and co-ordination.
This year’s Wirral Walk, organised by the Rotary Club of North Wirral, is taking place on Sunday 22 May. Covering 15 miles of coastal path, the route starts from Floral Pavilion, New Brighton and ends at Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre at Thurstaston.
Full list of candidates for all Wirral wards in 2022 local elections
The 2022 Wirral local election is due to take place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. This will be the last election where a third of councillors are elected, following recommendations from a government report into the Council’s finances.
Bidston Lighthouse illuminated with ‘curiously delightful’ artistic projections
Three iconic UK lighthouses have been transformed with curiously delightful artistic projections, shining a light on Wirral, East Sussex, and Girvan on the Scottish coast.
Bidston Lighthouse has been transformed by the wonderfully creative mind of contemporary British artist, Claire Luxton, who has been inspired by the peculiar history and landscape of the lighthouse and its local area, as well as the natural world around us.
Commenting on her amazing creations, Claire Luxton said, “My practice has always had a deep connection to the ocean and nature, with its mystery something I have always been intrigued by.”
Wirral Waters’ £25m Maritime Knowledge Hub set for planning application
Peel L&P will submit a planning application for the £25m Maritime Knowledge Hub (MKH) in Wirral Waters in the next four weeks with work to start by the end of 2022.
Director of Development at Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, Richard Mawdsley, told an audience of maritime industry leaders in Birkenhead that an agreement for a grant towards the project from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority was close to being finalised.
Once work starts on the project build time is expected to take around 18 months. First announced by industry body Mersey Maritime at London Shipping Week six years ago, it is projected the MKH will lead to the creation of 4,000 jobs in the first five years. It will also house a supercomputer.
Wirral’s Director of Public Health – ‘the virus hasn’t gone away’
The Government’s Living Safely with Covid 
plan has been updated, with new symptoms and testing rules, as Wirral’s Director of Public Health reminds residents that “the virus hasn’t gone away.”
With the removal of legal restrictions, the new guidance aims to support the public to make informed choices that reduce the spread of respiratory infections – including COVID-19 – as we move into a new phase of the pandemic.
Julie Webster, Director of Public Health, Wirral said, “Living safely with COVID-19 does not mean ignoring it. The virus continues to circulate in our communities and case rates have remained consistently high over the past few weeks.”
Wirral Police weekly news round-up
This is the birkenhead.news weekly round-up of police activity in and around Wirral during the previous seven days.
What’s On? Guide
Visit our “What’s On?” guide for Wirral and the surrounding areas in the coming weeks.
Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news
Sign up for our FREE newsletter using this form:
Facebook comments