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.
Hoylake RNLI urges beachgoers to respect the water as UK braces for heatwave
The volunteer lifeboat crew from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) at Hoylake are urging people planning on heading to the Merseyside coast to stay safe and understand the risks around UK coastal waters during this week’s hot weather.
The call comes after a busy evening for the Hoylake RNLI crew on Monday 11 July when their hovercraft was tasked at 7:31pm to a dog walker who was getting cut off by the incoming tide between Leasowe Lighthouse and Barber’s Folly at Meols.
The Hoylake RNLI hovercraft Hurley Spirit and her volunteer crew launched and soon arrived at the dog walker’s location, bringing her on board with her large dog. Fortunately both the walker and her dog were safe and well and were taken to safety at Dovepoint in Meols.
‘Travelling Suitcase’ project engages schools with learning about sanctuary seekers
‘The Journey of the Travelling Suitcase’ is a project coordinated by Wirral Deen Centre as part of their Education Outreach.
The project was created to engage schools with learning about sanctuary seekers and to create a special symbol of welcome for refugees.
Schools were informed of the project and thirty-one Wirral schools requested to take part. The travelling suitcase became four travelling suitcases to cover four parts of Wirral.
Roads maintenance programme set to begin on 200 Wirral roads
More than 200 roads and pavements are set to undergo improvement works in the coming months as part of the council’s annual Highways Structural Maintenance Programme.
The works are part of a £5.8 million pound investment in the roads network made possible by grant funding received through the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
A further £250,000 has been pledged for bridge maintenance, while a separate funding agreement is likely to see £1.9 million more invested in Wirral’s Key Route Network (KRN).
Wirral MP highlights major concerns over ambulance waiting times
Margaret Greenwood MP has spoken out in Parliament about long waiting times for ambulances across England.
The Wirral West MP has raised the issue twice in Parliament in the last two weeks – she spoke last week in a debate in Westminster Hall and again this week during an Urgent Question in the House of Commons.
One senior ambulance leader in the north who asked not to be named said this week that the situation is “dire for staff and patients”, while some ambulance trusts have declared their current situation as “critical incidents”.
Lawyers complete Three Peaks Challenge for charity
A team of six lawyers have completed the gruelling Three Peaks Challenge to raise over £1,730 for cerebral palsy charity Stick ‘n’ Step.
Vicky Beel, John Doyle, Rosalyn Steeple, Cameron Holness, Madelene Holdsworth and Nicole Jackson from Slater and Gordon took on the challenge of walking the three National Peaks of Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Scafell in 24 hours to raise money for Stick ‘n’ Step. They raised an incredible £1,735.53 including gift aid.
Madelene Holdsworth, who has recently been appointed to head up Slater and Gordon’s Specialist Legal Services department, said, “This charity does not receive any government funding and hence relies on financial support and donations.”
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Save Wirral’s Green Belt: Opposition to Leverhulme plans grows
Labour campaigners have blasted Leverhulme Estate’s applications to build on essential greenbelt land.
The landowners have made applications across multiple sites to build 800 homes, none of which are covered by the new local plan, which offers brownfield sites for development of housing and more green spaces. and creates green spaces for future generations.
Gail Jenkinson, who leads Labour’s campaigning team in Greasby, Frankby and Irby, has gained more than 4,500 signatures in a petition 
to oppose the schemes. She is now urging members of the public to join her in formal opposition through the planning process.
Construction starts on 500 new Wirral Waters homes in the UK’s largest urban regeneration project
Peel L&P and Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) have announced the commencement of construction of Miller’s Quay, the cornerstone investment in what will become the largest regeneration project in the UK, creating up to 20,000 permanent jobs.
Miller’s Quay is a 500 one-and two-bedroom residential scheme which will continue the delivery momentum at Peel L&P’s Wirral Waters, a 500-acre brownfield site and former dockland. Wirral Waters is supported by central Government as a key part of its levelling-up strategy.
The £130 million Miller’s Quay development has been made possible through a special partnership between highly experienced developer and regeneration business, Peel L&P, Wirral Council, and long-term investor, PIC, who are Peel L&P’s funding partner. Construction company Graham is the contractor for the scheme.
Introduction of coastal and council car park charges on hold
The introduction of parking charges for on-street parking at coastal locations and free council-owned car parks has been put on hold following a full Council meeting last night.
It was raised in Monday’s full council meeting that recommendations made by the authority’s officers to implement charges have been threatened with a legal challenge, and confirmed by the borough solicitor.
Wirral’s Labour group is no longer supporting Council officers’ proposals to bring in on-street parking in coastal locations.
Wirral remembers Srebrenica massacre with handmade flower display
The Srebrenica massacre took place in 1995 during the Bosnian war. More than 8000 unarmed Bosnian Muslims sheltering in a UN ‘safe area’ were slaughtered: the biggest civilian atrocity in Europe since WWII.
This week at Birkenhead Central Library, there is a display of 8372 handmade white flowers to represent each person who lost their life because of their identity in the atrocity.
Director of Education at Wirral Deen Centre and Vice-Chair for Remembering Srebrenica NW, Neil Sledge, said, “[Making the flowers] was a great effort from many schools, voluntary, faith and community organisations and the Wirral Deen Centre. Thanks to everyone involved, staff at the library … for all their support. That’s one flower for every Muslim and boy killed this week in 1995 in Srebrenica because of their identity/faith.
Two Wirral schools set to benefit from rebuild programme
Riverside Primary School in Seacombe and The Mosslands School in Wallasey are set to receive state-of-the-art rebuilds or refurbishments that will transform education for their pupils.
Both schools will receive major upgrades after being awarded funds that will transform education for their pupils as part of a national £1bn investment to level up education.
The new buildings will be energy-efficient designs with high sustainability standards and will be net zero in operation. Offering excellent facilities, the upgrades will transform the learning environment and support teachers to deliver a high-quality education, so that pupils gain the knowledge, skills and qualifications they need to succeed.
National awards recognise local key workers for bridging health inequalities
Two Wallasey pharmacy workers have been awarded for outstanding achievements in the world of community pharmacy in the ninth annual Recognition of Excellence (RoE) Awards.
Between them, pharmacy technician, Ruth (left) and pharmacy manager, Sally (right) have 26 years of experience working at Rowlands Pharmacy in Wallasey. Their recent support for Syrian refugees named them joint winners of the Health Equality Award.
This was a brand-new category for 2022 and is designed to recognise an individual who has identified and tackled health inequalities for their patients and communities.
Birkenhead Primary school win competition to promote clean air
Year 4 children at The Priory Parish C E Primary School have won a competition to create a banner to help raise awareness about the importance of cleaner air around our schools.
The Birkenhead school’s banner, which featured slogans like ‘Don’t let our future go up in smoke’ and ‘Go green, breathe clean’, won £250 for their school.
Year 4 teacher Miss Waine, whose class created the artwork, said, “As a school, we are passionate about creating a safe environment for our school community, so we are grateful to Wirral Council for sharing our mission.”
Wirral Sports Awards to return this autumn
After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nominations are now open for this year’s prestigious Wirral Sports Awards.
The Wirral Sports Awards are given annually in recognition of the achievements of Wirral’s dedicated sports people and are open to anybody who lives in Wirral.
The awards will take place this year on 13 October at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight. Members of the public, schools, sports clubs, leagues, associations and other sporting organisations are now able to make nominations in any of the thirteen categories.
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.
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