Sunday Snippets, 14 May 2023

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.

Pensioner ‘can’t wait’ to leave Port Sunlight village

A pensioner who has lived in historic Port Sunlight village for 52 years says he can’t wait to leave, claiming his roof has not been fixed.

Port Sunlight was a model village built in Wirral in 1888 by William Lever for workers in his soap factory. It boasts 900 listed buildings, including the Port Sunlight Museum and Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Known for its beautiful houses, residents in the village however say things are different on the inside with mould issues, delays fixing repairs and some tenants seeing rent increases of 26%.

Read more …

MP raises concerns in parliament over planning appeals impact on Wirral communities

Margaret Greenwood MP has spoken in parliament about a series of planning appeals – the outcomes of which she says will particularly impact on people in Barnston, Irby and Pensby, and have implications too for those in Greasby. 

The Wirral West MP was speaking during Business Questions where MPs are able to highlight key issues and put forward topics on which they think the government should provide time for a debate. 

Wirral Council has previously refused a series of planning applications by Leverhulme Estates relating to the building of hundreds of homes on the borough’s green belt. Leverhulme Estates subsequently submitted appeals against all of those refusals and a public inquiry will now be held to hear all of the cases together. 

Read more …

Exhibition to showcase iconic Merseyside photographs by Tom Wood

“Photie Man” honours the internationally-acclaimed Irish artist Tom Wood, featuring his iconic photographs of Merseyside.

This will be the first major retrospective of Tom’s career in Liverpool.

A resident of New Brighton for a 25 years, Tom Wood gained fame amongst locals as the “photie man” due to his daily presence on the streets with his camera. The majority of photographs taken in New Brighton were captured within a brief 5-minute stroll from Wood’s home.

Read more …

Join birkenhead.news on Facebook

Keep up to date with all the latest Wirral news by liking our Facebook page.

Like us on Facebook …

Why many are in favour of Wirral’s new active travel schemes

As new 20mph zones are rolled out across Wirral and a new cycle lane is installed in West Kirby, major changes are happening on Wirral’s roads.

With councillors elected for four years, decisions made in town hall meetings could see some significant changes before the next Wirral Council elections.

This ranges from new walking and cycle routes in central Birkenhead as part of the town’s regeneration to a proposed cycle lane from Birkenhead to Wallasey. As well as cycle lanes, an ongoing project to reshape Bebington is underway along with calls to expand a scheme to make active travel to school easier.

Read more …

Mayor officially opens ‘absolutely tremendous’ West Kirby sea wall project

An huge sea wall in Wirral, costing nearly £16m, has now been officially opened after 15 years of development.

The final sections of the huge 1.1km project in West Kirby were finally installed on April 27 with an official opening on May 11. Some works will continue until the end of June to resurface the road and install new flood gates.

The wall was built in order to protect lives and 70 properties along the seafront according to the Environment Agency and Wirral Council. With projected sea level rise, more than 500 properties could have been at risk without the wall by 2100.

Read more …

Family continued to receive council tax letters over a year after their Mum passed away

A family have asked Wirral Council to stop sending them council tax bills more than a year after their Mum passed away.

Richard Sefton-Durrant said his mum, Jane Durrant, kept being sent letters before she died saying she was behind on her council tax bill despite moving out of her Wirral house after being diagnosed with cancer.

Jane, a mum of two and nan to five grandkids, used to live on Leasowe Road in Moreton and died at the age of 63 in February 2022, almost a year after she was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2021.

Read more …

Future Yard looks ahead to summer of music

Looking ahead at Future Yard and following on from the Coral-tinted highs of last Monday, the Birkenhead live music venue has recently announced a lineup of gigs that will fill up your calendar with some amazing acts.

Read more …

Councillors welcome new Wirral Labour leader

Conservatives in Wirral have welcomed the news that Cllr Paul Stuart now leads the Labour group in the council.

Cllr Stuart was elected as Labour leader, deposing current Wirral Council leader Janette Williamson on a dramatic night. He had previously served as Cllr Williamson’s deputy.

A vote on who will become the next overall council leader will take place later this month where Cllr Stuart will have to get support from other political parties to become council leader as Wirral remains in no overall control.

Read more …

Planning approved for luxury apartment development in West Kirby

Major plans for a new Lidl supermarket as well as new houses and apartments to regenerate a Wirral town centre have been approved.

The new Lidl, which is currently expected to open in 2024, is part of a new regeneration scheme off Pasture Road in Moreton.

The development will be delivered by the supermarket chain along with the Wirral Growth Company, Wirral Council’s joint venture with Muse, who is leading the project.

Read more …

16-year-old Wirral girl selected for 5000m by Team GB

In Munich this summer no fewer than 11 athletes will put on their personalised GB kit for the first time to take on the best Modern Pentathlon athletes from across Europe. Countries that they will come up against include traditional powerhouses such as Germany and Ukraine.

Not to be outdone, Evie Smith, aged 16, who is profoundly deaf, and has been coached by Ronan and Sarah Kearney since she was 10 years old, has also been selected to compete in athletics for Great Britain in the 5000m meters in Poland this Summer.

Ronan said, ”No athlete deserves their first GB vest more than Evie, the dedication she has shown over the years to her training, and in overcoming her challenges have been an inspiration to other athletes in the squad”

Read more …

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.

Read more …

What’s On? Guide

Visit our “What’s On?” guide for Wirral and the surrounding areas in the coming weeks.

See the What’s On? Guide …

Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news

Share this

Sign up for our FREE newsletter using this form:

Facebook comments

Latest news