Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a weekly round-up of our most popular stories from the last seven days. Click on each story to read the full article.
Wirral’s children’s centres online support for families and under-fives
Children’s centres in Wirral are now offering online group classes to continue their support for local families.
As children’s centre classes have been temporarily cancelled due to COVID-19, the council’s early years team is building on its popular online timetable which is hosted on the council’s My Child Can facebook page.
Parents, carers and their little ones can now join classes by video call . A list of what’s on offer is below. Parents who are in need of advice or support or just a chance to chat about their child’s development are encouraged to contact their local children’s centre directly.
Have your say on how grassroots football can be improved in Wirral
Football enthusiasts are being asked to tell Wirral Council what activities they need more of in their area as the authority bids for funding to make it happen.
Research has shown that while football is Wirral’s favourite sport, the activities and opportunities to get involved could be more specific to each community and their needs.
The council is planning to apply to the ‘Active Through Football’ National Lottery programme for funding of up to £750,000. If successful, the money would be used to deliver the footballing activities that local people want to see – but first, the authority needs residents, organisations and communities to help shape the vision for the future of football in Wirral.
Urban Splash showcases its Wirral Waters properties
Plans for Wirral Waters are bold. Nothing is being done in half measures. It takes the best ideas from the best European waterfront cities and creates a sustainable city extension that perfectly complements Liverpool.
The masterplan includes a huge variety of new homes, education hubs and facilities for dynamic businesses. Plus there is a range of arts venues, shops and cafés.
As it embarks upon the development of East Float at Wirral Waters, the modern housebuilder, House by Urban Splash, has introduced a new typology to its portfolio of modular housing – and it’s coming first to the Wirral Waters site, nestling between Birkenhead and Wallasey.
Wallasey’s Grove Road Post Office re-opens
Wallasey’s Grove Road Post Office yesterday re-opened under new management to restore vital services to the community.
The branch at 260 Wallasey Village, closed temporarily in March 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The branch has re-opened with a new Postmaster.
Sarah Cottrell, Post Office Network Provision Manager, said: “We are delighted to have restored Post Office service to the Wallasey area as we know how important Post Office services are to a community.”
World Book Day: Tranmere Rovers story competition
In celebration of World Book Day on Thursday 4 March, Tranmere Rovers in the Community are running a story competition.
The winner’s story will feature in the Matchday programme as part of their Premier League Primary Starts Programme.
Premier League Primary Stars uses the appeal of professional football clubs to inspire children to learn, be active and develop important life skills and Tranmere Rovers in the Community partner with several schools across Wirral to deliver the programme.
Birkenhead paramedic talks about his 46-year service with NWAS
Sector Manager and Paramedic Paul Townley is based in Birkenhead and today, celebrates his 46th year in service and is one of the longest-serving Team North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) members.
Paul could have found himself taking a different career path had it not been for a split decision he made when he was younger.
Back in January 1975, Paul had two interviews in one week; one for the ambulance service and one to be a telegram delivery boy. He was offered employments for both jobs on the same day and it just so happened to be cold and rainy that day. The thought of riding around on a motorbike in the bad weather didn’t appeal to Paul, so he chose the ambulance service!
Wirral Awards honour residents for outstanding community service
Wirral Council has honoured 10 local volunteers and a Bebington-based community group with a prestigious Wirral Award for 2021.
The Wirral Award is given for an outstanding achievement over the previous 12 months, or for distinguished service to the community over a period of 20 years or more.
YMCA Birkenhead receives cash boost during COVID-19 crisis
YMCA Wirral, a local charity that offers supported accommodation for homeless people across the region, was delighted to receive a donation of £4,335 from the Morrisons Foundation.
The funding awarded by the charitable arm of the supermarket will furnish and equip five bed spaces at their accommodation facility in Birkenhead.
The grant has allowed the charity to buy bedroom furniture, lockable storage and soft furnishings as well as making necessary renovations to one of the rooms to make it fully accessible.
Passengers’ suggestions incorporated into designs of new Merseyrail trains
Transport Focus asked local people in the Liverpool City Region what features they would like to see on the new Merseyrail trains as part of a research exercise, commissioned by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, that placed passengers at the heart of the decision-making process.
Rail users were invited to take part in the research to inform the design process for the new, state-of-the-art trains, in a move that’s been hailed as trailblazing for the UK rail industry.
The full report on passenger consultation, published today and available online, shows that the innovative approach ensured the new trains would be designed and built with the needs of local people in mind.
A diverse group of 40 passengers from across the City Region, supported by Merseytravel, operator Merseyrail and train manufacturer Stadler, took part in a series of focus groups to consider a wide variety of design options and features for the new trains.
£23m Maritime Knowledge Hub for Wirral Waters
Today, the Hydraulic Tower stands empty and derelict. Quite literally a shell of its former self. Once a provider of power for the movement of lock gates and bridges throughout Birkenhead Docks, this historic tower is now set for a new lease of life – as a centre of international maritime research, development and trade.
The Great Float is a body of water formed by the natural tidal inlet, the Wallasey Pool. It was this expanse of 110 acres of water which was identified during the nineteenth century as the ideal place to construct a huge network of docks to support the rapidly industrialising local economy.
The result was the Great Float; two large docks, East and West Float, which run approximately 2 miles inland, dividing the towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey. Designed by James Meadows Rendel, a protégé of Thomas Telford, the docks were built between 1844 and 1860.
Video shows dramatic car fire on M53
On Saturday morning, Charlotte Prior captured this dramatic footage of a car fire on the M53.
As the video shows, the car was fully ablaze, with a large plume of thick smoke billowing out of it.
The car’s driver was Anthony Jones, from Moreton. He was travelling to a pre-booked MOT appointment in New Ferry and he said, “It was my lovely car and it got me around! Luckily, I got out just in time!”
Anthony told birkenhead.news, “I was about to come off at Clatterbridge junction. People were beeping so I pulled over and luckily I got out and when I saw the flames from the back I retreated away then it blew up! Police and fire attended and put out the flames.”