Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a weekly round-up of our most popular good news stories from the last seven days. Click on each story to read the full article.
Wirral Leisure facilities to start to open from the end of the month
Residents across the borough will be able to book their return to outdoor sports as Wirral Leisure are set to reopen facilities from 29 March.
Golf, tennis and football are among the first activities to come back, as the council’s leisure service return through phases in line with the government’s roadmap for easing COVID-19 restrictions.
Jim Royle helps Wirral radio station scoop top award
Radio Clatterbridge has won an award at the Hospital Broadcasting Awards.
The station – which broadcasts on 1386AM and online to patients, staff and visitors at Clatterbridge Health Park in Bebington – has won silver prize in the ‘Best Station Promotion’ at the national HBA (Hospital Broadcasting Association) Awards, which celebrates the best of hospital radio.
Birkenhead 2040 Framework – Have Your Say
Residents and businesses of Wirral are being asked for their views and suggestions for the proposed transformation of an entire town.
An eight week consultation started on Wednesday 24 March.
Major industry group takes office space at Wirral Waters
The UK’s sole trade association for transport operations will be embarking on a new journey in 2021 by taking office space at the Tower Quays complex at Wirral Waters.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) will be moving to Units 14-17 at Tower Quays, following an agreement with the owner and developer of Wirral Waters, Peel L&P.
Birkenhead Park station to have passenger lift installed
New lifts will be installed at five Liverpool City Region rail stations giving passengers step-free access to platforms as the Combined Authority (CA) confirms £9.8m from its Transforming Cities Fund will be invested into the schemes.
With millions of pounds also secured by the CA from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Access for all Scheme, the upgrades will improve access for disabled passengers and those with prams and bikes as part of a wider vision to make the City Region rail network the most accessible in the country.
Blind Pig becomes first bar operator in NW to pay real Living Wage
Wirral speakeasy Blind Pig has become the first bar in the North West to pay its staff the real Living Wage.
The commitment means every staff member over 18 working for Scofflaw & Harding, who operate the two Blind Pig bars on Telegraph Road in Heswall and Banks Road in West Kirby, will receive a minimum £9.50 hourly wage.
Latest government update and how it affects the re-opening of Port Sunlight Village Trust museum and facilities
As part of the new four-step roadmap to lifting lockdown, the UK Government has confirmed that museums across the UK can reopen no earlier than 17th May. This official guidance forms ‘step three’ of the reopening plan for England.
Although Port Sunlight Village Trust (PSVT) had hoped to welcome visitors back to their museum sooner, they understand the UK Government’s caution and remain optimistic that come the summer months their doors will be open. In preparation, they are working hard to ensure that their visitor experience is top-notch and that all facilities are COVID-19 secure. Booking will be essential and numbers restricted. Check out our brand-new ticketing hub on the website https://tickets.portsunlightvillage.com.
Wirral charity encourages people to ‘Get Active for Autism’ through awareness month this April
A Merseyside charity specialising in autism support, is asking the public to get out and get active to help raise funds and awareness for people with autism this spring.
Autism Together Awareness Month is a 30-day celebration of autism taking place throughout April, continuing the positivity and interest created each year by the events of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd.
Birkenhead care home residents reunited with loved ones
As national lockdown restrictions begin to ease across the UK, residents at The Manor House Bupa Care Home have happily begun receiving indoor visits from loved ones.
The news has been well received at the Birkenhead-based care home, with visitors able to see residents in their rooms. The picture that accompanies this article shows Mark Trueman visiting his cousin Michael Walker.
Rebecca Pearson, Operations Director for the care home, explains, “We understand how important time with loved ones is for our residents’ happiness and wellbeing, so we’re delighted to restart these visits.
Vote for your favourite Mavis Blackburn painting from the Williamson Art Gallery’s collection
The Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead is expanding their Visitor Favourites collection, and they need your input!
Over the last few months on their Facebook page, they’ve shared several paintings by the artist Mavis Blackburn (1923-2005). Mavis Blackburn was born and lived all her life in West Kirby. She trained under Will C. Penn at Liverpool School of Art and he proved a great influence and a mentor for her. She became a teacher herself, for many years at Upton Hall. She became an important member of the Wirral Society of Arts, Deeside Art Group and the Royal Cambrian Academy.
Mavis Blackburn worked in so many different genres, and for this poll the Williamson has chosen to focus on her “place” paintings. She brings landscapes, towns and everyday locations to life – but which is your favourite? View this gallery of five paintings and vote for your favourite!
Thousands of trees planted throughout Wirral since the start of the pandemic
More than 13,000 trees have been planted in Wirral since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, with up to 7,000 more planned by April. This number means that the council is on track with its target of doubling Wirral’s tree canopy by 2030.
The planting taking place across the borough fits in to the comprehensive Wirral Tree, Woodland and Hedgerow Strategy, which sets out ambitious plans for increasing woodland cover, as well as robust processes for managing and inspecting trees. Each new tree that is planted is entered into an inventory system and allocated a unique asset reference number, it is then assigned an inspection frequency.
Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Climate Emergency and Transport Committee, said: “Despite all the challenges of the past 12 months, it’s great that we are still on track to meet our tree planting target and I’d like to pay tribute to everyone who has helped to make that happen.
The new Turing £50 note unveiled
On Thursday, Governor Andrew Bailey unveiled the design of the new £50 banknote featuring the scientist Alan Turing. He was joined by Stephen Fry and Dr Simon Singh, who will reflect on the note, and the choice to feature Alan Turing on it. Following its public unveiling today, the polymer £50 will be issued for the first time on 23 June 2021, which coincides with Alan Turing’s birthday.
The polymer £50 note contains advanced security features, completing our most secure set of Bank of England polymer banknotes yet. The note, like the £20, incorporates two windows and a two-colour foil, making it very difficult to counterfeit. There is also a hologram image which changes between the words ‘Fifty’ and ‘Pounds’ when tilting the note from side to side.
One of the benefits shared by all our polymer banknotes is that they last longer than paper notes and they stay in better condition during their use. This note, like the polymer £10 and £20 will contain a tactile feature to help vision impaired people identify the denomination.
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