Welcome to “Sunday Snippets” a weekly feature from birkenhead.news. It is a round-up of our most popular good news stories from the last seven days. Click on each story to read the full article.
Help design a new park for Birkenhead
A brand-new, world-class public park is being created in Birkenhead, and residents are being invited to get involved in its design.
Dock Branch Park will be built on the disused former Dock Branch railway line in Birkenhead. Inspired by The High Line in New York and the Promenade Plantee in Paris, it aims to bring people together and help everyone get closer to heritage and nature. The first phase of the Park will be 800m long, running from Tower Road to Argyle Street.
From 1 September to 29 October, visit https://haveyoursay.wirral.gov.uk/dock-branch-park 
to get involved in shaping the park. This is an opportunity to put forward views on how Dock Branch Park could support local wildlife, leisure, play, cultural facilities, walking and cycling, and create a safe and appealing space for residents and visitors. Although it is currently known as ‘Dock Branch Park’, residents can share ideas for what the final name could be.
New Merseyrail train on show at Birkenhead North railway station
On September 7, the press were invited to Birkenhead North Station to see one of the new fleet of publicly owned trains that will replace all of the old rolling stock currently in service on the Merseyrail network.
The new fleet is a key part of the Mayor’s plans for a London-style transport network that seeks to make it as quick, easy, and reliable for people to travel around the region by taking greater local control of public transport and linking different modes of transport together.
Co-designed in consultation with local people, the modern trains boast a wide range of customer-focused features and functions including:
- Pioneering sliding step technology, providing step free access for all
- On board Wi-Fi
- Improved passenger information screens
- More space for wheelchairs, bicycles and prams
Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Port Sunlight
HAWK Hoylake & West Kirby Theatre Group can trace its origins back to the 1800s, and through the years in various incarnations, it has put on performances for Wirral’s residents.
Rosemary Evans has been with HAWK for over 40 years and is its current President and is also in charge of the theatre’s wardrobe. She told birkenhead.news, “We do two shows a year – a panto and a summer show.” This years summer show is a lavish production of the energetic rock musical, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ to be held at the Gladstone Theatre, Port Sunlight this month.
When birkenhead.news visited, the group was rehearsing at The Parade Community Centre on Hoyle Road. There were, in fact, two rehearsals taking place with the musicians rehearsing downstairs and dance routines taking place upstairs. All this while Rosemary was busy making adjustments to the performers’ costumes and discussing the wardrobe requirements of the different characters.
Wirral hospital becomes first to use innovative prostate cancer diagnosis system
Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) at Arrowe Park is the first Trust in the UK to use an innovative system to aid the diagnosis for patients with potential prostate cancer.
The state-of-the-art ExactVu ultrasound system is more likely to give a decisive result from the patient’s initial biopsy procedure, reducing the time taken to investigate and preventing them having to go through many further invasive procedures to reach a diagnosis.
This is because it provides high resolution, real-time imaging that enables more accurate targeting for biopsy of suspect areas of tissue within the prostate gland.
Artisan Market comes to West Kirby
Merseyside Makers was created in December 2020 by Elliott O’Callaghan, to provide an online marketplace for local makers from across Merseyside to showcase their items and be part of a growing community of local artisans.
Since the launch of the website earlier this year, over 40 makers have joined the growing band of artisans. Following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, Elliot has expanded its offerings and created Merseyside Makers Market, to make the market not just virtual but it will have a presence in the real world.
Featuring a variety of handcrafted goods by talented makers from across Merseyside and surrounding areas, the market is coming to West Kirby.
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Tap or click to follow birkenhead.news on Twitter Birkenhead Women’s Charity launches new project for young women 14 -17
Tomorrow’s Women Wirral (TWW) is expanding its support to young women with a new project, Tomorrow’s Young Women, launching on Monday 13 September 2021 at 5pm.
To celebrate the launch, an event will be held at Tomorrow’s Women in the Old St Laurence’s School Site on Beckwith Street East, Birkenhead and is open for young women to meet the team, register at the project and have their say as to what the project will look like as it continues each Monday evening thereafter.
Inspired by the model of TWW with adult women 18+, Tomorrow’s Young Women is intended to offer a safe space for young women to access support, workshops, and activities to make positive lifestyle choices and offer support with issues in areas such as healthy relationships, alcohol and substance misuse, mental health.
Hilbre Islands: Nature’s halfway house for migratory birds
Hilbre Island was featured in an ITV Granada Reports item recently and the video report by ITV reporter Sarah Rogers, as part of the ‘Tidal Tales’ series, showed both the island and its wildlife in their full glory.
“It’s a little bit like a motorway service station,” said Wirral Ranger, Matt Thomas, “a place to stop off on a long journey to have a bit to eat and to refuel.”
But as the fascinating feature broadcast on Granada last week shows, there is much more to Wirral’s jewel in the crown – Hilbre Islands – than this practical description suggests.
Local organisations help school deliver sensory garden success
Magenta Living and Penny Lane Builders have been helping Meadowside School prepare their premises, ready for their new sensory garden, which will be officially opened in September.
Meadowside School, based in Woodchurch, is a specialist provider of education for pupils with complex learning difficulties, communication and/or sensory needs, autism, ADHD and varying health conditions.
A sensory garden has recently been built in the school grounds, which will benefit the students massively, creating a safe space for them to play and relax during breaks.
Bromborough firm invests £700k in renewable energy project
Global fashion brand Oh Polly has confirmed their investment in a £700K renewable energy project.
A spokesperson for the Bromborough based fashion brand said, “We know the world is changing and so are we. We don’t just want to talk about our goals, we want to achieve them and creating a safe and sustainable workplace is a critical part of our strategy to become leaders in our field and true visionaries in the world of online fashion.
“This month we will be taking a huge step towards achieving our goals by installing a state-of-the-art hybrid heating and renewable energy solution at our Bromborough site.”
Bromborough fashion giant Oh Polly support World Suicide Prevention Day with charity link up
Online fashion retailer Oh Polly have pledged their support for World Suicide Prevention Day by donating 10% of their profits for the day to Wirral based suicide intervention charity, The Martin Gallier Project.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world.
The ethical fashion brand, which was born out of a charitable initiative to support children in some of the poorest regions of the world, has launched a campaign to help raise awareness of the issues surrounding suicide and raise some much-needed funds for the vital services provided by the charity.
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