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.
Mersey ferry terminal revamp reveals weight of history
When the bridges at Seacombe Ferry Terminal were first installed, Queen Victoria was on the throne and Liverpool FC were two years from being formed.
The giant linkspan bridges are now being replaced after withstanding everything the Mersey’s thrown at them for more than 130 years.
Residents invited to have their say on being active in Wirral
Residents are being invited to have their say on what it means to be active in Wirral, to help shape the council’s leisure services in the future.
For the next six weeks, local people are being asked to tell Wirral Leisure what services and activities they would like to see available across the borough. Questions will also ask about what stops people from being active, including access issues and what support could be offered to help them get involved.
While one of the aims of the survey is to help shape leisure services, it is also about finding out how residents like to be active – be it by walking the dog, gardening or taking in part in sports.
CQC success for Birkenhead disability respite service
Staff at a Birkenhead respite service for adults with learning or physical disabilities are celebrating following a positive inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Sanctuary Supported Living’s Tollemache Road provides short-stay respite care, support and accommodation for up to 10 adults with disabilities and complex needs, and is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC. The service was commended in a recent CQC report for successfully adapting its infection and control procedures, to help keep both residents and staff safe throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The CQC report noted that the service protected residents with safe visiting and admittance procedures, including temperature checks and negative Covid tests. The report also confirmed that staff were using PPE appropriately and undergoing regular testing, as well as supporting residents to comply with shielding and social distancing rules.
Trio of ministers to attend maritime summit in Birkenhead
Three Government ministers are to speak at a top-level summit in the Liverpool City Region that will discuss and debate the future of the UK’s £46bn maritime sector.
Industry body Mersey Maritime’s third annual Maritime Exchange conference will be a hybrid event, taking place on Friday, June 25, both online and in the magnificent surroundings of a Grade-II-listed former Victorian hydraulic tower in Wirral’s docklands.
Mersey community groups secure £165,000 funding to help reduce waste
Seventeen community groups have been awarded a share of £165,000 to help the Liverpool City Region reduce, re-use and recycle more.
The money has come from the Merseyside Recycling & Waste Authority and Veolia Community Fund 21/22 which helps to support local waste prevention, re-use and recycling initiatives.
The seventeen organisations had to bid for the funding which will give them the financial resources to deliver waste-reducing behavioural change projects across the region.
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Tap or click to follow birkenhead.news on Twitter Warrington laboratory launches campaign to support Wirral charity NYAS
AlphaBiolabs has announced the launch of its Giving Back charity campaign 
. The new campaign will see the DNA, drug and alcohol testing laboratory donate £5 to charity for every legal instruction received.
Rachel Davenport, Director at AlphaBiolabs said: “As a leading provider of DNA, drug and alcohol testing, we work closely with local authorities and organisations involved in child welfare and family law. We are highly aware of the daily challenges faced by the vulnerable children, families and communities our sample collectors visit every day.”
Wirral Wombles’ ‘Great British Spring Clean’ a huge success
The Great British Spring Clean took place between 28 May and 13 June. Organised by Keep Britain Tidy, the event encouraged “individuals, schools, councils, local groups and businesses … to help keep local communities clean, green and litter-free.”
One of Wirral’s local litter-picking groups, Wirral Wombles took part, with organised group litter picks taking place in Ford Hill, Noctorum/Beechwood, around the Leasowe lighthouse area, Gilroy Road Nature Park in West Kirby and Boundary Road heading towards Upton Village Road. One group also took park by clearing litter between Seacombe Ferry and Woodside at Birkenhead.
Also, many people went out litter-picking in smaller groups or as individuals all over the borough. Andrea Cutts who, along with her sister, Lindsey Whitley, started the Wirral Wombles group said, “A quick tot up of the stats reported by Wirral Wombles for the Great British Spring Clean last week is 186 bin bags of litter collected, weighing 557 kgs. From 17 January 2021 when we set up, to the end of May, the totals were 4782 bags, 17,380 kgs!”
‘No Mow May’ poll shows nearly 80% of Wirral residents in favour
As part of a nationwide initiative, Wirral Council took part in Plantlife’s “No Mow May” campaign . The idea behind it is to allow verges and parkland to flourish and maintain a natural habitat for bees and other wildlife at an important time of year.
The council set aside various grassed areas across the borough that would be excluded from the usual mowing schedule for the month of May, with mowing resuming throughout June.
Full list of pollinator sites
- Lever Causeway – Bebington
- Church Road – Bebington
- Mill Park Drive – Eastham
- Sretham Close – Eastham
- Lowfield Avenue – Eastham
- Leasowe Road – Wallasey
- Mereworth – Caldy
- Oldfield Lane – Meols
- Farhall Road – Heswall
- Thingwall Road – Irby
- Arrowe Park Road
- Walby Close – Woodchurch
- Victoria Park – The sowing of yellow rattle (which parasitizes grasses so making it easier for flowering plants to flourish/ out compete grass)
- Plymyard Avenue/Eastham Rake – pilot area for seeding and plug planting
- Upton Bypass
Wirral’s largest sixth form needs to expand to accommodate demand for places
Plans to expand Birkenhead Sixth Form College due to a year-on-year increase in demand for places have been revealed.
The College has seen its physical capacity tested as student numbers have increased exponentially over the last five years. Uniquely shortlisted by TES (formerly the Times Education Supplement) for national awards for the last four years, and winning the UK Sixth Form College of the Year in 2018 with a further nomination for the accolade this year, Birkenhead Sixth Form College is nationally recognised as a centre of excellence and a leader in educational innovation.
Caldy Cricket Club legend wins award for commitment to inclusivity
The chairman of a Wirral cricket club has been recognised for his efforts creating a more inclusive sporting culture after being named as one of the winners of a national grassroots cricket award.
Caldy Cricket Club chairman David Brown has been named the latest winner of the Voneus Village Cup Club Legend award.
Woodside Ferry Village announce exciting new ‘Pet Fest’ event
The team behind Woodside Ferry Village are once again joining forces with Independent Wirral partners to bring a weekend of animal magic to Wirral.
The Woodside ‘Pet Fest’ will showcase a range of pet-related products from treats and toys to clothing, food and grooming ideas. Organisers say there will be a host of animal themed activities on offer too, including a dog agility display and pet inspired face-painting. There will even be an opportunity to meet Tranmere Rover’s very own ‘Rover The Dog’ and try your hand at scoring a goal against the much loved mascot!
The event, which will run from Saturday 26-Sunday 27 June (11am -6pm) is 100% pet friendly and there will even be a competition for the ‘prettiest pet’ running throughout the weekend.
Handcyclist Ellis reveals best and worst of Wirral’s cycle routes
Ellis Palmer is a keen handcyclist from Bidston. He has Cerebral palsy (CP) and uses his handcycle to travel the highways and byways of Wirral. birkenhead.news spoke to him about the joys and perils of being a handcyclist on local cycle routes.
Ellis cycles every day and typically cycles 100 miles each week. He met his cycling friend Ed Lamb of Rethink Now CIC through Wirral Council’s ‘Active Travel’ forum and Ed decided to show Ellis his favourite cycle route near Landican Lane, a part of the National Cycle Network’s route 56.
Mayor thanks staff as mobile testing gets mobile boost
Wirral’s Mayor, Councillor George Davies, visited the Floral Pavilion testing centre this afternoon (Friday 18 June) to thank staff for their efforts in keeping people safe throughout the pandemic.
The Floral Pavilion testing centre has now closed its doors to the public as part of a move which will see more mobile testing vehicles out and about across Wirral over the next few weeks.
The site has been home to New Brighton’s symptom-free testing centre since early December, however, in recent months the Council has been using mobile testing vehicles to target high footfall areas and COVID-19 hotspots, as well as enabling people to get tested twice a week by collecting testing kits from the mobile vehicles and many council buildings. This approach allows them to take the test in the comfort of their own home at a time convenient for them and their loved ones.
Man completes five half-marathons in five days for charity
Tranmere Rovers super fan, Richy Aldred, has completed five half-marathons in five days to raise money for Tranmere Rovers in the Community and Mind Charity.
On Wednesday 9 June Richy began his journey in Newcastle and made his way to Whitley Bay, Northumberland before heading back to Newcastle on the fifth and final day.
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