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.
Huge fire breaks out at Parkgate marshes
A huge fire broke out in Parkgate during the early evening of Saturday 19 March and police suspect that it was deliberately started.
Crews maintained fire breaks in two areas. Two main jets and one light portable pump were in use. The fire on the marshland is being left to burn because of unstable ground. During the evening, the incident attendance was reduced to five fire engines.
Station Manager Carl Nevitt is the officer in charge of the incident. He explains, “The marshland is a site of special scientific interest. The fire is covering around one square kilometre of the area and is being driven by wind.”
Wirral Council appoints partner for its 2040 regeneration vision
Wirral Council has appointed Manchester construction consultancy Walker Sime onto the Birkenhead 2040 Framework, a radical 20-year vision for the future of the town.
The company has been appointed to provide Project Management (PM), Quantity Surveying (QS) and Program Manager Office (PMO) services for a transformative three-year programme of regeneration, initially working on two projects.
The £18 million Dock Branch Park & Transport Shed project will transform disused railway cuttings into a world-class urban park returning the space to the people and visitors of Birkenhead, while the £10m remodelling of the Woodside Gyratory will unlock the Woodside Waterfront area of Birkenhead.
REVIEW: The Mysterines – Reeling
Released on Friday, and a new entry at the number nine spot in this week’s official UK charts, the debut album by local band The Mysterines is a dramatic and explosive follow-up to their 2020 EP ‘Love’s Not Enough.’
Two of the band members are from Wirral and two from Liverpool. This cross-river fusion produces an epic sound and moody lyrics that are the backbone of the album. And … this is an album … with so many artists releasing albums that you are encouraged to dip into and play/skip individual tracks, this really works as a whole. Listen to it start to finish; it’s a journey!
The opening track ‘Life’s A Bitch (But I Like It So Much)’ is a perfect way to start the album. It is also the perfect way to open a gig, with its head-shaking, foot-stomping beat and sing-and-shout-a-long lyrics. Energetic doesn’t do it justice.
Wirral Waters ‘reminiscent of early days at Salford Quays’
Tom Bloxham MBE is chairman and founder of award-winning regeneration company Urban Splash, which has received 419 awards to date for architecture, design and business success.
The company is responsible for development projects across the country, including Manchester, Liverpool, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford Sheffield, Bristol, Plymouth, North Shields and Morecambe.
Tom says this stage at the Wirral Waters development nestling between Birkenhead and Wallasey is reminiscent of the early days of development at Salford Quays.
Local runners to raise money for The Martin Gallier Project
A Wirral running group is hoping to turn pre-loved kit into pounds to help a New Ferry based charity dedicated to preventing suicide.
Meols Milers is holding a sale of nearly new and brand new, unwanted items to raise money for the New Ferry-based The Martin Gallier Project.
The charity offers support across the North West of England to those in suicidal crisis along with their families. The Martin Gallier Project also provides support to those bereaved by suicide and works relentlessly to break down the stigma surrounding suicide.
Developer on board to drive forward New Ferry regeneration
Detailed plans for the regeneration of New Ferry are now being drawn up after the announcement of the preferred development partner on the project.
After a competitive tender process, the bid from the Regenda Group was successful and they have now started working alongside Wirral Council to deliver the significant, multi-site regeneration plan for New Ferry over the next few years.
The Regenda Group is made up of nine subsidiary companies, with a shared commitment to regenerating places and creating opportunities for people. With a number of group members involved in the New Ferry project, they will aim to ensure there are far-reaching benefits for the community as a result of the work.
Petition to twin Birkenhead Park with New York’s Central Park
Birkenhead Park is 175 years old next year and was the inspiration for the design of Central Park in New York. birkenhead.news has started a petition to commemorate the links between the two.
Birkenhead Park in the centre of Birkenhead, Wirral, was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world.
The design of Central Park in New York was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted who was inspired by his 1850 visit to Birkenhead Park, meaning that links between the two urban parks have been there since the beginning.
Wirral Council shortlisted for regeneration projects in major national awards
Wirral Council has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award recognising its massive programme for regenerating Birkenhead.
“The Future is Birkenhead” outlines the vast programme for regeneration across Wirral’s Left Bank area and is now among those vying for the LGC Awards 2022 after being shortlisted in the Economic Support category.
According to the LGC, 2022 saw a record number of entries across all categories and to be shortlisted at this point “is an outstanding achievement.”
Open auditions to find leading role in national tour of ‘Twopence To Cross The Mersey’
Open auditions are to be held to find a talented young actor for a brand-new stage adaptation of Helen Forrester’s Twopence To Cross The Mersey.
The show, featuring a cast of nine, will visit 15 theatres across the UK when it takes to the road between September and November later this year.
Twopence To Cross The Mersey UK premiere tour will open on Tuesday 6 September 2022 at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton, and then go on to tour a further 14 venues nationwide through to mid-November.
Merseyside firefighters among those joining national convoy of equipment & PPE to Ukraine
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) is joining a national convoy to deliver thousands of items of kit and equipment to be sent to Ukraine, to support firefighters on the frontline.
UK charity, FIRE AID and International Development (FIRE AID), and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) have coordinated donations of more than 5,000 items of fire and rescue equipment and PPE (personal protective equipment) which will be sent in convoy to Ukraine.
22 fire appliances, thermal imaging cameras for finding victims, generators, lighting, hoses, rescue equipment, and thousands of sets of PPE are among the items being donated. Every fire and rescue service across the UK has stepped in to support these efforts.
Big Heritage seeks big ideas for new U-Boat attraction at Woodside Ferry
A multimillion-pound scheme centred around historic WW2 German submarine U-534 is underway in Woodside, Birkenhead, and this is your chance to get involved and have a say in its future.
The submarine – one of only four surviving U-boats out of over 1100 built – was sunk by RAF bombers in 1945 and raised from the seabed in 1993.
It was later moved in sections to its current Birkenhead site, forming the centrepiece of the ‘U-Boat Story’ museum until closure in 2020. As the submarine’s new custodians, Big Heritage want to build a new museum befitting the boat’s historic importance. They have appointed Liverpool architects MGMA to bring these ambitions to life.
Williamson Art Gallery & Museum presents award-winning work by celebrated ceramicist Stephen Dixon
Stephen Dixon’s Maiolica and Migration draws attention to the ongoing catastrophe of forced migration, epitomised by regular shipwrecks and sinking of refugee vessels in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea.
The central narrative draws upon the connection between the historical migration of white tin-glazed pottery – originally from North Africa to Spain and Italy (Maiolica) then to France (Faience), Holland (Delftware) and eventually into the UK (English Delftware) – to the parallel migration patterns of contemporary refugees and asylum seekers from North Africa to Northern Europe, using tin-glazed ceramic as both the medium and the message.
Stephen Dixon was the 2021 winner of AWARD at the British Ceramics Biennial for his work, ‘Transient: The Ship of Dreams and Nightmares’, which will be included in this exhibition.
What’s On? Guide
Visit our “What’s On?” guide for Wirral and the surrounding areas in the coming weeks.
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