15,033 people sign petition opposed to proposals for banning dogs on Wirral’s beaches and parks
15,033 people sign petition opposed to proposals for banning dogs on Wirral’s beaches and parks
Cllr Chris Blakeley presenting a Say No To The PSPO petition to Wirral Council on the 9th July 2018
Yesterday evening, Cllr Chris Blakeley presented a petition on behalf of Wirral Good Dogs and Peaceful Protest Wirral Dogs Ban of 15,033 people opposed to Wirral Council’s proposals to ban dogs from parts of Wirral’s beaches and parks.
Conservative and Lib Dem councillors granted special meeting to debate car parking charges
Conservative and Lib Dem councillors granted special meeting to debate car parking charges
Cllr Phil Davies is being asked to U-turn on car park charges proposals
Despite the partial U-turn on car parking charges by Wirral’s Cabinet previously reported on this blog, after campaigns by Conservative and Lib Dem councillors on Wirral Council, the Mayor has granted a request for a special meeting to debate the increase in proposed charges at existing car parks and the introduction of car parking charges at various country parks.
The extraordinary meeting of Wirral Council will be held on the 6th March 2017 starting at 5.30 pm in the Council Chamber at Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Seacombe, CH44 8ED.
Wirral Council’s Cabinet agrees to consultation on £2.498 million of cuts
There were hundreds of people at last Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.
In fact there were so many people present that the venue for the Cabinet Meeting that evening was moved from Committee Room 3 (maximum 46 people) at Wallasey Town Hall to the Civic Hall (maximum 370 people). However those maximum numbers are reduced further by about twenty if you bear in mind the ten councillors on the Cabinet plus senior management that support the Cabinet at its meetings.
Before the meeting started at 6.15pm there was a large protest outside Wallasey Town Hall.
As it was dark, at that time of the evening my photos of the protest haven’t come out very well. You should however be able to see the flags and some of the protest slogans in the pictures below (although I apologise that some are unreadable). The trade unions were protesting about the potential loss of jobs, there were those who use the Council’s services that are under threat there too.
Protest outside Wallasey Town Hall 17th December 2015 before Cabinet meeting photo 1 of 6 thumbnail
Wirral’s Cabinet expected to start consultation on 4% Council Tax rise and £2.4 million of cuts
Cllr Phil Davies at a recent Cabinet meeting
Wirral Council’s Cabinet will meet next Thursday evening to discuss further cuts to Wirral Council’s budget for the 2016/17 year. Councillors are expected to agree to a public consultation on £2.5 million of budget options as well as a 4% council tax increase. Cabinet is also expected to agree to a staff consultation on budget options such as reducing the pay rise from 2% to 1%.
The consultation will run from the 18th December 2015 and finishes on the 29th January 2016. At the end of the consultation Cabinet will propose a budget to be voted on at a meeting of all Wirral’s councillors.
Community Safety (£367,000) – litter enforcement was recently outsourced to Kingdom Security and this proposal would see the same happen to dog fouling enforcement, Wirral Council hope to increase income to the community safety service from landlords and schools.
Discretionary Housing Payments & Advice (£406,000) – this proposal would see Wirral Council only covering rent shortfalls to people in hardship to the amount they receive from the government, it would also see the end of Wirral Council providing welfare benefits advice.
Girtrell Court service re-provision (£155,000) – Girtrell Court provides short breaks for carers of adults with physical and learning disabilities, this proposal would see that service provided by the private sector instead of directly by Wirral Council.
Highways Maintenance and Road Safety (£320,000) – This proposal means Wirral Council would only use the money it receives for highways maintenance, only 100 out of 300 grit bins would be filled and school crossing patrols would be reviewed.
Leisure Centres and Golf Courses (£641,000) – Discounts and free access would be removed, such as free access for long serving Council staff, foster carers and families, free swimming for those under 18 in the school holidays and free swimming for the over 65s between 9am and noon.
Libraries Re-provision (£203,000) – Transferring up to 12 of Wirral’s libraries into "community ownership" (run by volunteers rather than paid staff).
Parks Community Partnership Working (£108,000) – Increasing the role of community organisations and volunteers in parks maintenance and looking to increase parks income.
Charging for the Pest Control Service (£30,000) – Charging landlords, business and residents who can afford to pay for dealing with rats.
Charging for the Garden Waste Service (£196,000) – Increasing the brown bin charge from £35 a year to £40 a year (but with a £5 discount if paid online).
So to summarise the proposed cuts (along with a 4% council tax increase) are to dog fouling, community safety, covering rent shortfalls for those in financial hardship, axing the welfare right service, the short breaks for carers service, highways maintenance, grit bins, school crossing patrols, free swimming for children, free swimming for pensioners, free leisure access for some Council staff, transferring many of Wirral’s libraries to be run by volunteers, having more volunteers involved in parks maintenance, charging for dealing with rats and increasing the brown bin charge by £5.
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Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors “I’ve got news for you I’m going to stand again [as Mayor]”
Mayor Joe Anderson responds to green space protestors “I’ve got news for you I’m going to stand again [as Mayor]”
Protest outside Liverpool Town Hall 8th April 2015
About three dozen people protested outside Liverpool Town Hall yesterday ahead of a meeting of Liverpool City Council councillors. The protest was about opposing any plans to build on green space land and against Liverpool City Council selling off any green space land to developers.
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One of the protestors from a group called Save Our Green Spaces Liverpool addressed the meeting and said, “Firstly, we want to ask the Council and the Mayor once again to respect the views of local people and our communities and not just listen to their preferred developers whose objectives seem to be for short-term economic gain at Liverpool’s long-term expense.”
She asked for new housing to be built on brownfield sites and not green space sites and said “As a Labour run Council, it is your duty to look to the benefit of your constituents and listen to their views and to keep the lungs of our city in our parks and open spaces.
We would also hope finally that in the Mayor’s final year he would want his legacy to be the introduction of building thousands of homes by the Council, affordable homes for its people on brownfield sites, rather than being remembered for building homes for the elite on places like Sefton Park Meadows.”
Mayor Joe Anderson responds on the issue of green spaces in Liverpool 8th April 2015
Mayor Joe Anderson (pictured above) said that the protestors were “coming together in an alliance with the Greens and the Liberal Democrats to cause political mischief”. He claimed that “over the last four years, 167 sites totalling more than 100 acres have been created or improved within this city. We’ve now got more green space in this city than we’ve ever had in the history of this city, more green space now than we’ve ever had.”
He finished by saying, “We’re not in the hands of anybody, we’re in the hands of the people of this city and it’s they who will decide. Let’s see and let me tell you one thing Janet you said in my last year as Mayor, well I’ve got news for you I’m going to stand again!”
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