Category: Lib Dems

Local events of interest over the holidays – Free swimming for children at leisure centres, Birkenhead Park tennis, Tam O’Shanter

Over at the Wirral Tennis & Sports Centre there is currently the 11th Annual Easter Weekend Aikido festival. Birkenhead Park visitor centre is currently showing (until the 29th April) a free photographic exhibition about Wirral’s industrial heritage (provided by the Friends of Birkenhead Park). Free swimming for children over the holidays will be provided at … Continue reading “Local events of interest over the holidays – Free swimming for children at leisure centres, Birkenhead Park tennis, Tam O’Shanter”

Over at the Wirral Tennis & Sports Centre there is currently the 11th Annual Easter Weekend Aikido festival.

Birkenhead Park visitor centre is currently showing (until the 29th April) a free photographic exhibition about Wirral’s industrial heritage (provided by the Friends of Birkenhead Park).

Free swimming for children over the holidays will be provided at the leisure centres. This is thanks to a decision by Tory and Lib Dem councillors last year to continue funding free swimming.

Labour in Liverpool scrapped the free swimming (brought in by Liberal Democrats), choosing to spend the money on a pay increase for its leader and £380,000 on a one day event in Shanghai.

The free swimming runs until the 1st May, at leisure centres such as nearby Europa Pools and Woodchurch Leisure Centre. A timetable can be downloaded from Wirral Council’s website of the opening times.

Birkenhead Park will also be offering free tennis coaching for under 8s, 9-15s and adults tomorrow (10am to 11am for under 8s and 11am to 12 noon for older kids and adults). Further information on activities in Birkenhead Park can be found here.

Popular Tam O’Shanter Farm in Boundary Road will also be open over the holidays for children and adults.

Flytipping – alleyway and shop on corner of Hoylake Road/Challis Street, Bidston

Flytipping – alleyway and shop on corner of Hoylake Road/Challis Street, Bidston

                                 

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Leonora Brace talks about flytipping behind the shops on Hoylake Road, Bidston, Wirral

The video above is of me interviewing my wife Leonora about an issue of concern to local residents that’s been rumbling on for years. Not only is the alleyway behind the shops getting full of rubbish (the gates put there to cut down on it have been vandalised and one is lying at an angle instead of upright) but the area at the bag of the corner shop is becoming a health hazard.

Previously I had written to the owner (a director of Wrexham Signs Ltd) to get it cleared up. However it was sold onto someone in Wallasey who so far I haven’t received a response to. The owner is making money from the sign on the side of the shop and has recently been served with a notice by Wirral Council giving them 21 days to clear it up as it’s a health hazard.

Last Thursday I talked with Bill Norman (the Borough Solicitor) at the Town Hall about the issue regarding a litter control notice being served on the owner and he passed my letter about it onto Rob Beresford who is in charge of this area at the Town Hall. This has been raised previously at an Area Forum and the placement of a litter bin on the corner of Hoylake Road did help with the more casual amounts of throwaway litter.

Residents did talk to us while we were filming and said they saw those dumping it and suggested CCTV either on the site itself or the pub across the road. If the owner doesn’t clear it away within the 21 days, Wirral Council can take action and invoice the owner. It’s just a shame local residents have had their community looking like this for so long!

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Cabinet meeting – 14th April 2011 – Election Special Edition – Part 7 – Budget, Governance Statement, savings & PwC, Local Government Resource Review

Cllr Holbrook said he welcome the announcement regarding the Enterprise Zone and referred to Wirral Waters. The amendment was agreed.

Item 4 – the Annual Governance Statement was agreed.

Item 5 was the Contracts Review. Ian Coleman said that Wirral Council were to engage PricewaterhouseCoopers to look at the fifty largest contracts. The credits would expire in June and it would lead to savings to the authority.

Cllr Green said he shuddered regarding engaging consultants. However in this case it was credits versus cash. Ian Coleman said that if the contract was extended he would have to come back to the Cabinet. Cllr Green said to tidy up, as set out in paragraphs 3.1 to 3.4 he wanted to make sure skills would be transferred. Item 5 was agreed.

The local government resource review was also introduced by Ian Coleman. He explained the outcome of negotiations with the government in this area and the Department of Communities and Local Government. Cllr Green said that Wirral Council needed to nail its position to the mast regarding what was in Wirral’s best interests. He said we need to be absolutely crystal clear where we stand.

Cllr Holbrook said the revised recommendation gets us on the front foot as well as widening the network of groups influenced. Cllr Green agreed.

The recommendation is below:-

“2.1 That Officers and Members, as appropriate, undertake detailed work and proactively make representations to influence Government, with the aim of securing a fair and rebalanced funding formula to tackle Wirral’s underlying problems and provide adequate resources for local services.

2.2 That input be made to collective lobbying through bodies such as SIGOMA, LGA, Liverpool City Region, other Councils and representative bodies, as appropriate, to promote the case for equalisation, seeking to ensure that those local authorities with a low income from business rates and a high level of Government Grant support are not adversely affected by the proposed repatriation of business rates.”

Cabinet meeting – 14th April 2011 – Election Special Edition – Part 5 – Support for Wirral Council’s Coastal Resort Towns

Cllr Green said a series of lessons had been learnt, the key lesson being regarding how and why regarding the opportunity to get involved. Allsop’s letter had asked the Cabinet not to go forward. He was not minded to do so as they needed to move forward. The controversy was around the criteria and issues regarding money going direct to companies to spend. He asked Kevin Adderley about this.

Kevin said there was wide ranging support for the seaside towns. Support for business needed to comply with EU State aid rules. For example if they gave money to one retail business it would be unfair on competition grounds, the same would go for a local manufacturer of kitchens. He said they need to ensure that officers look at any proposals before they are recommended to Cabinet.

Cllr Green asked about helping the unemployed to work in the tourism sector. Regarding the ideas that had not been successful, what support would be given or would these ideas be lost? If the recommendations were accepted, would Wirral Council speak to all applicants including the unsuccessful ones?

Kevin said there was work in the town regarding the Open golf tournament. £1.4 million was being spent to support worklessness. Environmental improvements were being made and there was funding for empty shops. Cllr Lewis referred to a Labour leaflet of Cllr Dodd’s in Liscard that said the support had been cancelled and that there was no money for empty shops.

Kevin said that Cabinet had agreed £14,500 to each Area Forum above the three areas and original allocation. Cllr Lewis said the three pilot areas had been Bromborough, New Ferry and Egremont. The agreed budget meant an equivalent sum went to each of the twenty two wards. This meant some areas had received double.

Votes for prisoners – Why does the Labour Party falsely claim it is a Lib Dem policy when our Lib Dem MPs voting against votes for prisoners?

Labour pose the question in their leaflet, “Are you aware that the Liberal Democrat Party has long been in favour of votes for prisoners?”

On 10th February 2011 the House of Commons voted on a motion to continue denying prisoners the vote.

The following Lib Dem MPs voted against votes for prisoners. If as Labour state it was party policy do you think MPs would be voting against their own party?:-

Stephen Gilbert
Mike Hancock
John Pugh (MP for nearby Southport)
Bob Russell

The motion was won by 234 votes to 22. The full debate and how individual MPs voted is a matter of public record here.