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SAFE PLACE FOR CHILDREN … AND A NEW HOME FOR MARKET
CONTRACTS have now been exchanged in a deal which will bring
new hope for vulnerable children in Merseyside and herald an
exciting move for the indoor section of Great Homer Street Market
known as St. Martin’s. The deal will see the indoor market
move across the road to a new temporary home in the former Netto
unit in St Anthony’s Centre. The last day of market trading in the
St Martin’s building will be March 18 with the new market building
open for business on the following Saturday, March 25.
The St Martin’s market building will be demolished and a new NSPCC
£2.4 million centre built as part of the £17 million Safe Place
Appeal spearheaded by John Hargreaves, the head of Matalan. The new
centre will provide a range of pioneering services including vital
support for children affected by domestic violence and pregnant
mothers affected by substance misuse.
Andrew Burnett, Chief Executive of Geraud Markets Liverpool Ltd, the
company that manages the city council markets services, said:-
“We are delighted to have played our part in this exciting new
development. Great Homer Street Market has a special place in the
hearts of Liverpool people. It has so much history and so many
memories. But the good news is that there will be a new and
reinvigorated indoor market to complement the Great Homer Street
market. Also, it is wonderful that an amazing new building
will take its place which will enable the NSPCC to provide more help
to vulnerable children.”
Jane Seymour, property manager for the NSPCC, said:- “We are
incredibly grateful to Geraud Markets Liverpool Ltd and to Liverpool
City Council for helping to make this happen.”
Liverpool City Council agreed the lease on the site last year and
planning permission was granted for the new NSPCC centre subject to
the relocation of the traders to a suitable new site.
Executive Member for Regeneration Councillor Peter Millea said:-
“This is great news for Liverpool. The NSPCC Safe Place
development will bring invaluable family services to the north area
of the city as well as making a key contribution to the council’s
wider improvement proposals for the area under its Project Jennifer
district regeneration scheme.”
Demolition will start following the last day of trading on March 18
and building work is likely to start on the new NSPCC centre in mid
May. It will open in February 2007.
Alex Leith, NSPCC Area Children’s Services Manager, said:-
“This is wonderful news. The new building will house a bigger NSPCC
team helping children and their mothers recover from the devastating
impact of domestic violence. Another team which includes a midwife
will help mothers-to-be who have drug and alcohol problems which can
also damage and threaten the lives of children. The services
have been developed following a review of child deaths in Liverpool
which found that domestic violence and substance misuse were common
factors in many child deaths from abuse and neglect - so the
services have been planned to have the maximum impact on child
cruelty. The building will also house a team of advisers
running the NSPCC's website for worried teenagers - there4me.com.”
The new centre is being funded by the Safe Place Appeal which aims
to raise £17 million over 10 years to cover the cost of all NSPCC
services in Merseyside for that period. This includes the work of
the NSPCC specialist investigation service which tackles the
activities of paedophiles and the cost of dealing with calls to the
NSPCC helpline from people in Merseyside with concerns about a
child.
The Appeal was launched in September 2004 at the Matalan Ball in the
presence of a host of celebrity guests including Kylie Minogue. It
got off to a flying start with the announcement by John Hargreaves
of a £6 million gift from the Hargreaves family and Matalan.
The Appeal has been adopted by the Liverpool Daily Post and is
backed by an Appeal Board chaired by John Hargreaves and including
leading members of the Merseyside business community.
Nick Glazebrook, Safe Place Appeal manager for the NSPCC said:-
“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of business people,
individuals and ordinary members of the public who have taken this
cause to their hearts. Big companies like Matalan and The
Beetham Organization are huge supporters of the Safe Place Appeal,
as well as a host of smaller local companies, and our thanks go to
all of them.”
There are hundreds of ways to support the Safe Place Appeal and make
a difference to the lives of children in Merseyside. If you want to
get involved please call the Safe Place Appeal Fundraising Hotline
on 0800 107 3790.
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ROYAL
VISIT FOR BEATLE JOHN LENNON SON’S SCHOOL
HER ROYAL
Highness The Princess Royal (Princess Anne) will visit Beatle John
Lennon’s son’s old school on 1 March 2006.
Liverpool musician Julian Lennon was a boarding pupil at Ruthin
School in north Wales in the late 1970s, where he excelled at art.
His mother Cynthia ran a bistro in the medieval town. Julian’s
artistic talents were immortalised in Beatle history when he was
just 4 years-old. He showed his father a painting of a friend he had
drawn, describing it as “Lucy in the sky with diamonds”. John
subsequently used the title for one of the Beatles’ best loved hits.
The Princess Royal’s visit will mark the official opening of Ruthin
School’s £1 million sports hall which amply caters for a range of
indoor leisure activities, including badminton, basketball, 5-a-side
football, tennis, netball, archery and other sports and is the
largest capital project the school has ever undertaken.
Headteacher John Rowlands said:- “Sport is becoming an ever
more important part of daily life to keep
children healthy, so we firmly hope these new, state-of-the-art
facilities will inspire the next generation to enjoy getting active.
The school is committed to the health of youngsters and from a very
early age there is active participation in sport,” he adds.
“Many who first ran round the school field at the age of 4 now
take part in the annual Hill Fort Run which has grown to encompass
90+ runners!”
She will meet pupils, local dignitaries and politicians and be
presented with daffodils, as well as learn a brief history of the
school. Elizabeth I’s illuminated and sealed Royal Charter,
displayed in a case in the school lobby, will be shown to the
Princess at the start of her short tour before she unveils a plaque
of Welsh slate to open the new Sports Hall.
Royal links with Ruthin School are something of a tradition: it was
granted its Royal Charter by Elizabeth I and both The Princess
Royal’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II and her brother, Prince Charles,
have been entertained there in recent years. Princess Anne will be
shown the Charter on 1 March when she opens the new sports hall.
Ryanair New Routes Take Off
GOOD news for
Liverpool as Ryanair on Thursday 9 February 2006 commenced three new
services from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Bergerac, Carcassone
and Londonderry.
The Airport Company and Ryanair helped to celebrate the launch of
these new services with the now customary complimentary food and
drink for passengers prior to boarding.
In addition, twenty lucky passengers checking in for the first new
route to depart to Bergerac were surprised with a complimentary pair
of return tickets for their next trip to the French City, courtesy
of Ryanair.
Famed as “The Gateway to the Dordogne” the historic
City of Bergerac is becoming immensely popular as a low cost
destination. Bergerac offers some of the best value properties for
those looking for a second home in the South West of France, as
witnessed this morning by the large number of passengers traveling
to ‘second homes’ in the region. The area is also home to a vast
choice of attractions, vineyards and gastronomical delicacies!
Ryanair’s new flights are once again proving popular with passengers
from the North West and beyond with passengers checking in on the
first flights from as far afield as York and Harrogate.
Karl Hogstadius, Deputy Head of Sales & Marketing, North Regions,
Ryanair said:- “We are delighted to start operations from
Liverpool to Londonderry, Bergerac and Carcassone. For the first
three months of flying we already have more than 20,000 passengers
on these routes and this year we expect to carry 2.4 million
passengers on our routes to and from Liverpool”.
The launch of the new routes follows the celebration of the 4
millionth Ryanair passenger to travel through Liverpool, last month.
Ryanair now operate 18 routes from Liverpool, with 2 additional
services to Seville and Porto commencing later this month.
Neil Pakey, Managing Director of Liverpool John Lennon Airport
said:- “We are delighted at the growing range of destinations
that Ryanair serve from Liverpool. The variety of destinations is a
massive boost to the airport and the region, bringing an increasing
choice for both business and leisure travellers” |
