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Work Begins on
St John Bosco School Development
REGENERATION Liverpool, a
joint venture between regeneration specialist Sigma Inpartnership
and Liverpool City Council, has begun construction works on the new
St John Bosco Arts College as part of its development plans in
Stonebridge.
The school construction process will be managed by Regeneration
Liverpool's affiliate partner, Neptune Developments, which has
awarded VINCI Construction UK the contract to design and construct a
three-storey girls' arts college in Croxteth, Liverpool.
The development forms part of Mayor Joe Anderson's targets to
deliver 12 new secondary, primary and special schools. Around £170
million is being invested, made up of Council funds, borrowing and
cash secured through the City Deal that Mayor Anderson negotiated
with the Government .
As part of the contract, VINCI has committed to employing local
labour and maximising the opportunities for local firms. Similar
projects have hit targets of 65 per cent of local people being
employed on site and a similar proportion of contracts being let to
local firms. It is intended that this project will replicate those
numbers.
Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "The regeneration of Croxteth is one
of my key priorities and can't come quickly enough. We are now
starting to see projects being delivered which is great news for the
local community, whether it is the school, new housing or retail
schemes.
This is a significant milestone in achieving our ambition to make
Stonebridge and Croxteth a great place to live and work, and I know
the school is hugely excited about its new building."
Graeme Hogg, director of Sigma Inpartnership, said:- "It is
great to see our plans starting to take shape on site at St John Bosco
School. Schools are a huge part of any community and an aspect of
development that Regeneration Liverpool is very passionate about
delivering. We are very proud to be involved in this project and
ultimately in helping local students to continue their studies in
the Stonebridge area."
Steve Parry, managing director of Neptune Developments, said:-
"This commencement marks the start of the first phase of the long
awaited development of the Stonebridge area of Croxteth which will
deliver a transformational regeneration of this part of the City.
The improvement of education facilities is an important part of the
regeneration strategy, the impact of which will go far beyond the
physical development of the site. As a local developer, we are of
course proud to be part of the team delivering the project."
Heather Duggan, Deputy Head Teacher, said:- "We are absolutely
delighted that work is now underway on our new school. Our pupils
and staff are hugely excited about the scheme because it will help
us to continue to deliver a first class education.
This is a hugely exciting time for pupils and staff at St John Bosco
and we are delighted to be a part of the ongoing regeneration of the
Croxteth area."
Mark Thomas, Regional Director, VINCI Construction UK, Building
Division – North West, said:- "The enthusiasm from the pupils
and staff to receive a new school is unprecedented. Once completed,
the modern school campus will shape their learning facilities well
into the future and provide a unique arts college for students in
Liverpool. We look forward to delivering an exceptional college for
Neptune Developments."
The news regarding the new school comes following the recent news
that Regeneration Liverpool has achieved planning approval for a new
supermarket, associated small shops, café and restaurants in
Stonebridge.
The school, which has 1,100 pupils, is set to open in September
2014.
Football in focus on underpaid workers
PROFESSIONAL football clubs who fail to pay
their staff the National Minimum Wage (NMW)
can expect HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to take action against
them, the department announced on Tuesday.
As the new football season gets underway, HMRC has found evidence
that some professional clubs may not be paying backroom staff the
legal minimum wage.
Research by HMRC has shown that posts are being advertised for work
at football clubs in areas such as sport science and marketing, as
well as matchday roles; such as ball boy supervision, or work as
mascots; which appear not to comply with NMW rules. HMRC is now
taking pre-emptive action to safeguard workers by initially
contacting 44 football clubs, to ensure that employers are not
breaching minimum wage rules.
Michelle Wyer, Assistant Director of HMRC's National Minimum Wage
team, said:- "Paying the National Minimum Wage is not a
choice; it's the law. It can't be right that as some players are
paid millions of pounds, other members of staff are paid below the
legal limit. HMRC enforces the rules, protecting workers from rogue
employers and ensuring they get at least the wage to which they are
legally entitled. Where an employer ignores these rules, we will
take steps to ensure arrears are paid out in full and the employer
fined. In the most serious cases, criminal prosecution can follow."
Anyone who believes they are not being paid the National Minimum
Wage can call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on:- 0800 917 2368.
Last year, HMRC enforcement action resulted in 708 employers
receiving automatic penalty charges of up to £5,000 and 26,519
employees receiving back pay totalling over £4 million, topping up
wages that had previously been below the legal minimum rate.
This year the National Minimum Wage is £6.19 an hour for workers
aged 21 and over. This will increase to £6.31 an hour from 1 October
2013. |
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Water roadshow
makes a splash at Southport Flower Show
WE might all know the cost
of a pint of milk, but do we know how much our tap water costs us
each day? That was the question put to visitors at the
Southport Flower Show by water company United Utilities, as part of
a new public education roadshow.
United Utilities supplies 1,750 million litres of water every day to
3 million homes and 200,000 businesses across the North West; but
it has found that most of us don't really understand what we're
paying for when our water bills land on the mat.
In fact, the average daily cost per household is just £1.11 to have
water on tap and wastewater taken away; as sisters Mary Anne and
Emily Beacock discovered when they visited the United
Utilities stand with their parents. The 2 youngsters were also given
tips about how to cut down on their own daily water usage.
The £1.11 which the average household spends daily on water would
buy you around 2 litres of milk or 5 litres of own brand mineral
water in a supermarket.
"Water is one of those things that people just take for
granted, but we wanted to explain to our customers exactly where
their money goes. Water might fall from the sky
for free, but it's cleaning and delivering it to homes; and taking
away used water; that we have to charge for, as well as investing in
the network and protecting the environment. People found the
comparisons with everyday items like milk and eggs a helpful way of
understanding what good value their water bill represents." said Rose Francis, Campaign Manager at United
Utilities.
Visitors were given information on how to save water and advisers
were on hand to explain how United Utilities can help customers
struggling to pay their bills.
Community garden
blooms from waste land
A piece of waste land has
been converted into a community garden which will provide fresh food
for local people. The new facility will be between Cullen
Street and Greenleaf Street, Liverpool 8, will also have a remembrance garden in memory of loved ones.
The land had lain derelict for a number of years. At a walkabout in
the area with MP Luciana Berger, Councillors and officers it was
identified as somewhere local residents had called for improvements
to be carried out.
The work to convert it into a garden was carried out in seven weeks
by Plus Dane's IN Environmental services (INES), a social
enterprise which specialises in cleaning up neighbourhoods.
The new garden will have 6 growing areas for vegetables which will
be distributed to the local community. There will also be an area
where rose bushes and flowers will be planted in memory of loved
ones.
A seating area is also planned and around the perimeter of the
garden will be bushes and flowers.
It will be formally opened on Wednesday 21 August by Luciana Berger.
She said;- "Cullen Street community garden is a fantastic
example of what can be achieved by communities working together with
the Council and other organisations to improve the local area. I'm
delighted to see this area of land transformed into a positive and
popular community asset, and I'd like to thank all of those
residents, staff and Councillors who have helped to make it happen"
Local resident Billy Grady said;- "This has been an eyesore
for many years but now it is going to be something that the
residents will really appreciate, and look after and it is going to
look great."
Ward Councillor Tim Beaumont added;- "This bit of land has
been derelict for years. Residents told us how much they wanted the
environment to improve starting with this patch of land. We've been
able to clear it and bring into community use. That's good news for
the people living in this area."
Joe Feeley, head of environmental services at INES, said:-
"This has been a great opportunity to turn a derelict piece of land
that was a real eyesore into a useable green space that all the
community can enjoy."
Councillor Steve Munby, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said:-
"In the last three years we've bought over a hundred derelict and
abandoned sites into community use. We're on a mission to have a
hundred more in the next 2 years. It lifts the area, adds new green
lungs to the City and provides space to grow food, play and meet as
a community. The new garden at Cullen Street is on one of main
gateways into the City and has been a grot spot for too long."
Apprentice scheme gets 10 out of
10 A new
apprenticeship programme delivered by a Preston training company has
resulted in all 10 young people being placed in permanent jobs
within a county Council.
The scheme; run by Jigsaw Training working with facilities
management company MITIE; was delivered over the course of the last
year as part of the government's Work Programme.
The apprenticeship framework, ranging from intermediate to higher
level, was designed with the help of employers to attract new young
people into facilities management and upskill the existing workforce
with qualifications.
Samantha Greenwood, business innovation and change manager at MITIE
said:- "It's pleasing to see all 10 of the apprentices in
permanent posts which makes all the training worthwhile. The
training has been invaluable and has prepared all of them for the
world of work so it is satisfying to know that they can now get
their hands on a role. The apprentices will join the facilities
management services team run by MITIE for Essex County Council which
delivers maintenance and care services including technical, call
centre, cleaning and plumbing. The scheme was devised as part
of MITIE's 10 year contract with Essex County Council and MITIE will
be recruiting further apprentices in the region as part of its
commitment to investment in young people. James
Blackhurst, managing director at Jigsaw Training said:- "We designed
this programme around the needs of Essex County Council to ensure
they get employees who are ready to hit the ground running." |
