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Sefton Workers
gear up to march for Fair Funding for Public Services
WORKERS from Sefton Council
will be amongst the marchers in Liverpool on Saturday. Thousands of
service users and workers from across the North West will be showing
their support for public services and highlighting how services are
now under tremendous pressure due to unfair cuts. The cuts in Sefton
have been nearly twice the national average and ten times more than
some affluent areas in the South. Sefton has already cut nearly 1500
jobs from its workforce.
Holly (pictured 3rd from left) has worked for the Council for over
four years as part of the Benefits and Housing Advice team. The team
provides support to those going through substance misuse treatment
in Sefton. Holly said:- "It's not fair the way that Councils
in the North have been hit by such large cuts.
This is already having an impact on services in Sefton; advice
services, libraries, sure start centres, support for the elderly,
day care centres and youth services. People need to know that
the Government want to increase the speed of spending cuts in coming
years. This will have a terrible impact on our communities. We don't
want more and more cuts year after year. We need fair funding for
public services. That's why we'll be marching on Saturday"
Members of the public and Council staff from across the North West
will be assembling for the march at Pier Head from 10am. The event
concludes with a rally at St George's Plateau from 11.30am. The
event has been organised by UNISON North West.
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Nelson memorial
restored in park
THE historic monument which
had to be removed to allow for the building of the new Alder Hey
Hospital has been relocated. The Nelson Memorial, in
Springfield Park, has now been restored and relocated from its original
site to an area of the park which is not affected by the hospital
building. And on Friday, 14 March 2014, the Friends of Springfield Park
are staging a ceremony to mark the restoration and relocation of the
memorial.
It will be attended by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Gary Millar,
Stephen Twigg MP, local residents and schoolchildren along with
representatives of the Royal Naval Association and cadets. The RNA
band will also play at the ceremony.
The memorial is a 40 feet tall obelisk made from red sandstone. It
is a Grade 11 listed monument which had a brass plaque inscribed
with the words:- "Sacred to the memory of the illustrious
Nelson who gloriously fell in defence of his country and to whose
skill and valour Britons are indebted for domestic security and
tranquil enjoyment of the produce of their industry."
It was commissioned in 1806 to commemorate the death of Lord Nelson
by a Mr Downward, a sugar refiner, who owned Springfield House. He
offered the memorial to the City, but it was rejected as being too
small with one member of the Common Council describing it as "a
half-Nelson".
Mr Downward then had it erected in the grounds of his house and it
has stood there since. The park was acquired by the Council in 1907.
Contractors Land O'Rouke have funded the restoration of the monument
and it will now have a plaque honouring Mr Downward. The Alder Hey
Hospital Trust funded the memorial's plinth and a path leading to
it.
Local Councillor Tony Concepcion, who is also chair of the Friends
of Springfield Park, said:- "The monument is a fascinating
part of Liverpool's heritage and we are delighted that it has been
restored and will now be back in the park in a prominent position.
A new Springfield Park is being created for use by all the community
as part of the Alder Hey development and it means we will have a
first class park alongside a world-renowned hospital. And while we
are looking forward to having a new park for the 21st century we are
retaining and celebrating an important part of our history."
The new park will include a multi-use games area, a play area,
football pitches and seating. |
