Southport Community Champion rewarded in national competition

ZOE ZOE Stanmore, Community Champion at Dobbies Southport, has been announced as runner up for:- 'Ambassador of the Year' in a national competition for her work within the community. Cultivation Street, a national community gardening campaign championed by TV gardener David Domoney, supports and recognises community projects across the UK. This is the 3rd year where Zoe has received recognition from the national award in recognition for all her work in Southport.

The judges' Verdict was:- "We loved the fact that Zoe runs her own community garden in her spare time and has even gone so far as to donate plants grown there for the benefit of other community groups. She has up to 60 children attend her garden each month and has forged links with local Schools and nursing homes. Well done Zoe!"

Zoe Stanmore, community champion at Dobbies Garden Centre Southport, said:- "I am very honoured to be recognised for the third year running, for me it's what I do; whether it's supporting a local group through our Helping Your Community Grow scheme or hosting activities such as our Little Seedlings Club or raising charity funds. Supporting the local area is important to us and I am looking forward to all our events over the Christmas period in support of Teenage Cancer Trust."

Dobbies in Southport will be holding seasonal events including Santa's Arrival and Ladies Night; an exclusive festive shopping evening in support of Dobbies National Charity Partner, Teenage Cancer Trust. For more information on local events or community projects visit Dobbies.Com or contact Dobbies Garden Centre Southport via calling them on:- 01704 552920.

Merseyrail Bus and Train services for the Giants event

MERSEYRAIL have announced 2 changes to the original rail service timetable issued for the Giants event. Managing Director at Merseyrail, Andy Heath said:- "After giving further consideration to feedback from our customers and stakeholders it is now our intention to reinstate trains stopping at:- Bache and Hightown Stations, which were 2 of the Stations included in the original Temporary Station Closure Plan. The reinstatement of these Stations are for the special timetable on Friday, 5 October, Saturday, 6 October and Sunday, 7 October 2018. The Giants is 1 of our busiest events and in terms of visitors traveling by Merseyrail, it far surpasses most other events within the City of Liverpool. Normally 110,000 passenger journeys are made on Merseyrail per day. With the Giants event we have to plan for more than double those numbers of visitors. With a finite number of trains and carriages available it is a major challenge for us and I am pleased that with these 2 alterations to what was originally proposed I am confident we will do our best to ensure that as many people as possible get to the City to have a great day at the Giants. We will have large numbers of staff deployed at key stations to assist with travel to the event. It’s never ideal to announce the temporary closure of any station but by doing this on the days of the event we are able to increase the number of carriages on lines of routes throughout the day and therefore carrying larger numbers of passengers. Passengers can find out more information by visiting:- MerseyRail.Org/Giants or picking up a leaflet from any of our staffed Stations."

Passengers who may require assistance to travel are advised to contact Merseyrail’s Customer Relations team on:- 0151 555 1111 as far in advance as possible, due to the station and road closures that will be in place.

will be a variety of changes to Mersey's Public Transport Services that will change day to day, over Friday, 5 October to Sunday, 7 October 2018, due to the Giant Spectacular.

A special events timetable will run and passengers are encouraged to visit the Merseyrail website or pick up a leaflet from any staffed Stations.

The following applies to all 3 days:-

► Trains will not stop at all Stations to allow for additional and more frequent services...

► James Street and Lime Street lower level (underground) will be closed to aid crowd control and movement.

► Wirral line services will start and end at Liverpool Central Station and will not be stopping at Moorfields.

► Northern line passengers traveling to the City Center should use Moorfields as trains will not be stopping at Liverpool Central.

Northern Train Services...

Due to recent industrial action and on-going engineering works, passengers are advised to check with Northern for the most up to date information.

Mainline and City Line services...

Trains will be running but check with operators for the most up to date information.

Lime Street station...

The Station will be incredibly busy during the event, there will be crowd control measures in place, and queues will be likely. This will ensure that Network Rail and train operators can keep passengers moving safely.

By Bus...

Buses will be running but there will be diversions to routes due to road closures and services may be subject to delays; especially in and around Liverpool City Centre.

Queen Square and Liverpool ONE Bus Stations will be closed for some periods during the event, there will be an alternative drop off and pick up points notified in advance.

Mersey Ferries...

The Mersey Ferries will be running as normal on Thursday, 4 October and Friday, 5 October.

On Saturday, 6 October and Sunday, 7 October 2018, River Cruise Explorer services will be suspended to allow for two shuttle services to run about every 20 minutes; 1 between Woodside and the Pier Head (09:30 to 18:40) and 1 between Seacombe and the Pier Head (09:20 to 18:50). Commuter ticket prices will apply.

Mersey Tunnels...

The Wallasey (Kingsway) Tunnel will be open as usual. There are planned closures at the Birkenhead (Queensway) tunnel which will see the closure of the Liverpool Dock branch exit. The route of the Giants in Liverpool sees them very close to the Tunnel entrance/ exit in Liverpool, on Saturday, 6 October 2018; which could lead to temporary closures for crowd safety reasons during the day.

Key advice:-

Plan ahead - due to large crowds being expected. For the majority of the time it will be impossible to see all of the Giants at 1 time so plan ahead, decide where and when you want to watch the event and how you will get there.

► Use public transport where possible to avoid congestion.

► Consider walking to watch the event if you live close enough Check timetables; before and on your day of travel, be prepared for some changes to services leading up to the event. Use journey planners.

► Leave plenty of time to get where you want to go services may take longer than usual.

► Be patient as services will be extremely busy, expect queues.

► Consider arriving early or later if you can to avoid peak times.

► Consider delaying your journey home; Services will be busy at the end of each day’s events, so consider staying in town for some food and drink and traveling back later.

► Consider buying your tickets in advance to avoid queues on the day.