News reports located on this page = 2.

Can you help save Lord Street's Floral Displays?

2019 has not been a good year for gardening, but despite all the problems a small band of dedicated volunteer gardens have kept Southport's historic Lord Street gardens looking amazing. A few years back, due to harsh budget cuts that were made to Sefton Council, the planted areas and gardens that Southport is known for started to decline, so a small group of dedicated gardens who are from the area stepped in. Now the once so called:- 'Guerrilla Gardeners' are a well known site in and around Southport. Southport had always been known as a floral resort, but once again we are in danger of loosing this. Already, in 2019, due to the long running issues over water prevision, the weather, constant vandalism and the lack of volunteers, this has meant Southport wasn't entered into floral competitions. You might not think that is important, but it is a major blow for our marketing of the Town for 2020 if we don't have titles like:- "Winner of Brittan In Bloom." Winning converted titles is what keeps Southport on the map, helping to attract tourists. The Lord Street Gardeners constantly need help throughout he year, from raising cash to buy flowers and to doing the simple things, like removing weeds, watering and cleaning the areas around the water features. Without these volunteers the boulevard and gardens would be lost for ever. If we want to save the Town, we need to start supporting them far more than we do. Can you spend a small amount of time to help this group? The volunteers meet up once or twice a week next to the enhance the gardens along Lord Street, between Post Office Venue and Sainsbury's. If you can't help through directly, can you help by making a donation, so that they can get flowers for 2020? This group do not get paid to do this, unlike what some people in Southport think, so even the words:- "Thank You" helps them, so if you see them working, please do say that to them, or give them a coffee.. Lets show we appreciate the work they do! If you want to help them, please contact them via emailing:- PaulineMM8@Hotmail.Com or via the groups Facebook Page and for more information you can also visit the groups website.

Campaign calls for bold action on transport

THE Save Rimrose Valley campaign is calling for bold action, in its ongoing fight to stop the construction of a road through the popular country park in North Liverpool. The group is demanding the immediate cancellation of Highways England's A5036 Port of Liverpool Access Scheme in favour of a non road, sustainable alternative. It wants the existing A5036 route to become free of all port related HGV traffic as part of any new solution. It also calls for Peel Ports to play its role in solving the air, noise and light pollution generated by its activities in the borough.

It goes on to demand that:-

A) Measures be taken to secure the country park's long term future; the public's health and wellbeing be paramount in any future decisions.

B) The climate emergency is also acknowledged and factored into future decisions; with bold, new transport policies introduced to tackle pollution caused by non port traffic.

Speaking on behalf of the campaign, Stuart Bennett explained:- "Since our campaign began a little over 2 years ago, we have learned an incredible amount about the damage that road building does to the environment, people and ultimately, the planet. Our campaign has evolved from a simple 'no road' message, to something much more far reaching and, we hope, a force for good in South Sefton and the wider Liverpool City Region. Our supporters have said in response to our own consultation, that they want to see positive change as well as stopping the road and safeguarding the valley. So, we have worked with respected organisations including Friends of the Earth; Campaign for Better Transport and Campaign to Protect Rural England to come up with these goals. These are ambitious, but achievable. In fact, the issue is that we can't afford not to achieve them if we really are to improve our city and protect the lives of the people living here."

Constellations to come to Earth and light up Liverpool City Region

AN arts project designed to inspire local communities to rediscover their local neighbourhoods and spend time stargazing is being launched across Liverpool City Region. Constellations Presents brings a different artist to:- Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral to present a work inspired by a specific constellation and its relationship to local stories. It is the follow on from the award winning:- 'Lost Castles' which saw 6 extraordinary cardboard box structures being built and then demolished by communities in locations across the 6 boroughs in 2018. The project was instigated by Wirral's Borough of Culture year, which will launch the season with a spectacular installation by Studio Joanie Lemercier in West Kirby between the 18 October to 20 October 2019. The final project, in Knowsley, will see local artist Sam Wiehl reimagining local residents and community groups as stars in a disused shop in Huyton Village Center between 21 November to 23 November 2019.

The 6 commissions are: -

► 'Constellations Presents' at the Studio Joanie Lemercier, West Kirby Marine Lake, Wirral, from 18 October to 20 October 2019.

► 'Constellations Presents' at the Cetus, Mann Island, Liverpool, from 1 November to 9 November 2019.

► 'Constellations Presents' at the The Creation, Sherdley Park, St Helens, from 5 November 2019.

► 'Constellations Presents' at the Parabolic Lightcloud, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton, from 8 November to 10 November 2019

► 'Constellations Presents' at the Nova, Victoria Park, Widnes, Halton, from 15 November to 17 November 2019.

► 'Constellations Presents' at the The Garish Sun, Huyton Village Center, Knowsley, from 21 November to 23 November 2019.

To find out more about the 6 works and what is happening near you, go to:- ConstellationsLCR.Co.UK.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said:- "Lost Castles perfectly showed how art and culture can celebrate local identity, whilst also bringing us together under 1 idea. I am excited about Constellations Presents as it does exactly the same thing. It will shine a spotlight on 6 very different parts of our Region at the same time as showing how connected we are. I really hope people take this chance to go to as many of the installations as they can and to discover great new places on their doorstep."

Councillor Christine Spriggs, Cabinet Member for Culture and Tourism, at Wirral Council, said:- "We're so pleased that Constellations is part of Wirral's year as Borough of Culture for Liverpool City Region. Our 2019 programme has been inspired by discovery, exploration and the great outdoors, and we're delighted to be working with our city Region neighbours on this series of wonderful events which perfectly capture these themes. Joanie Lemercier's spectacular installation will wow audiences as it takes them on a journey through the universe against the beautiful backdrop of West Kirby's waterfront. Over the coming weeks, Wirral will host even more exciting events which reflect the peninsula's big skies for the final chapter of Wirral Borough of Culture, including Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon coming to Birkenhead Town Hall, and annual fireworks extravaganza River of Light."

Deputy Mayor and Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Events, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "This is another great event as part of Liverpool's cultural programme and it is fabulous to be teaming up with other local authorities across the city Region on something with a common theme. It is really important that we showcase the whole Region to visitors and allow people to access culture on their own doorstep."

Councillor Anthony Burns, St Helens Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure and Libraries, said:- "Constellations is set to build on the successes of last year's incredible Lost Castles project, by sparking cultural engagement across the Liverpool City Region. In St Helens, we're taking our Constellations experience "The Creation" to the skies with our brilliant Bonfire Night event, Spark in the Park. On 5 November, a bespoke fireworks display in Sherdley Park will dazzle thousands across St Helens, conjuring images of the creation of the universe in the night sky, accompanied by musical sound scapes."

Councillor Trish Hardy, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said:- "The Lost Castles project united so many people across our communities and we hope the constellations event has a similar effect. We are using the event at Crosby Coastal Park as a catalyst to launch our Borough of Culture year which we can't wait to showcase. Visually the Parabolic Lightcloud looks amazing and I'm sure thousands of people will head to Crosby in November to marvel such a wonder."

Councillor Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said:- "I cannot wait for people to experience Constellations in Victoria Park this autumn. It's fantastic that we have this opportunity to host renowned artists Squidsoup and their innovative light installation. I'm sure that it will be a big hit with local people and visitors alike."

Councillor Shelley Powell, Knowsley Council's Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said:- "I'm delighted to once again be hosting a fantastic community project here in Knowsley, drawing on the talent and experiences of a local artist. Our theme is inspired by Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, which is fitting given work on the Shakespeare North Playhouse has commenced here in Knowsley. I look forward to visiting the Constellations project and meeting the people who helped to make it happen."