£11,000 raised by the Southport BID business community for local charities through Christmas activities

OVER £11,000 has been raised for local charities through a range of Christmas activities organised by Southport BID. Southport BID, which works on behalf of businesses in the Town Centre, welcomed thousands of visitors as they enjoyed a Santa's Grotto, a Frozen themed Grotto, Christmas carriage rides, a Gingerbread Trail, an Illustrate Illuminate Trail, elf parties, and a Festive Fun Day. They also provided a dazzling 18 metre high Christmas tree in the Town hall Gardens, which sparkled with mesmerising colour changing displays thanks to 25,000 LED pixels. Festive decorations were also placed throughout the Town Centre, adding to the 300,000 lights which Southport BID installed along both sides of the Lord Street shopping boulevard in 2021.

The range of festive activities brought thousands of people into Town throughout November, December and January, giving a welcome boost to local businesses during the busy festive period. People of all ages were able to enjoy their experience of Christmas shopping in Southport with all the fun provided accessible for all. While some of the activities were free, donations were invited for Santa's Grotto, the Frozen Grotto, the elf parties and the Christmas carriage rides, with all the money raised now being used locally for good. The Southport Gingerbread Trail and the Illustrate Illuminate Trail were both free, with prizes given to the winners. The Festive Fun Day was the perfect opportunity for the community to come together with lots of talented local groups and performers bringing real festive spirit to Southport.

Dan Taylor the newly appointed Chairman of BID said:- "Through funds raised from Christmas activities in Southport, the BID business community has donated £11,000 to local charities The Southport Lions Club, Southport Lifeboat and Queenscourt Hospice. The activities not only brought thousands of visitors to Town, but the proceeds will now be reinvested locally by these charities to better our community. The festive activities we organised this year were a huge success, very popular with people. The Christmas Carriage Rides, Elf Parties, as well as the 2 Grotto's all sold out. These activities were on top of free things to enjoy including our Southport Gingerbread Trail and the Illustrate Illuminate and the Festive Fun Day. We would like to give special thanks to the volunteers from the Southport Lions Club for their partnership in providing the Santa's Grotto experience for families."

Queenscourt Hospice, which provides compassionate care across Southport, Formby and West Lancashire, is 1 of the charities which will benefit.

Liz Hartley, Fundraising Manager at Queenscourt Hospice said:- "#teamqueenscourt have been providing exceptional Palliative Care for patients and their loved ones for over thirty years now, thanks to the support of our wider community. With rising costs and an increasing need for our services, this ongoing support is essential to help keep Queenscourt in Service. We are therefore deeply grateful to have been chosen by Southport BID to benefit from their Christmas events fundraising. This generous support will make all the difference to our hospice so that we can continue providing compassionate care when it is needed the most. THANK YOU so much to Southport BID and everyone involved in raising this money."

Edge Hill University invites Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss democracy and policing

EDGE Hill University will host Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell for a talk on her role, priorities, and the challenges of modern policing. Although Ms Spurrell was elected just 2 years ago, she has already scrutinised the Police response to several high-profile crimes in Merseyside, including 2 tragic shootings that made national news in 2022. At the talk she will delve into the Police response to these unfortunate events as well as what she is doing to achieve her 3 main priorities for the Region, Fighting crime; Proactive Policing, Supporting Victims; Safer Communities, and Driving Change; Prevent Offending.

She said:- "I'm delighted to be visiting Edge Hill University once again to speak to students about the role of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and the priorities I'm focused on to build a stronger, safer Region. We've seen some major challenges for policing over the last couple of years, both Regionally and nationally and I'm keen to talk to students about how PCCs can play a vital role in increasing transparency and accountability, and provide a key bridge between our communities and policing. It's also a great opportunity for me to listen to students about any issues or concerns they have and discuss how we could improve their feelings of safety in our Region."

The free event, which will include:- a public Q&A, takes place on 20 February from 3pm to 4pm. For more information and to book your place follow this link.

Edge Hill's Politics Lead Paula Keaveney said:- "This event marks 10 years since the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner was created and for 5 of those years Emily Spurrell has been at the forefront of policing in Merseyside, serving as the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner from 2017 to 2019, before being elected to the top job in May 2021. She will be able to provide fascinating insights into how the role of the PCC has developed since 2012 and how recent scrutiny and pressure on policing at a national level is impacting on Merseyside Police."

Ms Spurrell also served as a Liverpool City Councillor until 2021 and is a proud advocate for more women in politics having helped launch Edge Hill's Wonder Women Campaign, which marked the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote. The event has been organised by Edge Hill's Institute for Social Responsibility which aims to make a positive impact on societal issues through cross-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange activities. It also regularly holds events, seminars, workshops and lectures so check for updates or join the mailing list. Learn more about the work of the ISR on their Home Page.

For more information about this event please contact ISR@EdgeHill.AC.UK.