Liverpool's next 3 Family Hubs launched

LIVERPOOL City Council has today launched 3 further Family Hub networks. The City now has 5 Family Fubs after successful launches in Clubmoor and Ellergreen Children's Centre, last July and Speke in November. As previously, the new Hubs are based within existing Children's Centres:-

• Picton - 139 Earle Road, L7 6HD.
  

• Granby- Eversley Street, L8 2TU.
  

• Fountains; Fountains Road, L4 1QH.

The networks will support families in these wards:- Edge Hill, Smithdown, Arundel, Toxteth, Greenbank Park, Princes Park, Kirkdale East, Kirkdale West, Waterfront North.

The launch was marked by a special invitation-only Play Day Event that was supported by the BBC's Tiny Happy People and attended by families that currently use Children's Centres as well as Council Leader Cllr Liam Robinson and Family Hub lead Cllr Lila Bennett.

The Family Hub model is funded by the Department for Education. Liverpool City Council has pledged to offer every family in the City access to this enhanced level of support by March 2025, securing £4m of central Government funding to do so.

Family Hubs support families with children aged from:- 0 to 19 years, or 25 if a young person has special educational needs or disabilities. This expands the current offer of Children's Centres which support families with children aged up to 5 years by building on a wider network of support for older children such as youth services.

Adults also benefit from the Family Hub model, with hubs being a one stop shop offering wider guidance including debt advice and domestic abuse support, as well as a digital offer to help people access online services.

Cllr Lila Bennett, Liverpool's lead member for Family Hubs said:- "We're so pleased that we have now launched a further 3 hubs in the City. Families all across Liverpool will know about the exceptional support that our Children's Centres have given over many years and the Family Hub networks are set to expand on that by extending the offer of support up to the ages of 19 or 25 if a young person has SEND. By using our brilliant Children's Centres we can hit the ground running making sure that families all across the City can get the right support at the right time. As always, our thanks go to our partners who work so hard alongside us. They have helped make our Children's Centres the valued parts of the community that they are and I have no doubt that they will be every bit as important in doing the same for the Family Hubs."

Alison Williams, Delivery Lead for Healthy Children and Families, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (Liverpool Place), said:- "NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is delighted to be working with colleagues in the Council, as they launch the next 3 Family Hubs in our City. These Hubs will strengthen our local offer to families, and will build on an existing, trusted network of services that we know make a huge difference to so many people. Combining health and social care pathways in community-based facilities, means that we can reach so many more families and improve their experiences and outcomes."

Merseyside group need your help to save a scouse icon from the scrapyard
 

ON 25 October 1978 a new era dawned on Merseyside's railways when Queen Elizabeth II travelled from Moorfields to Kirkby on a brand new class 507 electric train. 46 years later that very same train, once again resplendent in blue and grey livery, is heading for retirement after travelling over 5 million miles in service.

With the introduction of the state of the art class 777 trains, the former workhorses of the Merseyrail fleet are gradually being sent to the scrapyard. However, the Class 507 Preservation Society has reached an agreement with Angel Trains, the current owners of the fleet, to take possession of the former Royal Train when it is withdrawn from service this summer.

The society plan to move the train to the Nant Mawr visitor centre at the Tanat Valley Light Railway just south of Llangollen. Nant Mawr is home to a wide variety of locomotives and rolling stock, as well the UK's largest collection of industrial monorail equipment (including some used in a James Bond film). There are also award-winning nature trails through the surrounding woodland with many parts of the site having step free access.

However, the society needs £10,000 to move the train from the scrapyard to their safe location, and they need it in time for the train's final withdrawal in July. They have launched a crowdfunding campaign which aims to cover their transport costs and keep the train secure for future generations.

Society chairman Robert Hampton said:- "The class 507 trains have served the Liverpool City Region well in their 46 years. We hope we can repay their service by raising the funds needed to give 507001 a well-earned retirement in the Shropshire countryside. Lots of people will have happy memories of travelling on these trains, from a day out at the beach to night out on the town. But without the help of people who remember travelling on these trains they are now destined to be sent to South Wales where they will cut up and turned into razor blades. We don't want to see that happen; we want to preserve this train and then tell the story of how the railways helped build the Liverpool City Region."

Many people travelling to and from work by train have a favourite seat where they prefer to sit. Now, the society is offering you the chance to have your name on your seat and help save this historic Scouse royal train from the scrapyard at the same time.

Visit the society website to donate to their Crowdfunder appeal and claim a range of rewards, from limited edition badges to being able to sponsor your very own seat. You can also send a cheque, payable to:- "Class 507 Preservation Society" to 54 Woodsorrel Road, Liverpool L15 6UD. The crowdfunding appeal closes on:- 29 June 2024.