Formby residents rate New Care and Lovett Care in Top 20

NEW Care and Lovett Care have both been included within the Top 20 UK Care Home Groups report, as voted for by residents at:- Formby Manor, and their families, and compiled by leading review website.

Lovett Care acquired New Care almost 6 months ago, however the 2 Care Home operators received the prestigious Top 20 rating individually.

The award is based on Care Home reviews from residents, as well as their friends and relatives, with various factors considered including:- overall experience, facilities, care/support, cleanliness, treated with dignity, food and drink, staff, activities, management, safety/security, bedrooms and communal spaces, as well as value for money.

There are 2,117 Care Home groups in the UK, so being rated within the Top 20 is a huge achievement.

With nearly 17,000 Care Homes in the UK caring for around half a million people, it is a testament to the teams at both New Care and Lovett Care to receive an award from the leading reviews guide to Care Homes.

Nearly a 5th of the UK population are aged 65 years or older, which equates to 12.7 million people. In 50 years, this is predicted to increase to 22 million, making up 27% of the population. With demand for Care Homes set to grow, carehome.co.uk helps care seekers choose the right Care Home by ranking Care Homes using their reviews.

Amanda Hopkins, reviews manager, said:- "It is a huge achievement to be named as a Top 20 Care Home group by the residents and their families, who have experienced for themselves the quality of care and support given at the Care Home. We would like to congratulate New Care and Lovett Care on being a top Care Home group! Our awards, celebrate the excellent care given by Care Home groups and show both New Care and Lovett Care give first-rate care throughout its homes. These top performing Care Home groups are making a profound difference to residents' lives, by putting compassion, respect and dignity at the center of their care.”

Keith Crockett, CEO of Lovett Care and New Care, concludes:- "The reviews received by our residents and their loved ones are what truly matter, as they are speaking 1st hand about the care they receive, and to be named a Top 20 UK Care Home group out of 2,117 is incredible. While both Lovett Care and New Care have won this prestigious award several times in the past, it continues to be a superb achievement for the teams within all our care facilities. Now that the 2 operators are joined, it's wonderful to see the same level of excellent care and exceptional standards across all homes.”

Southport Pier and other tourism infrastructure in Southport to enjoy boost from new businesses investing in Town

THE upkeep and restoration of tourism infrastructure in Southport will be boosted by new businesses investing in the Town. It could help support future maintenance of landmark sites including:- Southport Pier which local people are eager to see reopened.

Sefton Council is due to bring in a new Supplementary Planning Document called:- 'Developer Contributions to Southport Visitor Infrastructure,'

It would see new developments being created within the Southport Town centre and seafront areas, plus hotels and visitor accommodation in Southport, asked to pay £2,680 (2024/25 prices) per 100m2 gross additional new or converted floorspace for qualifying schemes of 100m2 or more.

The funds would go towards the upkeep of historic attractions such as:- Southport Pier, Southport Marine Lake, Victoria Park, King's Gardens and Marine Gardens, and more.

In a report, Sefton Chief Planning Officer Derek McKenzie said:- "Southport is Sefton's key Tourism and Visitor location. Tourism generates a significant amount of jobs and investment in the Town, but also puts huge strain on its infrastructure, much of which is managed by the Council. Therefore, it is considered appropriate that development which benefits from investment in and the upkeep of infrastructure that supports the tourism and visitor economy, contributes to it. To that end, the Council is proposing a Supplementary Planning Document to seek developer contributions from certain types of developments towards visitor infrastructure in Southport. The area that this SPD will apply to is the Southport Central Area and Southport Seafront. The only exception is that the charge will apply to hotels and other visitor accommodation in the wider Southport area. As a result of the high number of visitors, the Council-maintained visitor infrastructure in Southport is put under huge pressure due to:- 'wear and tear' through intensive use. The maintenance of this infrastructure is necessary to support the tourism industry. However, at a time of stretched Council budgets, infrastructure cannot always be repaired or maintained to the level the Council would ideally like. The Council is therefore exploring a number of ways to secure additional funding to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of existing, and provision of new, visitor infrastructure. As new businesses benefit from investment in the visitor infrastructure, as it helps to attract and retain visitors (i.e. customers), it is considered justified to require them to make a proportionate contribution to that infrastructure. Southport has a range of infrastructure that supports and encourages visitors and the visitor experience. Many of these are provided and maintained by the Council at significant expense. As a result of Council financial constraints, it is not always possible that this infrastructure can be maintained to the level the Council would wish. To reduce potential further harm to the tourism and visitor economy in Southport, the Council is looking to new development to mitigate further unacceptable pressures on this infrastructure.”

The new funds could enhance Southport visitor infrastructure including:-

• Parks and gardens (including:- buildings, furniture and structures within them) and other open spaces. These include:- Victoria Park, King's Gardens and Marine Gardens)
  

• Street trees.
  

• Public toilets.
  

• Public highways and surrounding public realm, cycleways and footpaths.
  

• Public car parking (including:- electric vehicle charging infrastructure) and public transport hubs.
  

• Southport Pier.
  

• Southport Marine Lake and infrastructure.
  

• Southport Promenade.
  

• Publicly maintained buildings, structures and heritage assets that contribute (or could contribute) to Southport as a visitor attraction.
  

• Public information boards and signage.
  

• Public artwork.

The types of development that are proposed to be subject to the charge are: -

• Hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation, short stay lets and other holiday accommodation (all sizes) in all parts of Southport
  

• Bars, restaurants and hot food takeaways, including:- outside seating areas outside of these premises (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only
  

• Theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, exhibition centres, concert halls, live music venues, comedy clubs, bingo halls, casinos (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only
  

• Arts and cultural attractions (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only.
  

• Other visitor attractions that would predominantly rely on large numbers of non-residents visiting to be viable (all sizes) in Southport Central and Seafront areas only.
  

• New large retail uses (500m2 gross floorspace or more) outside of the Primary Shopping Area (but within the wider Central and Seafront areas) with an associated car park of 14 spaces or more.

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