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Hightown Beach Clean Group - Founder Member - Tommy Norbury

SINCE 2015 a group of volunteers have been doing clean-ups on the beach and dunes in and around Hightown, led by the group's Founder Member, Tommy Norbury. The Hightown Beach Clean Group have, throughout the UK's Covid-19 Lockdown, continued to help our local marine wildlife and make it a safer and nicer beach for everyone to use. They are now holding Social Distancing Beach Cleans, but they still need your support! If you are interested in finding out more and helping them to protect the environment, please join them by Visiting the Hightown Beach Clean Group's Facebook Page for more information.  To hear our interview you can use the link at the bottom of the page or to watch it, please use the YouTube player below:-

If you don't already know, Hightown is located midway between the City of Liverpool and the coastal resort of Southport. The village is serviced by the Merseyrail Network's Northern Line and just a small road in and out of the Village, but this is definitely not a tourist destination.

It is a small Village, within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, located at the River Alt's Estuary, which empties into the River Mersey Estuary and Liverpool Bay. It is about 8 miles North of Liverpool City Centre and is home to Altcar Training Camp (Altcar Rifle Range), a 620-acre estate used by the British Army since 1860.

The village is also home to Blundellsands Sailing Club; the location we used for filming this video footage. The other thing Hightown is known locally is for St Mary's Cricket Club.

The undeveloped area of sand and shingle beach, backed by an extensive system of dunes, between Blundellsands and the River Alt Estuary is eroding at a rate of around 0.5 to 1m per year. This might not sound a lot, but just a few miles up the coast, this serious erosion at Blundellsands has led to some houses falling into the sea in past years.

The area is known by naturalists worldwide for its natural habitats, that are home to some of the world's rarest flora and fauna. Hightown is well known to support its Dunes, species, including Sand Lizards, and Natterjack Toads. In the meadows, located next to the dunes you can find some of the UK's rarest species of flora. Within this nectar-rich area, covered with wildflowers and grasses, you can often find Butterflies and Day / Night Flying moths feeding over summer.

The reed beds provide cover for breeding birds as does the rubble-strewn shoreline and shingle beaches. The sand and mid banks also provide amazing feeding grounds for the local birdlife and even sea life.

Both at Formby Point and Hightown, as the erosion often exposes glimpses of the previous landscape and culture, with fossil footprints of humans (adult and child) along with animals' preserved imprints on the clay that was later covered by the sand and shingle. Also, in the Alt Estuary, if lucky, you can also find the Submerged Forest which is gradually revealed by the tide. But, take care, to avoid the "hidden dangers" in the area. Visitors to the area are often unaware of dangers that includes:- quicksand and mud you can easily sink into, rapidly encroaching deep tides and currents of up to 7 knots along the shoreline, plus a very sudden drop into deep water within Alt Estuary. On land, due to the proximity of the Army base, never go into the restricted area, especially if safety flags are flying and follow the instructions on the signage. Plus, at times, in the dangerous mud and even within the dunes, explosive objects have been known to be located along the full stretch of the Merseyside Coastline, from Crosby to Formby. If you do find unusual objects stay clear of it and tell the Police or Coastguard about your discovery, just in case!

If you do visit, please remember to check tide times, follow the danger notice instructions and remember that Sefton Council Byelaws Apply. But most importantly, Please take your litter home with you!

If you don't to play the video you can use this audio only version of this interview...
 

Social Mobility warning as new research highlights young people in "red wall" seats are already 34% more likely to claim benefits than the UK average

THE latest unemployment figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) paint a grim picture for young people across the UK, with "left behind" areas particularly hard hit, according to new analysis by the Department for Opportunities. The new research is accompanied by a warning from former Cabinet Minister Alan Milburn campaigners that without urgent action to protect young people from the worst impact of the coming recession, social mobility will fall and Regional inequalities will widen. Past recessions have hit young people hardest and even before the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK economy has been felt, this week's ONS figures show ⅕ of those claiming out of work benefits are aged 18 to 24.

New analysis from the Department for Opportunities shows:-

► A clear link between areas that have previously been rated:- "social mobility cold spots" by the Government's own Social Mobility Commission and those that have high numbers of young people now claiming benefits.

► Young people in the ten Local Authorities ranked lowest on social mobility are 32% more likely to be claiming out of work benefits than those in the 10 ranked highest.

► Young people in former Labour:- "Red Wall" seats are 34% more likely to be claiming out of work benefits than the UK (11.8% compared to 8.8%).

► The North East and North West are the hardest hit English Regions with over 10% of young people claiming out of work benefits, while the South West and South West have the lowest levels.

► A young person in Cambridge (the Local Authority with the lowest claimant rate) is over seven times less likely to be claiming benefits than a young person in Blackpool (the highest).

Social mobility cold and hot spots are listed below. The 10 Local Authority areas with the highest youth unemployment claimant count are:- Blackpool, Thanet, Burnley, Oldham, Hartlepool, Tendring, Wolverhampton, Bradford, South Tyneside, Croydon.

Recognising that youth unemployment is hitting disproportionately across the country, the Department for Opportunities; the new campaign arm of the Social Mobility Foundation; is bringing together a coalition of employers who are committed to doing all they can to help young people by creating and extending opportunities in hard hit areas.

Ahead of the launch a number of employers have already pledged their support including:- Aviva, bp, Baker McKenzie, Bloomberg, Capital One, JLL and PwC. Together they employ over 61,000 people. These employers have retained their commitment to young people throughout the crisis by for example offering online work experience or continuing to recruit.

The Department for Opportunities is calling on the Government to target the support it has announced to help young people in the hardest hit areas. It is also urging Government to immediately create a National Database of Opportunities so young people can see what opportunities are available in their local area or online via virtual placements. This will mean everything; from job opportunities to apprenticeships, kickstarter jobs to virtual work experience; is clearly visible in 1 place.

Calling for a joint effort not just from Government, but also employers, Alan Milburn, Chair of the Social Mobility Foundation said:- "Young people in 'left behind' parts of our country are already suffering disproportionately high unemployment. If past recessions are anything to go by 'Generation Covid' is at risk of being the biggest losers from the coming recession. Without urgent action social mobility will be hit and Regional inequalities will widen. Avoiding a jobs catastrophe for this generation of young people, especially those in areas which were struggling before the crisis, requires urgent action by employers and Government. Government can help by targeting its employment and training support programmes on social mobility coldspots. It should set to work immediately to create a National Database of Opportunities so young people can see how to access opportunities. Some businesses are already showing what can be done by extending support to young people. We are delighted a number of major employers have already backed our call and invite others to join a national coalition to create new opportunities for young people"

Employers who sign up to the coalition are committed to playing their part in creating opportunities for young people as this economic crisis deepens; be it through virtual mentoring or internships to donating laptops and computers to those most in need. 6 employers have signed up to the coalition and are demonstrating their commitment to young people in a variety of ways.

Kevin Ellis, PwC UK Chairman and Senior Partner, said:- "Employers can make a huge difference to opportunities for young people, and never has there been a greater need to help than now. That's why PwC is delighted to join this coalition of employers supporting targeted interventions where the help is needed most. Supporting skills and social mobility is not just about those who come to work with us; it's about working together as a coalition to reach a much wider group to help them progress as far as their talent and determination take them."

Rupert MacInnes, VP External Affairs, Capital1 UK, commented:- "Capital1 UK is delighted to be a founder member of the Social Mobility Foundation's coalition of employers. We along with other companies can play a vital role in developing skills and confidence in young people. We have a number of programmes that specifically aim to address social mobility issues in our local communities, including delivering employability workshops and mentoring programmes."

► Aviva:- continues to offer opportunity to young people through internships, coaching and mentoring as they prepare for the world of work, as well as opportunities to join the business through apprenticeships and graduate roles. They recognise the importance of helping each generation to get their 1st step into the workplace, and that this has never been more important.

► Baker Mackenzie:- Provide insight days and application workshops through a number of social mobility initiatives; offer work experience to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds; have representatives across the firm that act as mentors and as contact points for individuals to reach out to for advice; and recruitment processes which help find candidates from all backgrounds.

► Bloomberg:- recent partnerships include the creation of Sutton Trust Online, a virtual summer School programme which is helping 6000 high achieving, low income students access Higher Education; Startup, a targeted mentoring programme that connects talented young people with Bloomberg's employees, expertise and opportunities; and the Bloomberg apprenticeship programme which promotes diversity of talent and innovation from within.

► bp:- committed to providing opportunities for young people, particularly those from less advantaged backgrounds, to experience the world of work. Support includes virtual mentoring, work experience, insight talks and internships as well as continuing to hire new graduate. bp also worked with the National Business Response Network to donate laptops to areas of greatest need to support home learning as the country went into lockdown.

► Capital1 UK:- Operates a number of CSR initiatives focused on social mobility with targeted Schools close to UK offices in Nottingham and Islington. Programmes include their 'Pathways' employability workshops, a mentoring programme called 'Changing Futures', and sponsorship of The Sutton Scholars programme in Nottingham.

► JLL:- Undertake extensive skills and education work with young people via their comprehensive Communities programme. JLL have both an apprentice and graduate programme, actively targeting a wide range of Universities, Schools and colleges. Through the One+1 work experience programme for every young person that has connections to the industry, JLL also offered work experience to someone with no connections.

► PwC:- Expanded their work experience programme this year providing 1,800 opportunities to those from disadvantaged backgrounds virtually and developed a PwC UK Employability Skills Toolkit .PwC support young people and their parents/carers by offering resources to support learning at home. Opened an office in Bradford providing 134 jobs and apprenticeships and are the Cornerstone Employer. Expanded routes into PwC to cover apprenticeships, School leaver programmes, degree apprenticeships and graduate programmes growing their technology degree apprenticeship programmes, to enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds to build a career in technology.