The Mansion House in Calderstones Park is to have a new use and a new occupier.
Obviously any change to what goes on in the Mansion House could affect the nature of the park.
The City Council is shortly going to choose between two potential uses and occupiers. One plan is for a boutique hotel. The other is for a centre promoting literacy and reading with some study bedrooms.
Local Lib Dem Councillors are keen to feed in the thoughts of people who use the park and people who live near the park. If you use the park (even occasionally), or live nearby or have thoughts about this, it would help my Lib Dem colleagues if you could complete the survey which you will find at this link.
The first section is a short summary of what is going on.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Pupil Premium - more money for local schools next year
The Government's announced the figures for the Pupil Premium (thats extra money going to schools with pupils with disadvantaged backgrounds). It's worked out based on whether the pupil has been registered for Free School Meals at any time in the last six years.
The money has increased next year and is set to do the same in 2014/15.
Here are the published amounts for some of our South Liverpool schools.
Banks Road Primary, £96,300
Booker Avenue Infants £26,100
Booker Avenue Juniors £53,100
Enterprise South Liverpool Academy £443,700
Garston Church of England Primary £51,300
Gilmour Infants £27,000
Gilmour Juniors £41,400
Parklands High School £227,700
St Austins Catholic Primary School £61,200
Schools in Liverpool get between them £22,377,000
The Pupil Premium was one of the key points in the Lib Dem election manifesto in 2010.
The money has increased next year and is set to do the same in 2014/15.
Here are the published amounts for some of our South Liverpool schools.
Banks Road Primary, £96,300
Booker Avenue Infants £26,100
Booker Avenue Juniors £53,100
Enterprise South Liverpool Academy £443,700
Garston Church of England Primary £51,300
Gilmour Infants £27,000
Gilmour Juniors £41,400
Parklands High School £227,700
St Austins Catholic Primary School £61,200
Schools in Liverpool get between them £22,377,000
The Pupil Premium was one of the key points in the Lib Dem election manifesto in 2010.
Local Services and closures over the holidays
Here is a link to the e mail bulletin that Richard Oglethorpe and I have sent out about services in the L19 and L18 area over Xmas - including travel, libraries, health service and so on. I am told this QR code should also take you there.
We send bulletins of local news roughly once a month. If you don't get these and want to sign up, you can do that at this link.
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Rights and Humanity event
Last night I was invited to be a panel speaker at the final Rights and Humanity lecture of its lecture series on various aspects of culture and human rights.
I went along thinking I didn't have a lot to say and then discovered that I almost had too much!
What a shame that I wasn't able to attend some of the earlier events as the topics look as if they were fascinating.
Anyway, if you haven't heard of this charity , do have a look at what they do at this link.
I went along thinking I didn't have a lot to say and then discovered that I almost had too much!
What a shame that I wasn't able to attend some of the earlier events as the topics look as if they were fascinating.
Anyway, if you haven't heard of this charity , do have a look at what they do at this link.
Mather Avenue parking - update
I blogged a while ago about problems people in Mather Avenue were having with some selfish and inconsiderate parking by people visiting the police training college.
There was in fact a length of yellow lines outside the front of the college which the police didn't need but which was helping cause the parking problem.
I asked the Council to remove this to help ease things.
The good news is that following the necessary consultation there have been no objections so the lines will be removed.
Hopefully this will make things a little easier for people living there.
Richard Oglethorpe (my former council colleague) has written to local residents to update them.
There was in fact a length of yellow lines outside the front of the college which the police didn't need but which was helping cause the parking problem.
I asked the Council to remove this to help ease things.
The good news is that following the necessary consultation there have been no objections so the lines will be removed.
Hopefully this will make things a little easier for people living there.
Richard Oglethorpe (my former council colleague) has written to local residents to update them.
Bus travel on Xmas day
There are a few bus services running on Xmas day. These tend to be routes going to and from hospitals.
In South Liverpool this includes the 201X which runs from Speke and Garston to the Royal and Women's Hospitals.
There are six buses going towards the hospital and five coming back.
You can find the timetable at this link.
In South Liverpool this includes the 201X which runs from Speke and Garston to the Royal and Women's Hospitals.
There are six buses going towards the hospital and five coming back.
You can find the timetable at this link.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Community event - plus Santa (!) on Beechwood Estate
Santa will be in his Grotto on the Beechwood Estate next week.
On Tuesday 18th December he'll be available at White Oak Lodge.
The Santa visit is part of an event giving people the chance to pop in and give opinions about the estate area as well as getting information and advice from different organisations.
Hot drinks and mince pies will be on offer. We are told that Rudolph may make an appearance.
The event runs from 3pm.
On Tuesday 18th December he'll be available at White Oak Lodge.
The Santa visit is part of an event giving people the chance to pop in and give opinions about the estate area as well as getting information and advice from different organisations.
Hot drinks and mince pies will be on offer. We are told that Rudolph may make an appearance.
The event runs from 3pm.
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Greenhill Nursery site - update
I blogged some time ago about the future of the Greenhill nursery site.
The Council had said it didn't want the land any more.
My colleague Richard Oglethorpe and I wrote to people living near the site to ask for their views about what they would like to see happen on that land. The top suggestions (in terms of numbers) included allotments and sheltered housing of some sort.
Anyway, the Council is due to formally decide to sell the land. The decision will be made at the Cabinet meeting next week (14th December)
You can read the report at this link.
As part of the report, six local councillors were consulted (five Labour and Lib Dem Richard Oglethorpe)
Only Richard bothered to reply and his comments, based on our survey, are in the appendix to the report.
The whole agenda for the meeting is here
The Council had said it didn't want the land any more.
My colleague Richard Oglethorpe and I wrote to people living near the site to ask for their views about what they would like to see happen on that land. The top suggestions (in terms of numbers) included allotments and sheltered housing of some sort.
Anyway, the Council is due to formally decide to sell the land. The decision will be made at the Cabinet meeting next week (14th December)
You can read the report at this link.
As part of the report, six local councillors were consulted (five Labour and Lib Dem Richard Oglethorpe)
Only Richard bothered to reply and his comments, based on our survey, are in the appendix to the report.
The whole agenda for the meeting is here
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Monday, 3 December 2012
Booker Avenue site progress?
Back in March, people living near the Booker Avenue/Greenhill Road junction were given some infomation about plans for 16 flats to be built on the empty bit of land opposite the pub (not the former garage, the other bit)
The Council owns the land and the idea was that they would let South Liverpool Housing have it for a development, with planning permission coming in over the summer.
Well clearly that didn't happen, but there is some movement now.
South Liverpool Housing tell us that they plan to put a planning application in this month (December).
Once this is in, its a chance for local people to have their say on all sorts of aspects, including traffic in the area. Planning decisions often make amendments to take into account these sorts of worries.
The application isn't in yet, but as soon as it is I'll publish a link on this blog.
Meawhile, there'll be some more "site tests" on the land so if you live nearby you may well see this going on.
The Council owns the land and the idea was that they would let South Liverpool Housing have it for a development, with planning permission coming in over the summer.
Well clearly that didn't happen, but there is some movement now.
South Liverpool Housing tell us that they plan to put a planning application in this month (December).
Once this is in, its a chance for local people to have their say on all sorts of aspects, including traffic in the area. Planning decisions often make amendments to take into account these sorts of worries.
The application isn't in yet, but as soon as it is I'll publish a link on this blog.
Meawhile, there'll be some more "site tests" on the land so if you live nearby you may well see this going on.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Off licence - another try on Garston Old Road.
UPDATE: The Council has now confirmed it will take objections and comments up to 23rd December.
People who live near the bit of Garston Old Road where it joins with Stormont Road may remember the battle around a year ago about whether or not that corner (with the empty shop premises) was going to be an off license.
I represented quite a few residents who were worried about alcohol being sold there. The problems were the closeness of the park, of Clarendon College (the Montessori School) and so on. There were worries about litter and parking and anti social behaviour more generally (we get reports every now and then of alcohol related asb in bits of the park)
Anyway, we managed to win the argument at the Council Licensing Committee but there was then an appeal to the magistrates. I was all primed to go and speak on behalf of local people when it all stopped because the applicant had passed away.
We thought that was the end of it.
However a new application's come in to sell alcohol there from 7 am to 11 pm 7 days a week.
Richard (Oglethorpe) and I have written to people living near the site to get views and to see if they again want us to argue against this proposal.
Our worries are the same as before.
And in fact following the Council's (misguided) decision to allow 24 hour alcohol sales from the petrol station by ASDA, it could be argued that the market is already over served.
If you did get one of our letters, do please let us have your thoughts.
You might also like to write directly to the Council yourself. The Council has a handy form which you can download from this page.
The deadline on the Council's website is given as 17th December. The deadline on the sign outside the premises is given as 23 December. This may be because of a delay putting the sign up but if you are commenting directly to the Council, our advice is to get your letter in before the 17th to be on the safe side.
People who live near the bit of Garston Old Road where it joins with Stormont Road may remember the battle around a year ago about whether or not that corner (with the empty shop premises) was going to be an off license.
I represented quite a few residents who were worried about alcohol being sold there. The problems were the closeness of the park, of Clarendon College (the Montessori School) and so on. There were worries about litter and parking and anti social behaviour more generally (we get reports every now and then of alcohol related asb in bits of the park)
Anyway, we managed to win the argument at the Council Licensing Committee but there was then an appeal to the magistrates. I was all primed to go and speak on behalf of local people when it all stopped because the applicant had passed away.
We thought that was the end of it.
However a new application's come in to sell alcohol there from 7 am to 11 pm 7 days a week.
Richard (Oglethorpe) and I have written to people living near the site to get views and to see if they again want us to argue against this proposal.
Our worries are the same as before.
And in fact following the Council's (misguided) decision to allow 24 hour alcohol sales from the petrol station by ASDA, it could be argued that the market is already over served.
If you did get one of our letters, do please let us have your thoughts.
You might also like to write directly to the Council yourself. The Council has a handy form which you can download from this page.
The deadline on the Council's website is given as 17th December. The deadline on the sign outside the premises is given as 23 December. This may be because of a delay putting the sign up but if you are commenting directly to the Council, our advice is to get your letter in before the 17th to be on the safe side.
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