Tuesday 27 November 2012

Advance notice of Santa visits

Santa is going to be in our area quite a lot over the next few weeks.  Assisted by the Garston Rotary Club he's doing quite a tour.  Here's a link to his itinerary.

No more waiting in the rain

Good news for people who use the 80 or 80a bus to go from Garston Leisure Centre towards town.

A new bus shelter's being put up at the stop on Long Lane.

Thanks to people who helped write letters (albeit quite some time ago!)

Friday 23 November 2012

Company of Friends

Last night I went along to a really great show which was all the better for me not knowing what to expect.

The Company of Friends is a Liverpool based drama group made up of people with learning disabilties. The members have  range of abilities and are all adults.

They were putting on a performance of Grease at the Black-E.

What a great night!

I have never seen so much enegy and enthusiasm in a production.  And actually real joy as well.

Apparently it's not really possible to learn lines so the scenes have to be ad libbed with a key "code phrase" at the beginning and the end so the actors know when to start and when to stop.  Even knowing this I am not sure I spotted the code phrases!

The performance is on again tonight.  I don't know if its sold out but there are other things coming up like the Panto.  I also learned that they are likely to be performing at the Rose Theatre, which is on the campus at Edge Hill in Ormskirk.

If you get the chance to see this group or to find out more do take the effort.  It will be well worth t.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

New homes to replace former Garston Embassy?

A planning application's come in to turn the unused building on Wellington Street, which was most recently the "Garston Embassy" as part of the cultural village project, into one and two bedroom flats.

You can have a look at the application, and make comments, at this link.

Campaign against secret courts

I signed a letter which has been published in the Times today as part of the campaign against the introduction of "secret courts".

Here is a link to the text of the letter and a full list of those who signed. 

Monday 12 November 2012

St Mary's Road eyesore

Some time ago I reported that the the City Council had finally agreed to compulsorily purchase the eyesore buildings on the corner of James Street and St Mary's Road.

Since then nothing seems to have happened and the buildings have continued to make the road look bad (particularly when you consider tht they are opposite the Co op)

Anyway, my colleague Richard has been pressing the Council for action and updates on this.

Here is  a link to the latest Question and Answer from the most recent Town Hall meeting.

Island Road plans approved

The plans to turn the big empty eyesore building on Island Road into housing has been approved by Council Officers.

I know that residents will be delighted that finally something is going to be done to this blot on the landscape.

The building I am talking about is the one by the park at number 24.

You can see details of the decision at this link.

The bulk of the information is in the related documents section which has plans plus the case officers report and decision letter with any conditions.

Monday 5 November 2012

Garston Old Road plans - office to houses?

A planning application's come in to turn the office building at the corner of Garston Old Road and Stormont Road into three houses.

This is the location where previously a shop and off licence was planned (and about which there was quite a bit of controversy)

Anyway, you can see the planning application details at this link.

The bulk of the detail is in the "related documents" section towards the bottom of the page.

UPDATE NOV 23: And it seems there is again an application for an off licence here also.  We'll publish details as quickly as we can.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Mather Avenue parking problem - solution nearer?

Some time ago I went to see the head of the police training college on Mather Avenue (with local residents) to talk about problems caused by selfish and inconsiderate parking by people working at or visiting the building.

The superintendent agreed to reinforce the message about considerate parking, but we realised it would take more than that.

Among the frustrations of residents was the double yellow line across the front of the building which seemed to have little point and which the police said they didn't need.

I followed up by asking the Council to look into removing it. We felt that if it wasn't there, some of the troublesome parking could be shifted away from people's houses.

Anyway, the good news is that, following all this work, a plan to make this change is now drawn up and being advertised for comments.  People directly affected should have had a letter but there'll have been wider advertising too.

There is a deadline for any comments of 22 November.  If there are no objections, it should go ahead.  If there are objections a Council committee may have to decide which means residents will have another chance to have their say.

This has been a long running bug bear for local people so let's hope it's sorted soon.


Thursday 1 November 2012

Want to get more local news?

Every month I sent out an e mail bulletin of information, news and issues relevant to L19 and L18.

Although I concentrate on the Cressington ward area, I do include things a little further afield.

If you want to start getting these e mails, you can subscribe at this link.

Cobblestone Corner decision

The Council has given approval for the empty buildings at Cobblestone Corner (off Ivy Avenue L19) to be turned into a supported living/care facility for disabled people.

Details of the decision can be found at this link

Most of the detail is in the section called Related Documents.

There are quite a few conditions being applied, one of which is about the times that work is allowed to go on on site (this is so that its not too noisy for neighbours)

It'll be good to see these buildings being used again but Richard and I will keep an eye on things to make sure that the conditions, particularly the ones about times of work, are being kept to.

You'll find the conditions in a document towards the bottom of the Related Documents section