2011 March

Neptune submits revised plans for final phase of

New Brighton’s regeneration

Neptune which is overseeing the £70 million redevelopment of New Brighton, has submitted alternative plans for a new apartment block.

Neptune’s original intention was to build Rococo Square, a block of 37 one and two bedroom apartments, sitting above ground floor retail/leisure space. This was originally intended to be part of the first phase along with the hugely successful Floral Pavilion Theater and Conference Centre. However, due to a downturn in market conditions, the residential element was put on hold.

The new plans will see the number of apartments in the development at Victoria Gardens on Marine promenade in New Brighton reduced to 24 single aspect units.

The unit sizes have increased to attract more owner-occupiers to the development, the largest apartment having 4 Bedrooms over 2 floors.

The ground floor retail element of the scheme will no longer be included. The block will focus entirely on high quality residential accommodation.

Neptune has submitted a planning application and if successful intends to start on site following completion of the Phase 2 of New Brighton’s regeneration. This includes a Morrison’s supermarket, a 6 screen digital cinema, a 66 bed Travelodge hotel and a number of cafes, restaurants and retail stores.

Daniel Hynd from Neptune Esplanade said: “The revised application follows a review of the scheme aimed at improving the design and quality of the residential element.”

“We have increased the size of the units, and the new scheme enables us to ensure that every apartment has an external balcony, sea view and a dedicated parking space.”

“It’s important that we are sensitive to market conditions and amend plans accordingly. We also believe that the retail element of the scheme should now be focused within the main development and there was evidence that a single use residential building would be more attractive to prospective buyers.”

“The new proposals will allow us to complete our regeneration plans for New Brighton, in a more timely manner than having to wait for the residential market to recover to a level that could enable us to deliver the old proposals”.

The next edition of the NEW BRIGHTON WALRUS will complete 14 years of this project.

It is a considerable achievement for the local community members involved. The New Brighton Partnership would like to thank the 90+ people who give their time every March, May, September and December to deliver it out to 7,000 homes in New Brighton . Thanks also to all those who contribute news and information. We hope that you find it useful and informative. If you have any comments regarding the Walrus we would be interested to hear from you. Email [email protected] or telephone 639 5798 and leave a message.

We are always happy to find new people to deliver the Walrus. If you could spare half an hour four times a year to give us a hand please get in touch.

The deadline for items of news for the May edition is Friday 15th April.

The Magazines Conservation Society will be holding their Annual General meeting on Tuesday 29th March at 7.30pm at Vale House Cafe. Anyone who lives in the conservation Area is welcome to attend. Nominations for Committee members should be put in writing to the Secretary, Mrs Vicki Hall 38 Magazine Brow, Wallasey. CH45 1HP before Tuesday 22nd March.

New Brighton Primary School

Lifeboats on call project

This term we have been thrilled to see the culmination of a project with the Wallasey photographic society and the crew of New Brighton Lifeboat Station.

A talented group of our Year 6 writers have been working with their teacher, Mr John Jones, to develop their writing skills by interviewing members of our local lifeboat crew.

We were invited by Bob Warwick of the Wallasey Amateur Photographic Society to take part in the project to show a year in the life of the lifeboat team. The children began the project with a visit to school from Mark Harding, who is , like all members of this talented team, a volunteer who gives his time to help those in distress.

The children produced numerous pieces of writing for this project, all of which were inspired by the lives and work of our local lifeboat crew. The children were lucky enough to visit New Brighton lifeboat station and learn about the equipment used and what the crew do when on call. They also interviewed Mark Harding to find out about his involvement with the R.N.L.I and what it takes to be a Lifeboat volunteer. This visit and interview, along with some fantastic pictures taken by Wallasey Amateur Photographic society, provided writing opportunities for this talented group.

Staff, from school,were delighted to attend the opening of the exhibition and were proud when a poem, written by Abigail Sefton, was read out. Councillor Alan Jennings, the Mayor of Wirral, who attended the opening ceremony, was so impressed with the quality of the children’s work that he extended an invitation to visit him in his chambers at Wallasey town hall. New Brighton Primary writing club are looking forward to this visit and to producing an article for the school magazine about their trip. They would also like to express their thanks to Bob Warwick and all at New Brighton lifeboat station for involving them in this project.

The exhibition can be viewed at The Williamson Art Gallery until 5^th April

Lifeboat poem.

The crashing waves roar on the river,

The deafening sound sends a shiver,

The lonely sailor grips the tiller,

A horrendous wave is such a killer.

The cold winds blow,

The sharp waves sigh,

The gasping sailor send a cry.

By

Abigail Sefton, aged 11.

St. James, Albion Street, New Brighton

April 17th,  Palm Sunday, 10.30 am Special Service of Confirmation – Bishop Colin Bazley

April 22nd,  Good Friday, 12 noon – 3pm Good Friday Devotions – come and join for as long as you can

Good Friday, 7.30 pm  Stainer’s Crucifixion – choral work sung by St. James’ Choir

April 24th     Easter Day,  8 am Holy Communion

10.30 am Holy Communion

Come and join us for this special Easter season.

EMMANUEL CHURCH OF ENGLAND

154 SEABANK ROAD, NEW BRIGHTON

[ opposite The Flying Dutchman ]

WEEKLY SERVICES:

SUNDAY at 9.45am with Sunday School

THURSDAY at 9.30am.

LENT SERVICES:

9.45 March 27 Family Service with Uniformed Groups

9.45 April 3 Mothering Sunday

9.45 April 17 Palm Sunday

9.45 April 24 Easter Sunday

SATURDAYS: Coffee is served in the Annexe

10.30am to 1pm at the front of the church,

and the Church is open for prayer.

UNIFORMED GROUPS

Emmanuel Church has thriving Girl Guides and Scouts for boys and girls, meeting weekly in the church hall.

Rainbow Guides: (age 5,6) Fridays at 5pm

Brownie Guides: (age 7-10) Fridays at 6pm

Guides: (age 10-14) Wednesdays at 7.30pm

Beaver Scouts: (age 6,7) Wednesdays at 5pm

Cub Scouts: (age 8-10) Wednesdays at 6.15pm

Scouts: (age 10-13) Thursdays at 7.30pm

Please see the Leader in charge for new members.

There is an urgent need for volunteers to help with the Scout section on Thursday evenings, please see Margaret or George.

HOW SECURE IS YOUR HOME?

Dear Resident,

There have been a number of recent burglaries on the Wirral, where the offenders have gained access to properties via the Upvc front door. These have occurred where householders have inadvertently left the front door insecure, by failing to lift up the handle engaging the multi-locking system, and then turning the key. In other instances, the burglars have inserted an implement through the letterbox to release the door handle, or used a thin screwdriver between the door and frame, to release the door latch. Never leave keys in door locks. These should be taken upstairs, along with any car keys, during the nighttime.

If your front or rear doors are of Upvc construction, it is imperative to ensure that the bolts are activated, and the lock is engaged with the key at all times, to prevent these walk-in/sneak burglaries. The latch itself will not provide adequate security, and this has been clearly illustrated over recent months.

Where possible, try to prevent access to the more vulnerable, rear of your property. Spiked toppings, such as ‘Prikkastrip’, can legally be fitted to side and rear walls/fences, providing a small notice is displayed, warning people of the danger of injury if they attempt to climb the wall/fence. Anti-climb paint is another effective method of deterring offenders. Try to ensure your ‘wheelie’ bins are kept in the rear yard/garden.

20% of burglaries that take place involve no forced entry, i.e. the burglar gains access via an open window or door. It is obviously important to ensure all windows/doors are secured when leaving the premises unattended. Opportunist burglars will often take advantage of doors and windows, left open by the householder for ventilation, in the warmer summer months, even when the house is occupied.

If you have any information regarding those persons responsible for committing these offences, you can ring the confidential, Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

At present, of the five companies that have signed up to Marine Point, we have met with The Light Cinema and will be meeting Travelodge within the next few weeks and will be starting the recruitment for both companies late March.
We have contacted Cappuccinos and they will be starting their recruitment either June or July and we are waiting to here from Morrisons and Starbucks to discuss their recruitment requirements.
The only company that has confirmed staff numbers required to date is Morrisons with approximately three hundred vacancies.
As more companies sign up to the development we will be contacting them to offer our services.
The vacancies for the companies that we are working with will be advertised through Wallasey Jobcentre Plus.

Lynne Crosbie Recruitment Advisor | Jobcentre Plus | CSD | Dominick House | St Albans Road | Wallasey, Merseyside| CH44 5XY  | 0151 802 8480 | 8480 |  www.dwp.gov.uk

FORMATION OF A FRIENDSHIP AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES GROUP FOR NEW BRIGHTON AND WALLASEY SINGLES

Un-attached men and women over 50 and living in either New Brighton and Wallasey are asked to contact Richard Globe on 0151-639-6253, if they are both seriously interested and willing to form a much needed weekly friendship and social activities group but not a singles dating agency.
Help is also required in getting this group off the ground, and finding a suitable weekly local venue with good transport facilities.
Anyone who has some free time and would like to assist, please telephone Richard as soon as possible or email him at [email protected].

Easter Celebrations @ New Brighton Bapist Church

Palm Sunday 17^th April 11am Morning Worship

Maundy Thursday 21^st April 7pm Communion Service

Good Friday 22^nd April 11am Service

Easter Sunday 24^th April 11am Celebration Service

Come and celebration the greatest gift to man.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only

begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall

not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

New Brighton Bapist Church

Seabank Road

CH45 1HG

“Working Together in Love for the Kingdom Of God”

What’s on @ New Brighton Bapist Church

Monday 7:45pm Bible Study Group

Tuesday 7:45pm Bible Study/Prayer Meeting

Wednesday 9-11am Parents & Tots (preschool)

1.30pm Nurture group (Manse)

5:30pm Warriors (5-11yrs)

6:45 pm Rock Solid (11-16yrs)

7:45pm New Brighton House Group

Thursday 12:30pm Lunch Fellowship

please let Phil know by Wednesday if you hope to be with us for lunch

2:00pm Ladies Fellowship

6-9pm Youth Café @ The Haven

7:45pm Wallasey Village House Group

If you have any question about the Christian faith or you want any more information on anything that we do please don’t hesitate to ask.

New Brighton Baptist Church Office

142 Seabank Road Wallasey CH45 1HG

NBBC Church Office 0151 639 8507

The Haven Christian Bookshop/Coffee Shop !42 Seabank Road New Brighton

The Haven is part of the work of New Brighton Baptist Church

And home to Pathways crisis pregnancy and to Reach Counselling on Wirral

Open Monday-Saturday 10am-1pm

For more information call 0151 638 5910

In March 2010 the previous Government launched its latest strategy for seaside towns – Strategy for Seaside Success: Securing the future of seaside economies. To coincide with this announcement Wirral along with 24 other local authorities in England was awarded a grant of £200,000 from the Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG). The allocation in the form of a revenue grant is designed to support projects that will drive regeneration and economic development in the seaside towns of New Brighton, Hoylake and West Kirby.

Cabinet have agreed that Wirral’s allocation be split equally between New Brighton (£100,000) and Hoylake/West Kirby (£100,000) and that the respective Area Forum’s be given responsibility in evaluating and determining which proposals be supported. Recommendations from each Area Forum will then be presented to a future Cabinet for a decision.

The application process was launched on 20th February and the closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 25 February 2011. Applications that meet the criteria for funding will be assessed through a process of participatory budgeting at two “Special” Area Forums on 7.00-9.00pm, 14 March at Melrose Hall, Melrose Avenue, Hoylake, CH47 3BU for Hoylake & West Kirby and 7.00-9.00pm, 17th March at Wallasey Sea Cadets, Victoria Road, New Brighton, CH45 9LD in respect of New Brighton.

If you are a resident in either of these areas and would like to have a say on how this funding is spent, you can attend on the evening and vote on which projects receive funding in your area. If you have any questions about getting involved please call Andy Brannan on 0151 691 8391 or email [email protected]

In the News:

Don’t miss the superb exhibition by Wallasey Amateur Photographic Society www.wallaseyaps.org.uk with the story of the station told through interviews, stories & poetry by the children of New Brighton Primary School Writing Group www.newbrightonprimary.co.uk

Operations:

In January our hovercraft volunteers were in action helping save an unlucky walker who became stuck in the river mud off Egremont Promenade – the alarm was raised by a quick thinking group of girls from Weatherhead High School.

Fundraising:

A big thanks to Wallasey & District Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes who during the last 12 months have raised a magnificent £4021.01 – the money will be used to start our new appeal to help with the costs of crew training and gear.

1.6 Quarry Park. Quarry Park situated at the junction of Rowson Street, Mount Pleasant Road, Rake Lane and Magazine Lane New Brighton is, as the name suggests the site of an old quarry. The sandstone walls forming the boundary of the park were extracted from here. The most unique feature is the sandstone gateway, with a clock and steps leading down from each side. The name of the donor and Victorian philanthropist Mr. James Smith is inscribed on the side of the structure. The pendulum of the clock mechanism was situated inside one of the corners. (The clock mechanism has been in a local clock repairers possession for 13 years) There is a children’s play section and a kick about area. This original Victorian recreation area had 3 bowling greens, but now has one, which is still used for playing the traditional crown green bowls.

Work is continuing on the old chapel. Recently, during terrible December weather, the roof, spire and cross were renovated with funding from the Area Forum.

Work progressing in a rare pleasant spell of weather

The Friends will again be represented at Wirral History & Heritage Fair, Birkenhead Town Hall on Saturday, 5^th March, 10 am to 4 pm.

Our monthly Sunday walks will start in April and run through to September. Each walk lasts about an hour and they cover three different aspects of the cemetery: military, national maritime disasters and local history. Last year’s walks raised a total of £258, by voluntary contributions, towards the work of the Friends.

Our Chairman, Mark Joynson, continues to patrol the cemetery at the weekends with able assistance from Paul Smith and John Barke. This has had the effect of reducing the amount of vandalism to the graves and improving the security. Mark has also been actively seeking funding for higher railings between the cemetery and Earlston Gardens but it has been a very slow process and we still do not have a definite figure or a start date for the work.

The Friends are happy to undertake research into the location of graves in the cemetery. It is time consuming, so we have suggested, on the web site, that people searching for family graves might wish to send a donation to the Friends. So far we have answered about 50 queries from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the U.S. and South Africa and received some generous donations.

In the cemetery there is an area dedicated to the memory of children who were stillborn. Unfortunately, the memorial had fallen into disrepair, so it has been re-sited further away from the main path towards the rose garden. The memorial stones are currently being renovated.

The foundations for the new path to the baby memorial

History Busters is a project involving young people who research, over a period of five weeks, an aspect of the history of a Wirral locality. Then, for the next five weeks the group uses the results of their research to produce a dramatized musical performance. Rake Lane Cemetery has been selected as one of their projects for 2011. The group will focus on three graves connected to the Titanic disaster. The culmination of the project will be a performance on Easter Monday, 25^th April, in and around the cemetery and we’re really looking forward to seeing the results of their hard work.

www.wallaseycemetery.co.uk