I dont know anyone who knows the water who isn’t in awe of it, who isn’t afraid of it.

But there’s sometimes you find yourself stranded, propeller not working, need help.

Local knowledge saves lives.

As much remote as technology MIGHT be available, local knowledge is what RNLI know saves lives
so less than 10 seconds , sign official petition, to stop Coastguard closures  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/4403

• http://blog.coastguardsos.com/

Birkenhead Queensway Tunnel will be closed all lanes from 10pm Christmas Eve until 630am Boxing Day.

No closures Wallasey tunnels and both tunnels will be open over New Years period.

e-mail visitwestkirby@gmail.com

Stay safe. Look after each other.

Saturday 24^th   CHRISTMAS EVE

                         3.00pm    Crib Service for All Ages – St Bridget

                         4.30pm    Christingle – Caldy Church

                        11.30pm   ”Midnight Service” –

                                         first Communion of Christmas – St Bridget

                        11.30pm   ”Midnight Service” – Caldy Church

 Sunday 25^th     CHRISTMAS DAY

                         8.00am    Holy Communion

                        10.00am   ALL-AGE COMMUNION

 St Michael’s and All Angels, Newton, West Kirby

Christingle Service

Children and families especially welcome

Saturday 24th December 2011 at 4:00 PM for 1 hour

 

As West Kirby goes, I have been involved in similar reviews regarding Shopping and Regeneration of the town since 2004.  Presumably every other county/ district in the UK has undertaken a fairly lengthy consultation in that period too.  West Kirby like many other towns has its own set of special circumstances. Being a Coastal town its performance relies as much on weather and tourism as it does local trade.  Consultative documents describe the town as a day tripper destination. 

Roger Tym and Partners have been long involved with Wirral, having been commissioned to produce both food and non food retail studies as far back as the late 1990′s and up to 2004.  Another study was carried out in 2008.

Certainly Wirral has been proactive with regard to its commitment to retail study and public involvment – West Kirby and Hoylake Regeneration , New Brighton Regeneration, Wirral Waters, Woodside Masterplan – as well as the contuining invitation to the public to attend open Area Forums.

There is the importance of rents, rates and other associated business costs.  When you embark on a business these costs are known.

 The important factor is motivating people to use the services and shops locally instead of heading on a bus to Liverpool or driving to Cheshire Oaks or buying online. The only way to do that is to have a varied and interesting offer. It could be said that the cafes, bars and restaurants do well in West Kirby- with a dip when the weather is bad.  But what of other businesses? Glaziers, butchers, antique shops…  What motivates people to walk past the mental barrier that is Hoscote Park and venture further up Banks Road?

How important was it to hold onto parking, and refuse a 60 bedroom hotel?  Who could fund new lampposts, street furniture and tidy up the glass canopies over some shops?  Wirral has a low percentage of retaining income within the borough according to a 2004 report so encouraging people to shop locally will certainly address that issue.

There is only a percentage of people able to shop 9-5 weekdays, so encouraging those people to shop local at the weekends is essential.  With many businesses either family run or even sole traders, opening on a Saturday and receiving those customers is essential. Opening on a Sunday is usually out of the question.

 The usp thing that defines a local High Street is its niche businesses- and over the last 2 years at least 4 of those have vanished from West Kirby.  

 Car parking has always been an issue. When there were provisional plans for the Concourse area, it was understood that there was little point investing in the car park at the rear of the Concourse. With those plans on hold, and the potential closure of that particular primary care trust facility for a new one- that car park is neither pleasant nor integrated with the town. The proposed pedestrianisation of the Crescent was met with fierce opposition by the traders for fear their customers would abandon them if unable to park directly outside their shops. Chevron car parking on the front promenade was met with horror when the additional 20 places would mean a loss of 3 metres breadth of the promenade.

A new Aldi with a limited food offer should encourage additional visitors to the town on a more regular basis, with free car parking and an opportunity to explore local shops while in West Kirby. As with the old Safeway and its Wednesday offers, Aldi offer similar incentives to encourage frequent shopping. 

 The proposal of a Waitrose or Booths to regenerate the Concourse area would have brought in sufficient cash bonus to improve the  immediate street realm- but at what loss to local businesses?  Having studied the Waitrose effect before, there would be drastic change.  Look at the effect of the Hoylake Open Golf on the rental returns demanded.  An all ecompassing Waitrose with its car park to the rear would kill many small businesses.

Encouraging people to shop locally depends on many factors- all varied from town to town. Retailer demands will be different from shoppers desires and again differ from visitors needs.

But the impetus for change comes from within- people need to use their local shops and services more. Now.

The information that follows has come from a variety of sources- and is guide only.

Credit Cards- If unable to keep up repayments, receiving loads of threatening letters, contact Payplan.  It means writing down all your debt, but many card companies and banks happy to receive something, even as little as £1 a month,  if paid regularly. They may freeze your debt, meaning no added interest- but it keeps the “wolves” from the door. All further letters you receive can be sent to Payplan and they will manage your debt.

Electricity, Gas, Water – These companies all make massive profits. Don’t panic. United Utilities are great. They will chat to you about a water meter and much more. Click the link to see how far they can help. Electricity and Gas- if you have arrears, having them install a prepayment meter means you now just pay for what you use with as little as £1 per week being taken to reduce existing debt.

Council Tax- Just tell them exactly what you can afford. They will set up a plan to help with arrears.

And do ask if you are entitled to any tax credits or benefits. Through your working life you have paid into this pot, time for someone suffering hardship to ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Wirral Council has made a new Cosy Homes Heating Grant available to residents with low incomes.

With ever-increasing energy bills, the Council is keen to assist households on certain welfare benefits with broken or inefficient heating systems who are not eligible for the government’s Warm Front grant.

The Cosy Homes Heating Grant can provide new central heating systems, replace faulty or broken boilers and upgrade existing heating systems to improve their energy efficiency.

The grant is available borough-wide and will improve the energy efficiency of low income households as well as reducing the number of households who are considered to be ‘fuel poor’, that is households spending more than 10% of total income on heating. It will be available until 31st March 2013 and is issued on a first come first served basis.

Cllr. George Davies, Wirral Council Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Safety, said: “Wirral Council is committed to helping residents to stay warm this winter and the heating works carried out under this grant scheme, used together with the Cosy Homes Insulation Programme, will help to reduce their energy bills and make their homes warmer, which is particularly important during the cold winter months.”

If you think you meet the criteria and would like to apply for this grant, please contact John Paul Griffiths on 0151 691 8114 or email heatinggrants@wirral.gov.uk. For further information on the grant please go to www.wirral.gov.uk/heatinggrants.

If you are unsure whether or not you are eligible for a Warm Front Grant, please contact the Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012.

Their website

999 should always be used if emergency, crime in progress as example.

Do NOT call either numbers if pigeon in back garden.

This looks like a great idea to have a new and better surgery. It does make the existing building redundant/ empty. And there are no new redevelopment plans for Concourse area.

Plans are here plus details of consultation http://www.bridge-court.co.uk/news#cutting-edge