ALL ALLWHITE WHITETAXIS TAXIS
SOUTHPORT & FORMBY
3 November 2021
Vol 28 Issue 44
CASH CASHORORCARD CARDININALLALLCARS CARS
Restoration project set for Kings Gardens
INSIDE THIS WEEK:
The Windmill pub on Seabank Road and (left) owners Neil Walsh and Tom Hodgin at the pub’s first birthday celebrations
Firms scoop awards TWO independent Southport town centre businesses have been honoured in the 2021 Northern Enterprise Awards. The Windmill pub, on Seabank Road, and Mind Games, on Union Street, were both recognised in the awards. Award organisers, said: “With many businesses experiencing unexpected adversity, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, now, more than ever feels like the best time to celebrate those who have faced the challenges head on and have sought innovative ways to bring about permanent positive change.” The Windmill pub is run by Neil Walsh and partner Tom Hodgin, who said: “We are delighted to have won the Northern Enterprise award for Most Inclusive Local Pub in the Greater Liverpool Region. “Since taking over The Windmill three years ago we have worked hard to engage with the
www.champnews.com
community and now our pub isn’t just a place for a pint it’s so much more. We’d like to thank our customers old and new who have supported us - especially in the last 18 months.” Colin Willock, owner of Mind Games, which won the Best Independent Jigsaw Retailer in Merseyside Award, said: “This award makes all our hard work during the pandemic and all the changes we had to make, worthwhile. “We love Southport and the support we have had in the nearly 10 years of trading has been overwhelming.”
Mind Games in Union Street
Golfing exploits of Maurice now a comedy film!
PAY & DISPLAY SCHEME TO END FREE PARKING AT BEACH SITE Report by Danielle Thompson FREE parking by the sand dunes next to Ainsdale Discovery Centre could become a thing of the past, as council chiefs are aiming to create a new pay and display car park for up to 249 cars at the site. A planning application was submitted by Sefton Council’s Green Sefton, who manage the borough’s parks, play areas and open spaces, on October 28, for parking behind the dunes next to the centre and in front of Toad Hall, which was recently given an eyecatching overhaul with lizard murals. The ‘pay and display’ areas would be open all year round and ‘provide extra parking spaces, most importantly during peak periods and during times when the beach parking is not in operation or limited due to the time of year (on-beach car parking is closed October 1 to March 31), poor
Ainsdale Discovery Centre
weather or high tides.’ The additional income would fund more Green Sefton Rangers plus infrastructure and ecological improvements across the Sefton Coast. Site improvements would include new disabled parking spaces, motorcycle parking, active travel improvements for pedestrians and cyclists, footpaths, covered bike storage for 28 bikes and EV charging points for up to 10 spaces.
Chiefs hope that it would ‘help relieve pressure at other Sefton Coastal Gateway locations including Crosby, Formby and Southport, helping improve visitor management by spreading visitor numbers and create tourism and economic benefits to Ainsdale and the local community.’ The Heritage Statement submitted with the plans states: “The car park site in question has no key heritage features but sits next to the SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) so the design concept is to complement the coastal environment. The land is designated as Green Belt and is generally a grass scrubland but historically is more of a brownfield site due to its past land-use. “The site of the proposed car park is currently used for existing parking and a bin store for waste collected off the beach. “Historically, the site has been used as a gunning placement during the Second World War, the location of the old Ainsdale Lido and a caravan site in the 1980s.”
THE UK’S LARGEST LETTERBOX CIRCULATION BY AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER! 143,191
CHAMPION SERIES
JAN-DEC 2020 100% FREE