LEBEK
Vol 29• Issue 13
RINO & PELLE
www.champnews.com
Lucy shines her light at life on Pluto
INSIDE THIS WEEK:
Bloomin’ cheek! 2,000 glorious flower bulbs painstakingly planted by Good Samaritan Chris are cut down in their prime by council workers A GOOD Samaritan planted more than 2,000 bulbs along a barren roadside - only for the flowers to be mown down by the council at the height of their beauty. Chris Truett spent £200 on the tulips and daffodils which he dug into the empty grass strip beside Rotten Row - one of the most iconic streets in Southport It took the 51-year-old eight weekends to plant the flowers on the mile-long verge, and they bloomed early this month. But, while they were in full flourish, Sefton Council workers mowed them down as they cut the grass, leaving Chris ‘gobsmacked’. Full story inside
Some of the flowers, planted by Chris, right, which were mown down by council workers. Pictures by North News and Pictures Ltd
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LEAVING SEFTON WOULD BE ‘DISASTER FOR TOWN’ l Council leaders Maher and Moran
Report by Tom Martin A JOINT move by the MPs of Southport and neighbouring West Lancashire to take Southport out of Sefton has been described as potentially ‘disastrous’ for the town. Reacting to last week’s news in the Champion that Southport’s Tory MP Damien Moore and West Lancs Labour member Rosie Cooper had joined forces to write a letter to the government urging the separation, the leaders of Sefton Council and West Lancs Borough Council, condemned the proposal. Sefton Council Leader Cllr Ian Maher, said: “Damien Moore and Rosie Cooper may well want to raise this again for their own reasons, despite it being rejected out of hand time and again for good reason. “My own view on this is led by the question ‘what is best for Southport residents?’ And my conclusion is that this suggestion
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would potentially be disastrous for the people of Southport.” West Lancashire BC Leader, Cllr Ian Moran, said the West Lancs administration has ‘no interest’ in merging with Southport. “We do not see it as remotely financially viable. We are instead already pursuing a county devolution deal with our Lancashire partners which includes Chorley and South Ribble.” ‘Council mismanagement’
It was reported last week how Mr Moore and Ms Cooper were unlikely allies after they signed a joint letter to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, asking for measures to be put in place to “change the local catchment area” which would mean
Reaction from residents to ‘leave’ proposal - p7
Council leaders of Sefton and West Lancs condemn proposals by MPs Moore and Cooper to take resort out of Merseyside and into Lancashire
Southport leaving Sefton to be in the same local authority area as West Lancs. Mr Moore told the Champion he had a “very brief face-to-face chat” with Michael Gove last week about the plans and they will schedule a meeting for more detailed talks at a later date. MP Moore claims the reason for the joint proposal is because of “council mismanagement” in Sefton, while MP Cooper believes the addition of Southport in Lancashire would give Ormskirk and Skelmersdale a “stronger voice.” The plans have sparked a huge reaction from both members of the public and local councillors. Labour Cllrs Greg Myers and Mhairi Doyle, who both represent the Norwood ward in Southport, have hit out at MP Moore and his stance over Ainsdale. According to the existing plans by The Boundary Commission, Ainsdale is set to leave Southport and become part of the Sefton Central constituency. Continued on page 7
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