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Local News
Local NEWS December 2022 - January 2023
City’s new e-bike scheme launched
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Liverpool’s new rental e-bike scheme hit the city’s streets on 2nd November. Branded the Explorer 2, Liverpool is the first UK city to receive Voi’s nextgeneration e-bike as part of a new multi-modal service that complements the existing and hugely successful e-scooter service. Voi will initially introduce a fleet of 50 e-bikes before eventually rising to 150 as the scheme becomes more successful. Available to everyone aged 16 years and above, and activated through the same Voi app as its e-scooters, they also use the same operating area. Once registered, riders can use the app to simply pick up and drop off bikes at parking locations close to where they live and work.
Freedom of Liverpool for Jürgen Klopp
Liverpool FC manager Jürgen Klopp has been awarded the Freedom of Liverpool at a special ceremony at Liverpool Town Hall at the start of November. Jürgen Klopp said: “I have to be honest, when I first heard this news I had to take a minute to take it in. As you can imagine, I get a lot of different types of news in my job but this was definitely a ‘Wow’ moment. “The main reason for this was what Liverpool, the city and its wonderful people, mean to me and my family. The welcome that we have been given has been unbelievable from the word go, so to get this kind of recognition is incredible.” Klopp is only the third foreign national – alongside Nelson Mandela (1994) and Giants creator Jean-Luc Courcoult (2018) – to receive this honour.
Liverpool launches campaign to protect River Mersey
Liverpool City Council has joined forces with Keep Britain Tidy to launch #BintheButt with the aim to stamp out cigarette litter, which causes significant damage to marine life in the River Mersey. Smokers are being asked to rethink how they dispose of their cigarettes, as research reveals that only half (53%) of people know that cigarette butts can get washed into the sea if they are dropped down the drain. It is estimated that 3.6 million smokers in the UK have dropped a cigarette down the drain in the past month, whilst new research has found that just one cigarette butt per litre of water is highly toxic to fish. Cigarette filters are comprised of thousands of chemical ingredients, all of which can leak into marine environments.
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At St George’s Plateau from 17th November to 23rd December, Liverpool’s Christmas Market will fill the air with festive sights, sounds and smells welcoming visitors out of Lime Street.
The Market will be open daily from 11am to 9pm. Visitors can expect a carefully selected range of crafters and makers alongside the big wheel, snow slide and Santa Land rides. Refreshments are available at a range of bars including a tipi bar, ski bar, windmill bar and a new Bavarian bar hosting local performers on the weekends. Meanwhile, Liverpool ONE will transform Chavasse Park into a skiholiday inspired Alpine Village. Expect curling, shuffleboard, prosecco pong, wreath making, food and drink and festive family events.
The Liverpool-hosted World Gymnastics Championships was hailed a massive success as nine days of competition came to a close on the 6th of November. Over 35,000 tickets were sold for the event, held at the M&S Bank Arena, and saw the final weekend sold out. Great Britain surpassed their best-ever World’s medal haul set in Glasgow in 2015 and have achieved automatic qualification for the 2024 Olympics. Off the competition floor, in a world first for the sport, Liverpool 2022 introduced the first-ever use of British Sign Language on screen for the duration of the competition. There were also more than 18,500 visits to the fan zone, including by 1,500
Night-time police patrols around public transport network
Passengers are set to see an increased uniformed police presence around transport hubs and on key bus routes as part of the Safer Streets Liverpool campaign focused on keeping women safe. Additional high visibility police patrols will run at peak times to proactively prevent sexual violence and provide reassurance to women travelling at night, particularly along the main student bus routes into and out of Liverpool city centre. Extensive consultation was carried out, with women and girls particularly requesting safer transport routes and buses, with feedback revealing that an increased uniformed presence would be the biggest factor in making them feel safer. The surge of activity began Friday 11th November, as the region marks North young people from 37 schools, which offered a variety of free have-a-go activities.
West Sexual Violence Awareness Week and will run across the festive period and into the new year.
Wishing all our valued advertisers and readers a merry Christmas and a healthy and happy new year
