Local News

Local NeWS August - September 2021

elm House Day Nursery receives Top 20 award

Family-owned and run Elm House Day Nursery have been busy celebrating after recently being recognised as a Top 20 Rated Nursery 2021 in the North West by Day Nurseries UK. This good news tops off a great couple of months for Elm House, who on top of providing safe, stimulating environments at their nurseries in both West Derby and Childwall have now opened up a new location at St Stephen’s Centre, Belle Vale Road in Gateacre, L25 2PG. The nursery is OFSTED registered and managed by Emma who has a wealth of experience in childcare. Emma is supported by a great team of practitioners, all fully trained in First Aid and Safeguarding. It is a 48-place nursery for children aged 6 months to 5 years. Outdoors there is a spacious secure garden area and the nursery is rated Grade 5 by Food Standards Agency. It’s easy to see why Day Nurseries UK saw it as an ideal place for your child to develop confidence, independence and good social skills.

World Museum Shortlisted for Museum Award

Liverpool’s World Museum is in the running to win the National Family Friendly Museum Award for ‘Best Large Museum’. It’s up against the Horniman Museum and Gardens, London and Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle. Charity Kids in Museums has run a prestigious annual award for the past 15 years, recognising the most family friendly heritage sites in the UK. It is the only museum award to be judged by families. From April to June, families across the UK voted for their favourite heritage attraction then a panel of museum experts whittled down hundreds of nominations to a shortlist of 20. The museum will now be visited by undercover family judges who will assess the museums against the Kids in Museums Manifesto. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October. Image copyright - Gareth Jones

Final Public Consultation Launches on Local Plan

Liverpool launched a six-week public consultation on 9th July to invite people and businesses to have their final say on the city’s 15-year Local Plan. Liverpool’s Local Plan sets out how the city would meet the challenges of a predicted population rise of 47,000 people, by creating 35,000 new homes and developing 370 acres of land for 38,000 new jobs. After delays due to Covid, an inspector conducted their hearings in October 2020, to test the “soundness” of the plan, at which a series of proposed Main Modifications were identified. The public are now being asked for their final feedback on these proposed changes. People can read or download the Combined Schedule of Main Modifications and provide feedback

online and by email until 5pm, Monday 23rd August at iverpool.gov.uk/ localplanmainmodifications

Do you have a local news story? Email Moira liverpoollink@yahoo.co.uk to feature

An evaluation of Liverpool’s pioneering SMART community testing pilot by academics has found it led to a reduction of more than a fifth in Covid-19 cases. Last November, the city became the first in the world to have a voluntary mass testing programme for people without coronavirus symptoms. Now, a study by the University of Liverpool and the DHSC has concluded that community testing led to an 18% increase in case detection and a 21% reduction in cases compared with other areas up to mid-December, after which the Kent variant surge made it difficult to compare areas. During the evaluation period (6 November 2020 to 30 April 2021), 283,338 (57%) Liverpool residents took a test using a lateral flow device (LFT).

KJT brings new festival to Wavertree

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, or KJT as she is more fondly known, in partnership with Summus Sports Group and Project 30, has launched Festathlon, a new, innovative and all female athletics festival taking place at her home track on Saturday September 11th, 2021. As well as bringing KJT back to Liverpool to compete for the first time since 2014, the event aims to help reignite athletics and inspire the next generation of female athletes. The festival will be a combination of KJT’s favourite things; athletics, music, and the City of Liverpool. Athletics will be brought to life in a new way through an innovative heptathlon team format that will celebrate the traditions of the sport whilst offering up something new for lifelong fans and first-time watchers alike.

Thank you for the music

Liverpool bids a fond farewell to Vasily Petrenko, who has just ended his glorious 15 year reign as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Chief Conductor. While the loss of such a major talent is a sad moment for the Phil and for the city generally, Head of UNESCO City of Music, Kevin McManus, reflects on his time here. “As well as being a giant of the conducting world, Vasily has served as a brilliant ambassador not just for the Phil but for the city itself. He has taken the city to his heart, and embraced its people. He will take this love for the city with him wherever he is working and having such a prominent and respected figure acting as an advocate for the city is priceless.”

One Stop Shop service books place in nine city libraries

Nine Liverpool’s libraries are set to deliver a new-look One Stop Shop service. As part of the council’s budget proposals for 2021/22, major cuts had been planned, leaving just 18 staff working from four pop-up venues rather than eight fixed sites. Now, following public consultation and discussions with trade unions, councillors and staff, a revised scheme has been approved which more than doubles the number of locations where face-to-face council services are available and maintains staffing numbers and secures jobs. Two sites will operate full time (Toxteth and Spellow), and the other seven open either two or three days per week (Central, Old Swan, Kensington, Norris Green, Lee Valley, Speke, Garston). The opening of the sites will be phased and will start later this summer, dependent on government advice on the lifting of Covid restrictions.