Life/News/2
Music plays on as council climbs down over buskers by Emma Callum
Busker performing outside Lime Street Station in Liverpool
Liverpool city council has made a drastic U-turn by scrapping recent busking restrictions. Campaigners had applied pressure to Liverpool bosses after the policy was revealed, which meant street performers would have needed to sign up to a compulsory licensing scheme to perform. The legislation meant buskers could have been arrested if found performing without a permit, were forbidden from sitting on the floor and acts could have been stopped by a council official or police of-
ficer on the grounds of taste. Keep Streets Live were the main campaigners behind the move to oppose the legislation, objecting that the new policy would make the city ‘less inviting’. Jonny Walker, a busker and campaigner involved with Keep Streets Live, said: “The policy was so forward and fundamentally wrong headed and there was no leeway. It wasn’t in the interest of the city.” One street performer sought legal help, and with the help of the campaign group, took the case to a judicial review to challenge the
legality of the policy, which they called unnecessary and unlawful. Mr. Walker said: “The restrictions were overstretching the law of the council. We were applying legal pressure as it wasn’t well thought out and was very restrictive. If the policy had gone ahead there would have been a big drop in street performances a big change in atmosphere. The city would be less colourful; and it street culture would have suffered.” The council suspended the policy following the High Court injunction and has since scrapped all restrictions.
University tribute to malaria expert
Timeline of life
1881: Entered the Indian Medical Service. 1892: He commenced the study of malaria. 1899: He joined the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the direction of Sir Alfred Jones. 1902: Ross was awarded Nobel Prize for study of malaria spreading. 1910: Honorary M.D. degree in Stockholm.
University Of Liverpool has named building after Ronald Ross who won the Nobel Prize for the study of Malaria by Alice Kirkland The University of Liverpool has announced it will name its new £23m Tropical Medicine building after nobel prize winner Sir Ronald Ross. The new Sir Ronald Ross building
is the first phase of the £70m investment at the Institute of Infection and Global Health, and 200 scientists will study at the centre. Sir Ronald was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering that malaria was spread through mosquitos in 1902.
Liverpool
Life Team Editors David Williamson Arild Skjæveland News Editor Sam McDonnell News Lauren Kelly Ian Bolland Michaela Shaw Sara Ainsworth Hayley Minn Features editor Alice Kirkland
Features Rosie Cameron Vanessa Gainford Sport editor Tara Lamb Sports Joe Lanigan Smith Eoghain Mc Kane Picture editor Hannah Ashraf
The Liverpool Tropical Medicine centre was the first institution anywhere in the world dedicated to the study and teaching of tropical diseases when established more than 100 years ago. Ross spent a period of time at the Liverpool School dedicating his
versity and participating in expeditions to malaria ripe country’s receiving an Honorary Chair in 1912 from the school. The building will be opened by his grandson David Ross, who told the BBC “It’s wonderful to see my grandfather’s legacy recognised.”
Charity gets little extra help By Madelaine Cornforth A Liverpool Tesco has been chosen to be a part of new Kids United programme which gives money to local charities and schools for equipment. Tesco Extra on Park Road, Toxteth, is one of 14 chosen stores and is the only one to be chosen in Liverpool. Six charities or local schools were chosen by the staff at Toxteth’s Tesco to take part in the competition. Three charities ran up against each other for two weeks and three more the following two weeks. Each charity or school has a collection box that represents them. With every £10 spent at Tesco a shopper receives a red token which they then put in to the collection box of their choice. The amount of tokens given to each charity decides how much money goes to each community group. The non-profit organisations involved are; St Finbar’s Catholic Primary School, St Johns Youth and Community Centre, the Tab preschool, Dingle Lane Children’s Centre, St Cleopas 468 Commu-
nity Project and finally KIND, a charity which raises money for children in Liverpool. The store has £4000 worth of equipment to give away to these six places. The equipment ranges from toys and books to playground and school equipment which the charities can choose themselves. Stephen Yip, Chief Executive at KIND said: “We are looking to use our money raised to buy kids play equipment for our new Health, Wellbeing & Exercise Centre (based in Toxteth) due to be completed and open in early 2013. Cal Cairns, Community Champion at Park Road’s Tesco, said: “Kid’s United is a pilot programme used instead of the school voucher programme. I think it’s much better than the vouchers. “It is very important for Toxteth and I’m very excited to be a part of it. “It’s very exciting for the children. Thousands of people get the tokens and chose who to give them to so primarily it is local people who get to decide where the kit goes to.” In store voting ended on Sunday and the money allocation is set to be announced shortly.
1912: Appointed Physician for Tropical Diseases at Kings College Hospital, London, a post which he held together with the Chair of Tropical Sanitation in Liverpool.
Kirkby town gets a facelift By Jamie Allen
Plans to redevelop Kirkby Town centre are expected to be approved this week by Knowsley council. The plans will include a revamped market area and a base for new retail stores. The council hope that this is the start of a long redevelopment plan which will include a new health centre, primary school, library and upgraded public transport facilities. Initial plans for the area included a new stadium for Everton FC but the process was brought to a halt after the Government believed the plans were too big for a town of Kirkby’s size. It is estimated that £300m will put into the area as it undergoes a massive improvement over the next few years. A Knowsley council spokesperson said: “Bringing a range of public services and support under one roof is something that has worked so well in other parts of Knowsley that we are keen to bring the same ideas and benefits to Kirkby.” Local community leaders will hope that the new plans will allow Kirkby to become a destination for Merseyside shoppers. The planning committee has taken the views of local stallholders to be certain that these plans for the new market area fit their needs Mike Harden, Deputy Chief Executive of Knowsley Council said: “We believe there is an opportunity here to create a real community asset that will sit at the heart of the town centre and be used by a large number of local residents.” A public consultation had run through to 13th August but now the plans will go in front of the council and are expected to be given a green light.
Uni success
Liverpool John Moores University jumped 29 places in The Sunday Times Good University Guide for 2013, LJMU now stands in 66th place, leaving it as fourth overall in the North West.
Pupils’ thoughts for Sam, 15 By Josh Parry A Merseyside school has paid an emotional tribute during a memorial service for pupil Sam Capper, who tragically died after being swept out to sea. The 15-year-old drowned after falling into the sea when a fivefoot wave hit him in Llangennith, Swansea, where he had been camping with his family on holiday in August. The idea for a pupil-led service at University Academy Birkenhead came from Sam’s mum, Leah Hunt, who said she wanted his friends to be able to say farewell to the teenager in their own way. Paula Gidman, Sam’s former head of year at school, allowed his close friends to take the lead in planning the service. The year 11 pupils performed a number of songs and a reading entitled ‘Thoughts on Sam’ as a tribute to their former pupil. Instead of a minute’s silence, it was decided to hold a minute of applause to represent his personality, Miss Gidman said: “They didn’t want to have a minute’s silence for him because
that wasn’t him. He was an absolute chatterbox and he was always talking. “They didn’t want anything that represented a funeral. They all wanted to put down white flowers, so they carried 15 flowers out of the school hall and put them in the memorial garden for Sam. They wanted something that wouldn’t look out of place… they wanted something fitting.” During the service pupils sang two songs for Sam, and photo’s of Sam were displayed during the performances for pupils to look at. Miss Gidman added: “It was led by the students; it was what the students wanted, which is fundamentally what his mum wanted.” Sam was a former pupil of Rock Ferry High School, which was joined with Park High in order to form the new University Academy Birkenhead. Sam’s mum had previously paid her own tributes for her son, telling the Liverpool Echo: “Sam, who most people knew as Spud, was a unique, amazing, boy who touched the lives of so many people.”
Life/News/3
City marathon goes up against London
Liverpool Marathon runners make their way past the finish line in last year’s 12-mile race around the city by Jonathan Bridge Runners from across the world will descend on Merseyside this weekend when the RunLiverpool Marathon is held on Sunday Entrants from as far as Brazil and Australia will take on the 26-mile course. The race will start at 9.30am in Birkenhead Park and covers 12 miles of Wirral roads, two miles of the Queensway tunnel and 12 miles of Liverpool roads with runners eventually finishing in front of Mann Island. The event returned to Merseyside in 2011 after 19 years.
Race Director Alan Rothwell said: “2012 has proved more difficult than expected with numbers down on year one with fewer local runners but more from outside the Merseyside area. This is a clear indication that the medium to long term growth will come from outside the Merseyside area. “The five-year plan is to attract 20,000 runners from across the world.” This year a new 10k event will be added to the day for those who do not quite feel up to attempting the full marathon distance. “While most people will be inspired by the efforts of those
taking part in the marathon, it is clearly not for everyone,” added Mr Rothwell. “With this in mind, the marathon event has introduced a 10k element to attract recreational runners who may be off by the challenge of the marathon but would like to experience the atmosphere of the day – without the ultimate challenge of 26.2 miles. “The idea is to send the 10K runners away with a sense that perhaps they could do the marathon in subsequent years.” Mr Rothwell is confident that the marathon can continue to grow and attract participants from
across the globe. “The Marathon has been deliberately positioned in October as an autumn marathon given the dominance of the London Marathon and as such attracted 8,500 runners in 2011. This made it the biggest marathon north of London! “The Marathon has significant potential for growth because of what the city has become – a major tourist attraction. There isn’t a marathon in the world, let alone the UK, that will challenge London, so the ultimate aim for the event is to be the first marathon that people look to do after London.
“The marathon provides a captivating day for runners and spectators alike. With good local transport links between the start and finish, excellent vantage points along the way and a finish on a World Heritage Site, not many other marathons can claim to deliver a backdrop as compelling as Liverpool,” he added. From around 4am on the morning of the race, a traffic management plan will be put in place for the safety and consideration of runners and those using roads in close proximity to the marathon route to avoid any disruptions and help the marathon run smoothly.
Funds boost for film students by Elisha Storrow
Liverpool John Moores Screen School’s FilmMaker’s Club has been granted funds to help students produce films. The short films aim to get all students involved, from drama students performing in the films to media students helping with cameras and producing the films. The funding is only available to second and third-year students, as well as recent alumni, however depending on how the club progresses, the funds will also be available to first year students after Christmas. Film Studies lecturer, Corin Willis and Manager of Production unit, Paula Baines, who run the FilmMaker’s Club applied for funds from the university’s Academic Enhancement Fund and secured £5000, which is to be spent within the next 10 months purely to help students make films. Students are encouraged to pitch their ideas about films to the club. There is a £100 limit per film in order for everyone to have a fair attempt at getting their film submitted into competitions and festivals and enhancing their CV. The successful attempts are given more money on an individual basis. It also gives students the chance to listen to guest speakers and meet and work with students from other degrees and years. The club’s first guest speaker is Stacey Moore of Typhoo Tea on Wednesday 17th October at 2pm at the Redmonds Building, GO37 where a Social Media film competition will be launched just for Liverpool Screen School students Paula Baines said: “Students will be able to pitch ideas for films, and if successful, apply for funds to help make the films and pay for competition entry fees. We will also be looking to employ a student to help with the running of this club”
Keaveney runs for Fair to help homeless dogs police comissioner by Jessica Etherington
by Jamie Allen
Liberal Democrat candidate Paula Keaveney believes that the new Police Commissioners in the UK can have a big effect on communities ‘if they listen to what the people want’. The former Liverpool City Council member is standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Police commissioner in Merseyside. The biggest issue she finds with the forthcoming elections is the lack of knowledge about when they are and what they mean. She said: “Hardly anyone knows the election is going on and it’s how we make people aware that is the main issue.” The elections were originally scheduled for early May but were delayed until the current November date and the Lib Dem candidate this has something to do with it. “People are not used to it being at this time of the year, it’s normally a Thursday in May or June, there will be a big issue about the number of people who turn out to vote.” This new role will be important
lecturer knows what she wants to do if she takes the seat “I want to work hard to find out
Paula Keaveney attending the Lib Dem conference in 2011 in policing some of the UK’s biggest cities and Keaveney believes that whoever wins the position has to be active in their local community. She said: “It’s an interesting role as this job is effectively the voice of the people for their area; it won’t work if people want to sit in big offices and make decisions from there. “It is still to be determined what kind of impact this role can have on policing but the university
what people really think and I believe I am very qualified to do that and be the voice of Merseyside police.” People all around the UK will vote to decide on their area’s Police Crime Commissioners on Thursday November 15th, everybody is encouraged to take part in the poll and make their choice. Former Cabinet member John Prescott is to be a Labour candidate for the Humberside Police.
Liverpool charity Animals in Need yesterday hosted an autumn fair and fun dog show to raise money and help to get homes for some unwanted animals. Based in Melling, the sanctuary has over 160 animals to care for
and relies on volunteers to help with things such as walking dogs. The sun shone at Lydiate Parish Hall, which helped to bring around 200 people to the event, many of whom brought their four legged friends along with them. The West Lancs Dog Dog Display team put on a show, which
involved dogs of all breeds doing tricks from basic agility to jumping through rings of fire. Tracy Hillon started volunteering for the charity about a year ago, she said: “I started taking the dogs pictures for their Facebook page. Animals in Need are so kind to the dogs.