YM Liverpool March 2023

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of YM Liverpool!

First up we bring you my interview with Scottish singer-songwriter and Live Aid co-founder, Midge Ure.

Ahead of his gig at the Philharmonic Hall, the former Ultravox frontman discussed his memories of an iconic Liverpool venue, working with ‘the Fifth Beatle’, and whether that unforgettable benefit concert could happen again today.

As well as chatting with pop royalty, I was recently treated to a guided tour of Bulky Bob’s HQ as the charity unveiled its new furniture collection service.

Afterwards, I sat down with Shaun Doran to learn more about the service’s history and discover why people are so glad to see it back in business.

Meanwhile, John Lewis shares its top tips on how to give your home a stress-free deep clean and Jon Atkinson explains why you just can’t beat a bottle of bubbly when it’s time to party.

Plus we shine the spotlight on a bespoke collection of high-spec apartments in Grassendale and Tom Beattie gives his verdict on the new brunch menu at The Sir Thomas Hotel.

Last but not least, our gardening expert Heather Marsh reveals which plants will make your garden really buzz this spring.

Until next time!

LAWRENCE SAUNDERS

Editor: Lawrence Saunders [editor@ymliverpool.com]

Design: Marten Sealby

ADVERTISING Sales: 0151 316 0210 [sales@ymliverpool.com] DISTRIBUTION

Voice& VISION

Midge Ure and his Band Electronica return to the Philharmonic Hall in May to celebrate 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums. We caught up with the Scottish singer ahead of the tour to discuss the making of the two records which followed Vienna, his memories of playing Liverpool and whether Live Aid could be done today.

words lawrence saunders

You’ve played Liverpool on a number of occasions in the past, both as a solo artist and with Ultravox. Only your second-ever gig with the band took place in November 1979 at Eric’s on Mathew Street. Do you remember that show?

Yes I do, of course! It was in the days when you didn’t really buy advance tickets, you just paid on the door, and I remember being in the hotel and the word got back to us that there was a line of people waiting outside to get in. That was amazing for me because when you join a band which is already established, especially as the new frontman, you kind of doubt whether anyone’s going to want to come and see it, and give you a chance. So when the message came through that there was a queue of people outside I knew it was going to be a good show. I remember the sensation of those very early shows and those early days, way before we had recorded the Vienna album and we were trying out new songs we’d written.

Do you look forward to playing Liverpool and do you feel people are right to liken the city and its people to your hometown of Glasgow?

I love coming to Liverpool. I’ve spent a lot of time of my life up there, either performing or meeting people. In fact, the coat and guitar which I used at Live Aid, as well as the Burberry raincoat I wore in the video for ‘Vienna’, were on display at the British Music Experience last year. My association with Liverpool is loud and proud. Whoever likened the people of Liverpool with Glasgow was right do so. The people have the same character –they’re witty and the salt of the earth. I always look forward to coming to Liverpool.

One of the Ultravox albums which you are celebrating on this tour is Quartet, which was produced by someone who has a very deep connection to Liverpool’s music scene. How did you find working with George Martin? Warren Cann (Ultravox drummer) has said that during the recording, he often sat there thinking how amazing it was that you were working with the producer of Sgt. Pepper’s. And Sgt. Pepper’s engineer, Geoff Emerick! We had the dream team! Warren’s quite right, they are ‘pinch me’ moments. There are moments in any musician’s career where you think, why am I here? Why am I standing on the stage with these people who I respect and admire and have done from afar. It’s like a schoolboy dream realised.

George [Martin] was everything that I hoped he would be – a lovely, lovely man; nothing was too much trouble for him. He had a wealth of information and he kept up with the latest technology. That was one fear that we had, that he wouldn’t understand what we were doing but he knew all about synthesisers and drum machines. And he told the best stories in the world. There was a moment when I was singing, I think it was the intro to ‘Hymn’, and George said on the intercom: ‘It doesn’t sound very good. It’s not you, it’s the microphone’. He turned to Geoff and said: ‘Have we got John’s mic here?’. So they brought in John’s Neumann and set it up. I was standing there singing ‘Hymn’ into John Lennon’s microphone – serious ‘pinch me’ stuff.

Does performing songs from Rage In Eden and Quartet bring back good memories of that time with Ultravox in the early 1980s? They were of course the two records released after your biggest-selling studio album, Vienna. When the ‘Vienna’ single came out in 1981, it changed everything. It was an unexpected hit which didn’t fit the format and it gave us the wherewithal to go and do the Rage In Eden album. Rage in Eden was the follow-up to Vienna, so you can imagine the amount of pressure we were under from labels and executives. Everywhere we went on tour, someone would suggest that their capital city would be a great title for the next album… no! We did the antithesis of what we’ve done with Vienna, whereby we had written the songs, performed them live and then went into the studio and recorded them. With Rage in Eden, we went to Germany, to Conny Plank’s studio in the middle of nowhere, for three months. We went with no songs and created the entire album there. That process was in itself an incredibly stupid, or incredibly exciting, thing to do! It turned out to be not so stupid as it did everything we wanted it to do. So I’ve got no bad memories from that time. And if I have any, they melt into insignificance next to the good stuff that was going on.

Are there any songs from Rage In Eden & Quartet which you’ve had to reacquaint yourself with ahead of the tour?

It’s like anything. If you look at an essay you wrote at school when you were 13, which you thought was brilliant at the time, when you look at it now with a bit of life under your belt, you might not be

My association with Liverpool is loud and proud. The people are witty and the salt of the earth.

I think you’d find that artists would be up for doing [Live Aid] again and there are many causes which need help.

HIS ORY

From a historic radio session in Manchester to their final UK single release, March has featured some standout moments for the Fab Four

words and pictures

Having experienced rejection and failed auditions, The Beatles (with Pete Best on drums) entered the Playhouse Theatre in Hulme, Manchester on the evening of 7 March 1962 to record their debut radio session. Wearing suits for the very first time, the group performed three cover versions (‘Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream?)’, ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ & ‘Please Mister Postman’) for the BBC’s Teenager’s Turn – Here We Go. The show was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme the following day.

Twelve months later and 1963 was well underway to becoming one of the most important years in the history of rock music, The Beatles having started it as four mates who could walk down the street without as much as a second glance from passers-by, ended the year with plans to visit the US for their first American TV appearance.

On 22 March 1963, The Beatles’ first album Please Please Me was released. The photograph on the cover of the band looking down over the stairwell inside EMI’s London headquarters in Manchester Square, London, was taken by legendary theatre photographer Angus McBean.

George Martin said of the shoot: “It was done in an almighty rush, like the music.” Interestingly, on the same day The Fab Four put out Please Please Me, singer Kenny Lynch released ‘Misery’, the first Beatles’ song to be covered by another artist.

Thirty-two years later, EMI would relocate to new offices in Hammersmith but not without taking with the famous staircase railing with them.

At the beginning of March 1964 Paul McCartney recorded ‘Long Tall Sally’ in one take. This is particularly noteworthy as it was one of the songs which Paul sang to John on the day they first met at St Peter’s church fete. The following day, minutes before they began shooting their first film (the as-yet untitled A Hard Day’s Night), The Beatles joined Equity, the actors’ union. Their memberships were proposed and seconded by co-stars Wilfrid Brambell and fellow Liverpudlian Norman Rossington.

The month ended with John publishing his first book, a collection of poems and nonsensical writings entitled ‘In His Own Write’, and Madame Tussauds announcing The Beatles were to become the first pop artists included in their collection.

Skipping forward two years, we arrive at the starting point of one of John’s more controversial moments. An interview he did with Maureen Cleave was published in The Evening Standard on 4 March 1966 under the headline ‘How does a Beatle live? John Lennon lives like this’, which featured his line: ‘We’re more popular than Jesus now’.

The off-hand remark cause few ripples in the UK, but in America, when it was reprinted in the teen magazine ‘Datebook’, it led to angry protests. Some radio stations stopped playing Beatles’ songs, records were publicly burned, and press conferences were cancelled. Staying with controversial moments, The Beatles attended a photo session with photographer Robert Whitaker on 25 March 1966. Whitaker came up with the idea of a satirical commentary on the group’s fame by covering them in raw meat, dolls and false teeth. A photograph from the session featured on the infamous Yesterday and Today ‘butcher cover’ album which Capitol immediately withdrew upon release after an outcry from retailers.

On 17 March 1967, harpist Sheila Bromberg became the first woman to feature on a Beatles’ album. She was recruited to record the opening strings for ‘She’s Leaving Home’, which would appear on Sgt. Pepper’s. The song was written by Paul after he read an article about a young girl named Melanie Coe who had been missing for over a week. Rather strangely, Paul had actually met Melanie three years earlier during a rehearsal for ITV’s Ready Steady Go!

We conclude this month’s round-up on 6 March 1970 with the UK release of The Beatles’ final single, ‘Let It Be’. To all intents and purposes the group had split by this point, but the charade was kept going a little while longer. The record’s picture sleeve offered a clue as to the true state of the band however, as it showed each member of the group individually. The end of The Beatles was more or less confirmed a month later when Paul issued a press release stating that he was no longer working with the band.

leslie priestley

This month in

Doublebreasted trenchcoat

£39.99, H&M

Bouclé jacket

£69.99, H&M

Denim sling back shoes

£59.99, Mango

Springessentials

Make the seasonal switch in style with Annie S’s latest edit

Cotton cross shirt

£59.99, Mango

Split suede cowboy high-heel boots

£109, Zara

Long flowing trousers

£35.99, Zara

Denim bag £29.99, Mango

Straight blazer with feathers £129, Zara

Sequin bomber jacket £99.99, Zara

Double-breasted linen-blend blazer £79.99, H&M

Bouclé skirt £34.99, H&M

Embellished ballet flat mules £49.99, Zara

Hole-knit collared jumper £34.99, H&M

Long tulle dress £35.99, Bershka

Side-slit satin dress £99.99, Mango

Restaurant review

The Sir Thomas Hotel

By Tom Beattie | Brunch | ££ | 24 Sir Thomas Street, L1 6JB

For all the many changes which have occurred in Liverpool over the past 20 years, The Sir Thomas has remained a popular fixture on the city’s hotel scene.

With the Grand National fast approaching, one would surmise that this venue will be a particularly popular selection for those wanting some exquisite food alongside a pleasant stay.

It’s clear however that The Sir T is also looking to become a favourite with locals as prices on its brunch menu are very competitive when compared with other high-end hotels in the city.

Ultimately, no establishment can trade off its name only and given the healthy competition in the city centre from a wide range of eateries when it comes to brunch, The Sir T would need to pull out all the stops.

After being seated in the opulent dining area, my guest and I were soon able to better take in the stunning decor. It is immediately evident that no expense has been spared in ensuring the former Bank of Liverpool

building boasts an exclusive and classy feel, which will undoubtedly appeal to those wanting to unwind with a cocktail, or indeed, enjoy a meal for a special occasion.

Of course, decor alone can only do so much for a restaurant and so my guest and I wasted no time choosing what to eat.

The brunch menu includes such favourites as the Great British Breakfast (£13.50) alongside the less orthodox Spiced Butterfly Chicken Breast (£10), which is served with Greek feta cheese, a hard-boiled egg and lemon sauce. For those who enjoy a sweet option during the earlier hours of the day, the Brioche Lotus Biscoff French toast brick (£9.90), will appeal.

In the end, I plumped for the Great British Breakfast – which was, it turns out, a slight departure on the classic dish (more on that later). For my guest, who was in need of rejuvenation after a few tipples the night before, went for the homemade Cajun chicken burger (£12) served on a brioche bun.

After a short break in proceedings, our meals sooned arrived and although probably the least Instagram-friendly items on the menu, plenty of effort had clearly still gone into ensuring both plates were well-presented.

The food itself could not be faulted, with my Great British Breakfast proving to be an alternative take on the textbook dish. Consisting of traditional items such as thick Cumberland sausage, smoked bacon and black pudding, the plate was accompanied with spicy black beans – a welcome addition to the party.

It is difficult and, in some ways, daring to put a new spin on a classic dish so embedded in our culture, but The Sir T should be very proud of the results.

My guest’s Cajun chicken burger will appeal to anyone nursing a serious appetite. The portion size was equal to what one would expect to be served during an evening sitting, so there was no risk of my dining partner leaving the venue hungry. Thankfully, the dish was also up to scratch in terms of flavour with the choice to bring smoked sauce and kimchi together proving a revelation. The fact that he demolished the whole thing probably tells its own story!

With its enviable location, excellent service and impressive decor, you will be made to feel special at The Sir T. Competition is undoubtedly fierce when it comes to brunch in Liverpool city centre, but this venue does genuinely stand out from the crowd.

My Great British Breakfast was accompanied with spicy black beans – a welcome addition to the party.

Evicting a tenant –Consult the legal experts

The law surrounding eviction is complex and ever-changing. Our expert Landlord Services team at Paul Crowley & Co Solicitors are here to assist landlords through the eviction process and the legal steps required in order to avoid costly errors

There are various reasons a landlord might wish to evict a tenant, but due to numerous changes in legislation and rising costs in mortgage interest rates countless landlords through no fault of their own are left with no choice other than to pull out of the sector.

Before an eviction notice can be served

Before notice can be served to a tenant, a landlord must fulfil a number of responsibilities especially if a no-fault Section 21 is the chosen route. Paul Crowley & Co’s Landlord Services department can help to ensure this process is carried out accurately as failure to undertake this correctly, could deem your Section 21 notice invalid, incurring costs and increasing the time to regain possession of your property.

How to serve an eviction notice on a tenant

Whenever possible, an eviction notice should be served personally by hand to the tenant or by posting it through the letterbox of the property in an envelope addressed to the tenant(s).

Paul Crowley & Co can serve the eviction notice on your behalf under the Housing Act 1988. Serving a notice may seem like a simple task, but failure to do so correctly could cause costly delays.

There are two types of notices that can be served on a tenant

Section 8 notices: These can be used for many reasons, for example if a tenant is in rent arrears of 8 weeks or more. The notice must state what grounds for eviction the tenant has breached under the Housing Act 1988. Some of these grounds are ‘mandatory’, which means the Court must grant you possession of the property. Others are ‘discretionary’, which means the Court will consider the circumstances and decide whether to grant a landlord possession.

Section 21 notices:

These notices are used either during a periodic tenancy or after a fixed term ends and are predominantly a no-fault eviction to recover possession of a property. A Section 21 notice can only be served if you have provided the tenant with the correct documents upon moving in, these documents have been kept up to date and the tenancy has been ongoing for at least 4 months. The tenant has 8 weeks to vacate the property after being served a Section 21 notice.

What if the tenant refuses to leave after an eviction notice?

Once a Section 8 or Section 21 notice has been served, if the tenant refuses to leave the property, Paul Crowley & Co will apply to the Court for a Possession Order. Once the application is approved, the Court will send a copy to the tenant and they will have 14 days to challenge it. The judge will then either issue the Possession Order or arrange a hearing.

If the tenant still refuses to leave after a Possession Order is granted, Paul Crowley & Co can apply for a ‘Warrant of Possession’ to transfer the case to the High Court. This enables a High Court enforcement officer to evict your tenants.

Tenancy agreement

For landlords looking to rent out a property, Paul Crowley & Co can provide a robust tenancy agreement to prevent issues should a dispute arise later down the line.

If you need help with the process of evicting a tenant, Paul Crowley & Co are here to help.

For a free, no obligation chat with one of our experienced Landlord Services solicitors, call us now on 0151 264 7363.

www.paulcrowley.co.uk

ECOGEE LEADING THE WAY AS PART OF NATIONAL ENERGY SAVING SCHEME

Initiative aims to tackle fuel poverty and boost efficiency in social housing stock

A LIVERPOOL-BASED BUSINESS has delivered solid wall insulation to more than 100 homes across the North West and helped to significantly reduce carbon emission as part of Wave 1 of the government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF).

Working in partnership with Prima Housing Group, Ecogee completed 115 properties ahead of schedule. An extra 70 homes have since been added to the project by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which are expected to be finished by June.

Through these works, the firm, which is led by managing director Brendan Helm, has secured additional revenue of £1.2 million.

Brendan says: “As a business, we have always been fervent about making homes energy efficient and we have really established ourselves within the industry, not just locally but now nationally.

“It’s great to be able to say that by the end of this scheme, we will have helped over 180 families tackle fuel poverty during some of the

LOCAL STONEMASON CELEBRATES 60 YEARS IN THE TRADE

Tony Ferry founded Aintree-based Ferry & Sons in 1969

THE FOUNDER OF A LIVERPOOL STONE SPECIALISTS is marking a remarkable six decades in the industry this year.

Tony Ferry, who got his start as an apprentice at a local marble company in the 1960s, has plied his trade on commercial and residential sites up and down the country.

In 1990, Tony spent six months working on one of the first large tourist hotels built on the Caribbean island of Aruba, but the job he is most proud of is located a little closer to home on Rodney Street.

Over a period of 26 weeks, Tony and his team painstakingly rebuilt one of the turrets at St Andrew’s Church as part of a project which saw the Grade II*-listed landmark redeveloped into student accommodation.

St Andrew’s was originally built in 1823 and its façade is one of the few surviving works designed by renowned architect and senior surveyor of the Corporation of Liverpool, John Foster Jr.

Now aged 74, Tony is still involved with the day-to-day running of Ferry & Sons alongside his children Tony Jnr. and Michael, granddaughters Ellie and Isabelle, and Michael’s wife Susie.

Tony Snr says: “Here at Ferry & Sons, we pride ourselves on being a family business and working with Tony Jnr. and Michael has been brilliant.

“I’ll be 75 next January so I’m looking at maybe taking a back seat and offering advice to Tony Jnr. and Micheal, not that they need it anymore.”

toughest winter months to date.”

Wave 2 of the SHDF will be released later in the year with Ecogee and Prima hoping to secure a further £8m worth of funding.

Brendan adds: “As energy prices continue to soar, it’s vital that with the right support and funding we are able to continue to improve the energy efficiency of homes.”

LIVERPOOL LAW FIRM SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ZOË’S PLACE

2017

ZOË’S PLACE WAS DELIGHTED

to welcome

Paul Crowley & Co solicitors to its West Derby-based baby hospice on Valentine’s Day.

Alison Priestley from the law firm’s marketing team called in to meet Gina Earnshaw, corporate and major donor fundraiser at Zoë’s Place, and present a cheque in support of the health care facility.

The hospice provides a variety of palliative and respite services to support families of babies with life limiting or life-threatening illnesses.

The support which is provided at the six-bed facility is invaluable to the families and it is the only hospice in the UK that caters specifically for babies, with an age range of 0-5 years.

The staff at Zoë’s do an amazing job and make as many special memories as they can for the children and their families.

Gina says: “I just want to say thank you to Alison for calling in to see us and to Paul Crowley & Co for its generous donation and support over the years, it means so much to us.”

During her visit, Alison was presented with a lovely surprise, a Valentine’s Card beautifully made by the babies (with a little help from the staff).

Paul Crowley & Co has been an official charity partner of the hospice since

DEVELOPMENT

in focus

Bespoke collection of high-spec apartments in Grassendale

Two & three-bedroom homes starting at £209,950

SITUATED ON THE EVER-POPULAR

Aigburth Road, South Liverpool, Bellcote Way is a collection 14 apartments set in the grounds of a former Roman Catholic church. Using intelligent design, the internal specification of each property strikes a perfect balance between comfort and modern living.

Generous amounts of sunlight flood through the expertly crafted windows during the daytime and as night falls, the homes adopt a luxurious feel due to the high level of spec and beautiful natural surroundings.

Aigburth Road is one of the main routes leading in to Liverpool city centre with Cressington Park train station a mere two-minute walk away, making the location of this development ideal for commuters.

Meanwhile, young families will appreciate the wealth of quality schools in the area including St Austin’s Catholic Primary and The Academy of St Nicholas.

For more information call 0151 733 1879 or email toby@marshall-property.co.uk

inthe

Back Pink

We visited Bulky Bob’s at its Atlantic Way HQ for a guided tour and sat down with its parent company’s CEO Shaun Doran to discuss the charity’s history and

lawrence

This arrangement worked really well for nine years and we won the contract again in 2009. In 2015, the contract was extended through to November 2022, when it had to end and the service either be reprocured by the council, or brought back in-house after 22 years.

BEST KNOWN FOR ITS BRIGHTLY-COLOURED vans and London Road store, Bulky Bob’s has delivered millions of items of furniture to those in need across the city over the last 22 years.

Following the end of its long-running partnership with Liverpool City Council in November 2022, there were fears this much-loved service would disappear.

However, last month the charity unveiled its new paid collection service which now liaises directly with households, collecting five items for £30 and reusing as much as possible.

How did Bulky Bob’s first come into existence?

When the Furniture Resource Centre (now FRC Group) first started as a charity in 1988, it was very much about collecting people’s unwanted furniture and giving it to somebody who needed it, but it was run on a volunteer basis.

We didn’t have any staff and we didn’t have the money to buy decent vans, so we used to rely on donated, cast-off vehicles. We thought we were doing some great stuff but all too often we were missing collections and not delivering due to volunteers failing to turn up. We needed to introduce reliability to our service and we understood that the best way to do that was to pay staff. We also needed decent premises to operate from and be able to buy or lease the vans, IT equipment and everything else.

It struck us that Liverpool City Council was collecting huge volumes of furniture and at that stage, it was just going off to landfill. We didn’t think that was right. If only we could get our hands on that quantity of furniture, and extract the really good quality stuff from that waste stream.

We developed a plan which involved us collecting unwanted furniture from residents that the council was collecting as a service, and getting those items to people in desperate need.

Lo and behold, the council thought this was a great idea and in 2000 we won the contract to collect the council’s bulky household waste, and created Bulky Bob’s.

When the local authority did indeed bring the bulky item collection service back in-house, how did the charity decide on which path to take with Bulky Bob’s?

At the end of the 22 years, the council was facing another year of massive cuts to its budget from central government and all of its outsourced contracts were very much under the microscope.

The council didn’t go out of its way [to get rid of Bulky Bob’s] and the service certainly wasn’t failing, it was still delivering massively. But the reuse of furniture, and particularly doing it properly, comes at a cost. You don’t just ram it into the van any old way – you protect it, you strap it, you keep it intact. You also need a base, from which, items are triaged to see whether they are of good enough quality to reuse. There needs to be staff as well who are going to test items to make sure they are safe, they’re going to repair them, paint them –everything that needs to be done to make sure the item is of great quality. All of that comes at a cost.

At the time, we also had the cost of our store on London Road. There was the cost of leasing the property and the staff who were all paid at least the Living Wage Foundation living wage. There was also the cost of getting furniture from our workshops into the store and then out of the store and into people’s houses.

So whilst it’s not a service without costs, these expenses are more than covered by the benefit that is created in the lives of some of the poorest people in Liverpool. Very often, being able to access great quality, pre-loved furniture stops people getting into a position where they’ve got nothing, where they’re evicted from a property because they can’t sustain it, or they leave that property because they can’t sustain it. In an extreme position, they then become a responsibility of the council to house them in temporary accommodation at great expense.

It’s unfortunate that the council could no longer pay for Bulky Bob’s but we recognise the very difficult position it was in, and continues to be in, with lots of services.

Once the service was taken back in-house, and the reuse element stopped, we felt we had to do something as we believe it is necessary.

why people are so glad to see it back in business

words

saunders

Now that Bulky Bob’s charges a fee for collection, are you confident people will still use the service in the same numbers as before?

Once our contract with the council ended last November, we had numerous calls and emails from people who’d been big supporters of Bulky Bob’s and especially people who used the service specifically because they liked the idea of their unwanted furniture getting a second life. Those people were asking: ‘When’s the service coming back? Why don’t you introduce a charge for it?’. Lots of people don’t want to see that happening and would would rather pay a small nominal amount to see stuff collected and treated properly, rather than collected but not reused. That’s the market which we’re now looking to serve.

With Bulky Bob’s Furniture World on London Road now closed, how do people get hold of your pre-loved furniture?

We have launched a new website, bulkybobs.co.uk, for people to book collections with ease and we’ve developed an app for people who don’t have furniture and desperately need it. The app is similar to eBay in its style, whereby people can go on and if it’s a couch they need, they can see all the couches which we have have available.

Users can choose to have their item delivered straight away or if they are looking for a number of items, they can select the one they want on the day and then hold fire on the other items until we have them in stock.

The beauty of this new system is that it can be done at a distance. It doesn’t require people to jump on a bus and make what for them is a very expensive trip to our store on London Road to find that we don’t have the sofa or the dining table that they specifically wanted.

A decade ago, we didn’t have this option because not as many people had a smartphone. Now they are universal we are able to take advantage of that and give the people who we are ultimately here to help, as much choice as possible, with as little inconvenience and as little financial burden to them.

How do people access to the furniture app?

Access to the app is limited to those who have been referred to Bulky Bob’s. The council is, and has always been, a very big referral agent of ours –particularly through its Liverpool Citizen Support Scheme. We work with lots of other referral agencies including Citizens Advice bureaus, drug and alchohol charites and women’s aid charities. We also work closely with learning mentors, who help kids with their education

What they very often find is that the reason a pupil is not performing particularly well at school is because they haven’t had a decent night’s sleep. That leads to the mentor getting in contact with us and saying: ‘We need a bed or a number of beds for this child/ family’. That starts a conversation about other things. It might be that a bed is flagged up as the most acute need but have they got a dining table? Couches? A cooker? Our approach is to try an end furniture poverty by giving people all of the essential items of furniture they require, not just the one they happen to be most in need of. It’s about trying to give children and families as much of a proper start, and a proper life, as possible.

What impact has the pandemic and the cost of living crisis had on demand for the service?

We’re seeing a reduction in the amount of furniture people are getting rid of. People who were previously in a comfortable position, and maybe replacing furniture, have now become less comfortable or uncomfortable. This is why it’s really important for us to capture as much of the waste stream as we can, and particularly that furniture which can be reused.

We’re reaching out to people across Merseyside and saying: ‘Don’t lose sight of the fact that by using us, you are helping people and you are helping people in fairly desperate need’. Not everyone will beat themselves up if they didn’t use our service but I think many would feel something’s gone wrong with the world if they are getting rid of a great quality couch or bed, and the best that we as a society can do is throw it away.

For those people who can afford £30, which for many people isn’t a big sum of money, we’ll collect up to five items which works out at £6 an item. A three piece suite counts as one item. Who else is going to collect your three piece suite for six quid? And it’s not just reuse, it’s positive reuse. It’s going to people who are in desperate need because they don’t have a couch to sit on. It’s not somebody who’s just looking for a couch to put in a garage they are turning into a bar or something like that. We are talking about people who are in desperate need of help and support.

For more information on Bulky Bob’s or to book a furniture collection, visit www.bulkybobs.co.uk

Once the council took the service back in-house, and the reuse element stopped, we felt we had to do something.

cleaning Spring

Gearing up for a deep clean and declutter? These expert spring cleaning tips will leave a hard-working home looking like new

MARIGOLDS AT THE READY FOR THE BIG SPRING CLEAN? It’s probably not up there with your favourite ways to spend a weekend, but deep cleaning your house can be just the cathartic clearout you need to refresh your home and turn chaos into calm.

Where to start with your spring cleaning? John Lewis has gathered the know-how of some of the UK’s top cleaning experts to help you break down the most overwhelming tasks into completely manageable mini-projects.

n SPLIT IT UP INTO SMALLER DAY TASKS

Make sure you put aside a realistic amount of time to do the job properly and don’t make mountains out of what could be a few manageable molehills. Whether you start with one room or one corner, breaking a spring clean down into separate manageable tasks over a few days will help you to get through the whole house without feeling overwhelmed. Identify which rooms are high priority and start there, giving yourself an area to start and finish in the same day –you’ll get a sense of achievement at the end of each day that will keep you motivated. Try using a kitchen timer or your phone’s alarm to really focus.

n DECLUTTER BEFORE YOU START CLEANING

Rid yourself of any not-remotely-useful odds and ends that have quietly filled up your house. The scraps of paper, old chopsticks and expired vouchers filling up that kitchen drawer? The bathroom products that are almost empty and never get used? Get rid of them. Check your fridge and kitchen cupboards for expired products too. If you thought something might be useful but you haven’t touched it in years – let it go. It’ll all make everything far easier to clean.

Start on something small to ease yourself in, like your sock drawer (use dividers to properly organise your underwear), then build up from there: tackle another drawer, a small cupboard, a shoe rack. Try to work room by room, so your concentration and goals remain focused. Once you realise how satisfying it is, you might prefer to declutter regularly rather than letting things build up.

Having the right decluttering kit is essential. Storage boxes are a must (especially if you label each one) and they ensure things stay dust-free. There’s also a wealth of clever organisers and space-saving pieces that you can add to your wardrobe or drawers to max out their potential.

n GET THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB

Trying to clean the whole house with a single old cloth and one bottle of spray makes for a miserable experience. Instead make sure you’ve got the right cleaning products to make the task as easy as possible and

keep them in a cleaning caddy or bucket. “Check to see if anything needs to be renewed or replaced,” advises Matt Tomas, partner & buyer at Utility Shop. “There’s nothing worse than starting to clean and coming to a halt because you ran out of product halfway across the sink”.

But what is the ‘right equipment’? One thing Angela, franchise owner at Molly Maid, and Matt are in complete agreement on is E-cloths. “They give a polished quality to any surface without the need for heavy-duty fluids,” says Matt. “Just dampen the cloths with water to extract their cleaning properties. There are different cloths for specific materials, so make sure you look out for ones that are right for your surfaces.”

Angela also recommends the E-cloth mini mop to make quick work of dirty floors and both cleaning experts rate radiator brushes, blind brushes and OXO appliance brushes for hard-to-reach areas.

n BRILLIANT TIPS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE TRIED BEFORE

“Put lemon slices in a bowl of hot water in the microwave and heat for a few minutes to remove smells and stop grime clinging to the inside,” Angela suggests. Afterwards, you’ll be able to effortlessly wipe clean the inside of your microwave. Another of Angela’s tricks is to use damp newspaper dipped into soft ash to clean the glass on your log burner. And does trying to scrub the last of the grease off roasting tins leave you feeling like you’ve had a session at a bootcamp? “Washing powder and water works a treat,” says Angela.

Matt suggests: “To rid your washing machine of bacteria, run an empty cycle on the hottest setting with 500g of soda crystals”. Run once more with a cup of white vinegar in the drum. “Taking care of your daily appliances will help them last longer, and makes future cleaning quicker, too”.

Shoppers flock to Liverpool market selling products ‘you won’t find anywhere else’

Red Brick Markets’ new retail venue is already home to more than 80 small businesses

Anew market recently opened in the Baltic Triangle is proving popular with shoppers eager to discover products on offer from its eclectic mix of traders, artists and businesses.

Billed as a champion of individuality, Red Brick Markets’ venue on Beaufort Street allows traders to open stalls without the need to physically operate them.

Shoppers choose their items, which each have a price tag displaying the seller’s name, before paying at one central front desk operated by owner Chris Day and his team.

Units and wall spaces start from £50 per week and include all rates and charges, with the venue taking no commission on any items sold.

Alongside retail spaces, Red Brick Markets also has flexible units for workshops, artist studios and non-selling businesses with short leases and basic rents, while further extra space is being used to offer training courses.

Chris says: “The whole idea is to help small businesses. Shops come with massive price tags, business rates and long leases but we try to mitigate as many of the risks as we can for sellers.

“Our staff and central payments desk really set us apart, traders don’t have to man their own businesses, so people with kids, jobs and other responsibilities can have a go at setting themselves up and visiting whenever they like.

“We are already seeing thousands of people visiting each week to check out what our traders have got on offer.

“We’ve been told ‘it’s like walking through Etsy, but you can check out the quality of any product before you buy it’, which is amazing.

“From fashion lovers to music enthusiasts and homeware aficionados, there really is something for everyone and we can’t wait to welcome more traders and customers through the door.

“It’s one of those places you walk in and go ‘wow’ with a totally eclectic mix

of old and new, things you wouldn’t get on the high street, and pretty much locally sourced – much of it handmade – by local people.

“We’re really proud of what’s been created here and are looking forward to seeing everyone flourish.”

Red Brick Markets’ owner Chris Day

Established

One of Liverpool’s longest-running charities, YMCA Together was established in 1846 as a place of hope, light and unquestioning support for those in need. We sat down with chief executive Ellie McNeil to find out more about the organisation’s proud history and the vital work it does to help people here in Merseyside who are experiencing challenging times

In this Together

If someone has never heard of YMCA Together. How would you explain to them what is it and what it’s all about?

The City of Liverpool Young Men’s Christian Association, now known as YMCA Together, was established 177 years ago to support people at the time who were experiencing issues around poverty, worklessness, alcohol dependency and poor education. In our early days, we did a lot of work in the city with people that were emigrating and had come here to the docks. Throughout our history, we’ve been a staple of the community and offered support for people who are experiencing challenging times. That’s changed a little bit in terms of the specific work that we’re doing, but we still aim to be alongside our communities and do whatever is required to meet their needs.

In 2023, what that looks like is support for people experiencing homelessness, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol issues, and poor mental health, mostly via a kind of supported accommodation model. We work in what we call a psychologically informed way and that means as we’re working with people, we’re thinking about what’s sitting underneath for them. For example, homelessness, or drug and alcohol issues, they’re a symptom of something. If we just treat the symptom, and maybe take away the drugs and alcohol, or give somebody a home, that doesn’t actually solve the problem. We try to support people to think about what’s sitting underneath and what we can help them to do differently so they can have a different future for themselves.

And yourself? What is your background? My background is in psychology. I did Applied Psychology at university and worked at Manchester Prison as an assistant psychologist. I was very interested in the number of people coming in and out of prison really quickly because of either drug or alcohol dependency. That was the area that I specialised in – thinking about addiction in all of its guises and how people’s early life and experiences can mean that they go on to become dependent on alcohol or drugs.

Prior to coming to the YMCA, the rest of my career was spent in drug and alcohol treatment services. Since I joined the YMCA nine years ago, the organisation has changed a lot but the majority of the people accessing our services will have had really difficult early life experiences and trauma. That’s the focus of my work.

Aside from the main services, what else does YMCA do within the local community which you think people might not be aware of?

With all of our our services, we’re really keen to raise the profile of the work that we’re doing because there will be people in need of help and support that don’t know that we’re here. But also, part of our work is about engaging with our local communities and seeing what they need, and then what we can provide. We’ve got Dutch Farm which is a farm in Garston with animals and we grow all of our own organic produce there. That produce goes back into services which are supporting people experiencing homelessness. The farm can be booked for community use and we work with other local charities and schools. People in our services also use the space to get back to nature and to boost their health and wellbeing and learn new skills. Our corporate partners might also come and do a day of work on the farm as a team-building exercise.

How, and in what ways, has the current cost of living crisis affected the amount of support YMCA Together is offering people across the region?

People are really struggling to make ends meet. We see that with people in our services, but we are also seeing an increasing number of people experiencing homelessness in the city and beyond. I chair the health and wellbeing network for LCVS (Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services) and so I know from the smaller organisations which provide food bank services and more, that the need for those services has increased exponentially. Here at YMCA Together, we are

With all of our services, we’re really keen to raise the profile of the work that we’re doing because there will be people in need of help that don’t know that we’re here.

working to provide food to people using our services as well, which is something that we’ve never done in the past. Most of our services weren’t catered but over the last two years or so, because of the cost of living crisis and the impact of the pandemic, we’ve moved to provide food parcels to people using our services.

How have you managed to find the extra money required to deliver this extra assistance to people?

Funding is one of our biggest organisational pressures and we don’t have a lot of fundraising come into the organisation, so it’s one of the areas where we will work with local food partners. We get quite a lot of food donated by supermarkets that can’t sell certain items, but some of it we need to buy ourselves in order to provide a balanced diet for people and that’s where it can be really challenging from a financial point of view.

YMCA Together was last year named Best Charity to work for in the UK at the inaugural Best Companies Live virtual event. What is it about YMCA that makes it such a great and rewarding place to work?

I think we’re an organisation that is genuinely value-led and valuefocused. Lots of organisations talk about their values, but for us, it feels like a golden thread through all that we do. For example, the way that we recruit staff is based on our values of strength, humility, respect, empathy and kindness – we call them our SHREK values. Also, the way that the organisation is led [is based on these values]. We know that if we are genuinely kind and caring towards our staff, then they are much more likely to be able to be kind and caring towards the people that we work alongside. The way that we behave, the way that we make sure that staff feel cared about and the wellbeing work that we do, I think all go a long way to creating that feeling that we’re a good employer.

We all spend a huge amount of time at work and it feels really important that people come in feeling excited for the day and ready to go. The work that we do can be really challenging. We see people in absolute despair and hear about people’s trauma. This is within what is an increasingly difficult climate, with the cost of living crisis and the current state of the government.

For me, it’s really important that the staff have autonomy over the decisions that they make and that they’ve got development opportunities, and that when things go wrong, we’re alongside them in the same way that we are with the people we support in the charity.

In 2022, YMCA Together was awarded the Freedom of Liverpool at the end of its 175th year. Was this honour a sign that the organisation is just as important today as it was when it was founded in 1844?

Yes and I think that’s a really nice way to put it. For us, it feels like recognition that we’re a key part of the city and a key part of our communities in the city. It is a huge honour. I think that it also shows that we are a long-standing charity in the city and that we will continue to be alongside our communities for whatever they need from us.

For more information about YMCA Together and how to access its services, visit www.ymcatogether.org.uk

SARAH GLYNN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Phoenix is rising! Liverpool hotel opens second site following £1.5m investment

James Winters is co-owner of popular Liverpool hotel chain

The Phoenix alongside business partner Rob Edwards. The pair launched a second site, The Phoenix Pods, at the end of 2022 following the success of The Phoenix in Kirkdale. James recently spoke about the hotels and his big plans for 2023

What is your background in hotels?

I started my own electrical engineering company, M-Tech, in 2009. The business was a major success, and in 2019 myself and my business partner, Rob Edwards, were made aware of an opportunity in Kirkdale, just outside the city centre.

We purchased the property, an abandoned Victorian building, and transformed it into a hotel which offers affordable luxury and great access to Everton and Liverpool football stadiums and the city centre.

What inspired you to completely transform a dilapidated building into a luxury hotel?

Rob is a structural engineer and architect by trade and he was the first to see the potential the building had. His designs were amazing and brought the property to life.

With my background in electrical engineering, and our shared knowledge of construction through our business, Edwards Winters Developments, we knew we could create something beautiful in a historic area of Liverpool.

There were some difficult moments, of course, as Rob and I were learning on the job. But we finished the project ahead of schedule and were left with a building which continues to prove popular with guests and local residents on a daily basis.

This is after we were forced to close the same day we opened the doors of

The Phoenix because Boris Johnson announced the first lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

You recently opened your second site, The Phoenix Pods, in the city centre. Can you tell us more about this project?

The Phoenix has proven so popular and we were fortunate enough to buy a new property, The Phoenix Pods, on Vauxhall Road.

This is a 32 room development which will offer the same

affordable luxury of our flagship site.

It is really exciting to be growing into the city centre. We are proud to be adding to the heritage of Liverpool and providing our services to millions of tourists every year.

The Phoenix Pods are situated in an ideal location for all visitors to Liverpool. You can reach all parts of the city centre on foot, while having a luxury room to come home to offering first-class service.

What else do you have planned for 2023?

The world-famous Anfield Wrap has began recording its matchday podcast from our bar at The Phoenix, while Willow Smith, musician and daughter of Hollywood legend Will Smith, booked out the entire property for her recent stay! We feel we are doing something right. We also want to keep giving back to the community with free coffee mornings for older Kirkdale residents and a Phoenix Festival planned for during the August bank holiday. It is going to be an exciting year!

www.phoenixhotelsliverpool.co.uk

Heather Marsh on the plants which will make your garden really buzz this season

this Spring Bee friendly

THE MONTH OF MARCH brings with it the onset of spring, even if the weather can’t always make up its mind. However, on the days when the sun is out and the air is abuzz, spring really does seem to burst forth before our very eyes. Early in the season, active bees which have survived the winter need our help to sustain them for their busy time ahead. Perhaps surprisingly, there are few wild winter flowering plants in the UK and as such, bees really do rely on our gardens to grow those all-important flowers, shrubs and trees for their pollen and nectar fix. If you want a bountiful garden you need bees, and the more bees you can attract to your garden, the better it will grow.

This theory was demonstrated to me many years ago when my mother-in-law suddenly saw her garden miraculously flourish. She was a keen and talented gardener to begin with, but everything her green fingers touched one particular year seemed to grow in abundance. From roses the size of cabbages to towering hollyhocks and sweet peas, bumper crops of apples and pears, strawberries and cherries, but best of all, luscious white fleshed peaches, the likes of which I’d never seen. It was like the Garden of Eden and all thanks to her next-door neighbour who had started keeping bees. I’ve never forgotten this story and have valued and welcomed the hardworking insect ever since.

The decline of the bumblebee in the UK is well documented, and as important agricultural pollinators, anything we can do to protect them should be encouraged. These tiny creatures are an integral part of our ecosystem and it’s not an exaggeration to say that without them around, life on earth as we know it would be in jeopardy.

The red-tailed bumblebee is probably one of the first bees to be seen each year, particularly in March – easily identified by its black body and red tail. Bumblebees and honeybees are lovely social creatures and contrary to what a lot of people think, they rarely sting. They would much rather just be left to get on with their busy job collecting nectar and pollen and taking it back to the hive.

n WHAT TO GROW

Many flowers, shrubs and early blossoming trees like winter-flowering cherry are ideal for hungry bees. Nectar is needed by the insects for energy to fly and find a suitable nest whilst pollen is the bee grub’s protein and necessary for growth and development. Therefore, choosing a variety of plant which is rich in both pollen and nectar will be a real lifeline for those bees emerging from hibernation this spring. The bright yellow flowers of mahonia, forsythia and mimosa all prove to be irresistible to them this early in the season, but it’s another colour of flower which has a real spellbinding effect.

GIFT GUIDE

Mother’s Day inspiration for the queen bee in your life

n THE COLOUR PURPLE

Bees can see the colour purple more than any other colour and are particularly attracted to flowers of this hue. Purple crocuses, grape hyacinths, primroses and even the tiny flowers of rosemary are some of their eye-catching favourites.

Winter flowering heathers are hardy perennials with many varieties to choose from. Compact flowering plants like heather can accommodate dozens of bees taking their fill of nectar at any one time and are a magnet for the insect when few flowering plants are in bloom. Heather honey is also highly prized with health benefits comparable to that of the famous Mānuka variety.

The cheery sight of any catkins, especially the pussy willow, undoubtedly spells spring to me. I simply love them, and so do the bees. The trees that bear catkins are fascinating, with many varieties containing both male and female flowers. While the wind is an active pollinator for most trees, it’s the bee who really does this job.

Goat willow has separate male and female trees and both sexes secrete a nectar highly valued and sought-after by bumblebees in early spring whilst Kilmarnock willow is a particular favourite of the bumblebee queen. Other trees you can plant which produce wonderful catkins are hazel, alder, silver birch and poplar

Sometimes at this time of year when it can still be bitterly cold, you may come across a bumblebee which appears disorientated and lethargic. Help them along by whipping up a quick ‘bee tonic’. Simply mix equal parts warm water and sugar and fill a small bottle top. Left next to the striken bee, it will hopefully drink this concoction and feel energised enough to fly off.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, HAPPY GARDENING | HEATHERMARSHYM@GMAIL.COM

The wine of

celebration

Jon Atkinson on why you just can’t beat a bottle of bubbly when it’s time to party

WHEN IT COMES TO A CELEBRATION,

there really is nothing to top Champagne; for sure, there is plenty of alternative fizz from Prosecco, Cava, Crémant and particularly England that can all add sparkle to any occasion. Champagne, however, makes more of a statement and creates a greater sense of occasion than any of the competition! Here in the UK, we have long been enamoured with Champagne, being the largest export market, although the USA is not far behind with both countries importing in excess of 20 million bottles annually. The total production of the Champagne region averages around 300 million bottles each year.

The name of Champagne is afforded protection courtesy of its PDO (Protected

designation of Origin) status with only wines made using the traditional method (Méthode Champenoise) from grapes grown in the officially designated area in Northern France allowed to use the name. The governing body for the region, the CIVC, take this extremely seriously. You might think that a perfume called Champagne from designer Ralph Lauren would be looked upon favourably, but no, he was taken to court!

So, what makes these sparkling wines so special? As is usually the case in the world of wine, it is a combination of factors – the complex interaction of grape varieties, soil, climate and vinification. There are actually six permitted varieties in Champagne but only Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier

Champagne Claude Baron ‘Cuvée Saphir’ Brut NV

are regarded as significant. The majority of NV (non-vintage) blends tend to feature varying proportions of all three, but Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) and Blanc de Noirs (just Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier) are increasingly popular. The more up-market Cuvées are more likely to dispense with Meunier in favour of the other two, more prestigious varieties.

The vineyard area for Champagne sits in Northern France with its unofficial capital, Reims, about an hour and a half north-east of Paris. About 90% of the vineyards are essentially owned by farmers who grow grapes for a living and either sell them to the aforementioned houses, or become a member of one of a number of co-operatives within the region.

Claude has been a grower in the Marne valley since 1974. The Champagnes which bear his name are the fruits of a project that he set up with his three daughters, Lise, Aline and Claire to establish their own brand. They produce just three champagnes with this, their Brut NV, being the most popular. It is typically aged for three years before being released to ensure a harmonious, elegant wine which means that supplies can be limited, but they are not prepared to compromise on quality. This is a deliciously light, fresh wine with hints of citrus and apple which we are delighted to regard as our ‘house’ fizz! £22.95

Champagne Boizel Rosé NV

Delightful pink fizz from a very well-regarded, medium sized, family owned and run Maison on the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay. Their delicious Rosé is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay and 30% Meunier that was aged for three years. Its attractive, salmon pink colour is achieved by the addition of a small amount of Pinot Noir from the south of the region that was vinified as a red wine. Delicate aromas of wild strawberries and cherries precede a smooth, generous palate that balances fruitiness with precise minerality with a long, elegant finish. £38.50

Champagne Louis Roederer ‘Collection 243’ Brut

Although the name of Roederer is not as well-known as the likes of Moët or Veuve Clicquot, it has long been held in the highest regard by the cognoscenti and their Prestige Cuvée – Cristal – in its distinctive golden cellophane wrapping it is instantly recognisable and much sought after. Roederer has quite recently departed from the conventional ‘non-vintage’ and has now adopted a ‘multi vintage’ approach to producing their house Cuvée. A rich yet fresh wine with a cornucopia of aromas exuding whilst the palate is deep, concentrated and deliciously textural… amazing stuff! £39.99

Champagne Bollinger PN TX17

An assembly of 100% Pinot Noir, predominantly from the Tauxières Cru, PN TX 17 is blended with other villages on the Montagne de Reims, such as Avenay and Verzenay. The base year is 2017, with reserve wines from 2016, 2009 and 2006 blended in. It was aged on the lees for four years giving a lovely depth and concentration of flavour. Typically full-bodied, with a complex aroma that is both saline and mineral, it has notes of apple, lemon, verbena and brioche. A very ‘food friendly’ wine, this limited release won’t be around for long. £74.99

S Independent Family Funeral Directors

Richard and Shannon Jenkins Funeral directors are your local, trusted, independent funeral directors. We believe in being at the heart of the community, providing a first class 24 hour service and building strong everlasting relations with you and your family at this very difficult time.

LIVERPOOL WATERSPORTS CENTRE SETS SIGHTS ON ANOTHER BUMPER SUMMER

Money from ticket sales is invested back into Local Solutions’ vital charitable work

FOLLOWING THE OPENING OF its new aqua park last year, Liverpool Watersports Centre is looking forward to another bumper summer season at Queens Dock.

It’s no secret that Liverpool is home to some spectacular beaches and people travel from far and wide to visit our world-famous waterfront, so it’ll be music to the ears of tourists and locals alike that the attraction is set to launch after the winter period.

Local Solutions, a major charity which manages the centre, spent more than £30,000 on its new aqua park last year which boasts 12 pieces of equipment including a catapult swing, water trampolines, slides, monkey bars, spinning rocket and various climbing apparatus.

The investment resulted in a successful summer at the centre and this year is expected to be no different, particularly as people can also hire kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and swan pedalos as well as choose to sail or windsurf, take a trip round

the docks on a powerboat or even safely open water swim! A wheelyboat service for wheelchair users is also on offer.

The visitor attraction, which also includes a social coffee shop run by FIKA, will open fully on 1 April and throughout the summer months, with money from activity ticket sales invested into Local Solutions’ charitable work across the Liverpool City Region and North Wales.

Tom Harrison, chief executive at Local Solutions, says: “We made the decision last year to add lots of brilliant new equipment to our existing offering, in order to make the

new aqua park a genuinely brilliant and exciting experience for everyone who takes to the water.

“We are passionate about using the centre to make watersports accessible for all and our new adventure attraction in Queens Dock is part of that aim. We welcomed so many families down to the centre and the feedback was phenomenal.

“Everyone at Local Solutions can’t wait to see what this summer brings as we will then be able to re-invest some of the money raised from ticket sales back into funding the life-changing work we do.”

NEXUS COMPLETES FIRST PHASE OF FLAGSHIP BALTIC TRIANGLE DEVELOPMENT

LIVERPOOL PROPERTY DEVELOPER

Nexus Residential has completed the first 50 homes at its £50 million Baltic Triangle scheme.

One Baltic Square on Grafton Street will deliver 296 apartments in total alongside commercial units which could house coffee shops, restaurants and offices.

In addition, Nexus plans to create a £1m public piazza as the centrepiece of the development.

The scheme will also feature five rooftop gardens, a reception and concierge service, underground car parking and CCTV for added security.

Last year, Nexus announced a £19.5m funding injection from London-based Maslow Capital to deliver the development after acquiring the site of One Baltic Square from YPG Developments for an undisclosed sum.

Nexus is partnering with Legacie Contracts, the construction arm of Liverpool firm Legacie Developments, which has driven forward construction of the project.

The scheme was promoted by international sales agent RW Invest, which successfully pre-sold all the new homes off-plan.

Michael Gledhill, managing director at Nexus, says completion of the first phase is a proud moment.

He adds:“One Baltic Square is our

standout residential development in Liverpool and will bring much needed high quality homes to an increasingly popular part of the city.

“We are proud to help create a new urban village in the heart of Liverpool offering luxury accommodation and practical facilities, as well as a prime location.

“It is fantastic to see the first phase complete, with the construction team now pressing ahead to get the rest of the homes ready.”

One Baltic Square will include a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments

Redwing’s designs on Fabric District attract

new residents to area

All 24 apartments at The Drapery let within two weeks of coming to market

LIVERPOOL-BASED property agency Redwing hopes the success of its new apartment scheme in the Fabric District will spur interest and investment in the area.

‘The Drapery’, named to reflect the district’s historic links with the textile trade, consists of 24 apartments for rent on London Road.

The project, delivered via M&Y Maintenance and Construction on behalf of Redwing, has seen a 200-year-old property restored to a modern and energy-efficient standard whilst retaining its original features.

The addition of these apartments to the local market has helped to increase the choice of high quality mixed-tenure accommodation in the area.

Demand for this standard of property has been demonstrated through the interest Redwing received in marketing the apartments, with over 90% of the homes reserved off-plan. All 24 apartments were successfully let within two weeks of the properties coming to market.

Michelle Brooks, director of operations at Redwing, says: “We’re

delighted to see how popular the beautiful new homes at The Drapery have been.

“We hope the redevelopment of these apartments will encourage other investors into the area as more residents and businesses make this unique and vibrant part of Liverpool their home”.

Susie, resident at The Drapery, adds: “I am so pleased we managed to reserve one of the apartments.

“It’s a great base to travel from to work in the city centre and onwards, while just up the road we have access to the Fabric District’s shops, cafes, and traders. I’m proud to call this area of the city my new home!”

New face at Liverpool City Council

Green light for new £13 million canalside apartment scheme

Designed by Liverpool-based Snow Architects, the Commercial Road development will include 70 homes across two blocks

INTEGRITAS PROPERTY GROUP has been given the go-ahead by Liverpool City Council to proceed with its latest development, Cavendish Waters.

Designed by Liverpool-based Snow Architects, the Commercial Road scheme will include 70 apartments (a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units) over two blocks and is within 15 minutes walk of the new Everton FC stadium.

Prices will start at £160,00 for a one-bedroom flat, with 39 residential visitor parking spaces and three disabled spaces on the ground floor.

The exterior of the development will be made up of brickwork with grey aluminium windows, grey spandrel panels, colour-to-match windows, mild steel balustrade to balcony areas and powdercoated aluminium window surrounds.

Mitchell Walsh, managing director at Integritas Property Group, says: “With Bank of England interest rates on the rise, this makes these apartments an attractive proposition both for buyers and for investors who can expect a projected rental yield of 6% per annum.

“The approval of full planning permission for our latest residential development in such a prestigious and sought after location is testament to the high standards of building design and construction that we adhere to, putting people first.

“Being close to both the waterway and the new Everton FC stadium makes it a highly prized location and, as such, we expect to see high demand.”

Nuala Gallagher will oversee major schemes such as Kings Dock, Festival Gardens and the Littlewoods site

LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL has appointed Nuala Gallagher as its new corporate director of city development. The current director of planning, environment & placemaking at Limerick City and County Council will take up the reins at the end of March.

Her role will focus on driving Liverpool’s economic growth and delivering sustainable development across the city centre and communities. She will also be responsible for overseeing planning, property and asset management, an investment strategy, as well as skills, environmental and sustainability policies.