NEW BRIGHTON/ AREA FORUM Co-ordinator’s report

8th February 2005 Contents Section one Community Initiative’s Funding 2004/05

Section two Developing and implementing a local area plan

Section three Youth Update Section four Streetscene

Section five Local Updates

Section Six Minutes from the New Brighton/Wallasey Area Forum on 28th October 2004 and Special area forum on 7th December 2004

1 SECTION ONE

COMMUNITY INITIATIVE’S FUNDING

2 COMMUNITY INITIATIVE FUND UPDATE JANUARY 2005

Consultations:

The Community Initiatives Fund was advertised in the Globe on 10th and 24th November 2004, with a closing date of 20th December 2004.

Posters and leaflets were sent to:

· Local and Wirral Wide Information Points · Forum members · Interested Persons · Wirral Voluntary & Community Sectors Network

Details were sent to / included on:

Public Relations (to arrange a press release)

· ’s Website · GME Website

Response

We surveyed some of the 498 requests for application packs for the 11 area forums to find out how they heard about the funding with the following results:

· Website 4 · Leaflets/Mailshot 60 · Globe 26 · Forums/Forum Members 33 · Requests via e-mail 17 · Word of mouth 6 · Applied previously 14

Applications received

A total of 282 applications have been received with a total of over £260,119.34 being requested (some of the applications didn’t specify an amount so the amounts requested may be higher as these have not been included in the figures), for a variety of different projects across Wirral. These are broken down as follows:

3 · , Moreton and Massie £18,742.00 · East Wallasey ( / ) £16,613.73 · New Brighton / Wallasey £22,020.33 · , , Irby, Upton & £37,139.78 · West Wirral £32,191.75 · / and £20,056.00 · / Eastham £20,440.54 · / £25,818.02 · and Tranmere / £28,152.19 · Oxton / £17,550.00 · and Claughton £21,395.00

There was an amount of £12,496.66 in the Community Initiatives Fund (CIF). A total of 29 applications were received. As agreed at the last area forum meeting on 28th October 2004 the CIF panel is made up of all members of the area forum.

The panel met on Monday 10th January 2005 to look at the bids. I will report back on the successful applicants at the next area forum.

It is anticipated that an overall report will go to Cabinet on Thursday 10 February 2005 for the bids to be approved. The applicants will be informed towards the end of February 2005 following the ten day waiting period after the Cabinet decision.

The Community Planning Team receives regular updates from the Charities Information Bureau on a variety of funding opportunities. If you would like a copy of the latest information please contact a member of the team on 691 8266/8069.

4 SECTION TWO

DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A LOCAL AREA PLAN

5 Draft Area Plans

The draft area plans have been produced using information from a variety of sources, including:

· ward roadshows · area forums · youth forums · the Wirral Show and other local events · The Citizen’s Panel and census information etc.

The area plans bring together – under the overarching themes of the community strategy – those broader issues that local people have said are important to them. They therefore do not attempt to pick up all of those specific local issues that have been raised but rather to provide a ‘flavour’ of the main issues that affect the area.

Since the preparation of the area plans began a number of changes have taken place, including changes to wards boundaries and the re-grouping of wards within area forums. As such, the original information collected during 2004 has been re-aligned where possible to reflect the new boundaries/area forums.

From June to August 2004 consultation took place around the draft area plans with a number of different stakeholders and organisations including: · area forums members · elected members · Primary Care Trusts · departmental co-ordinators · Chief Officers · Wirral Voluntary and Community Sectors (WVCSN)

The consultation plan adopted across the area forums was designed to ensure that as far as possible the information in the area plans reflected local needs and was up to date and relevant.

The area plans now provide a baseline for the area forums to further develop them into truly local plans, which reflect local needs and aspirations and provide a list of priorities to which the area forum can respond over the coming months. During February 2005 the area forums will be asked to adopt the draft area plans and consider ways in which to expand/improve upon them and take the local issues identified forward.

For further information on area plans please contact:

Rachel Flood Community Planning Co-ordinator Tel: 0151 691 8063 E: [email protected]

6 SECTION THREE

YOUTH UPDATE

7 Youth Forums Update

Since the last set of forum meetings the Youth Forums have met once. The purpose of these meetings was to start a programme of grant giving. Each youth forum has a small amount of money to grant to other youth groups, and therefore these meetings focused on the protocols and procedures for doing this. The method used was giving the group examples of bids and discussing the process and relative merits of each bid. This will prepare the members to do the exercise for real in the March forums.

The groups also discussed the consultation requests that have been made: Work based Learning Community Safety Local Transport Plan

Youth Conference Update

As part of local democracy week Wirral organised a youth conference. Key elements of the day included: · Stands from local organisations and council departments · A variety of workshops will take place on the day · Hotseating session

What is Hotseating? Hotseating provides an opportunity for the young people present on the day to get up close and personal with key decision makes and question them about issues of their concern and to interview key people about issues which have emerged during their debate and discussions.

Speakers involved in the Hotseating session included Howard Cooper, Director of Education, Chief Supt Alan Jones Police, Ward Councillors and a number of others representing a diverse group of service providers and organisations.

A report is currently being written to evaluate the success of the event, and to provide pointers for the next conference. The evaluations from the young people that attended the event, have largely, been very positive, as well from the agencies and organisations that took part in the day. Overwhelmingly the Hotseating was the most popular part of the day from all that attended, and this session will be extended at the next conference.

8 The following agencies, organisations and individuals were involved in providing stands / workshops and or the Hotseating

Bebington and West Wirral Primary Care Trust Ben Chapman MP Birkenhead and Wallasey Primary Care Trust Connexions Councillor Hilary Jones Councillor John Cocker Councillor Simon Holbrook Education and Cultural Services Forum Housing HMP Liverpool Prison Housing and Regeneration Merseytravel Social Services Department Stephen Hesford MP Technical Services Department Wirral Children’s Champion Wirral Children’s Fund Wirral Drug and Alcohol Outreach Team Wirral Women & Children’s Aid Wisch Hospital

The following people were involved in the planning and delivery of the conference: Debbie Dawson – Youth & Community Service Lauren Elliott – Community Planning Team Chris Rummery – Advisory Teacher Humanities Marie Jones - Advisory Teacher Humanities Katrina Roberts – THRP Lorraine Jones – Greater Merseyside Connexions Tricia Jones – Children’s Champion

9 UK Youth Parliament Members

This year Wirral has 2 Members of the Youth Parliament (MYP’s) and 4 deputies, previously it has always been 2 MYP’s and 2 Deputies. To ensure as many young people as possible had an opportunity to get involved and vote the elections were conducted electronically.

This meant that there were 43 candidates, from a variety of schools, and a total of 634 votes were cast. Previously only the candidates have been able to vote.

The election results were announced at a session held at Wallasey Town Hall. This consisted of a buffet lunch, an electronic voting session on the issues that most concerned them and finally announcing the results. Below are a selection of the responses from the electronic voting session:

10 Bullying What is your experience of Bullying?

Œ I have been bullied 49% • My friends have been bullied 17% Ž I have bullied someone 5% • I have been part of a group that has bullied someone 5% • I don't have any experience of bullying 24% % 0 10 20 30 40 50

Leisure & Entertainment What is your main concern?

Œ Not enough things to do 14% • Cost 34% Ž Lack of facilities 33% • Difficulty getting to the venues 19% • Other 0% % 0 10 20 30 40

11 Risk Taking Behaviours Sub Group

This group is a multi agency approach to working together to minimise young people’s risk taking behaviours.

The group is made up of representatives from: · Primary Care Trusts · Wirral Brook · Merseytravel · Community Safety Team · Youth & Community Service · Response · Wallasey Extended School · Community Planning Team

The group had an away day to work up a set of priorities to turn into effective actions to minimise the effects of risk taking.

The priority the group has decided to take forward is education for both young people and parents. The parents of primary school age children will be approached in the pilot scheme, it is hoped that another agency such as sure start or parentline plus could become partners in this initiative. The session for parents will be called “keeping your child safe”.

If any forum member is interested in this please contact either Lauren Elliott on 0151 691 8213 or Tracey Smith on 0151 691 8026.

12 SECTION FOUR

STREETSCENE

13 Report from Street Scene Manager Road Improvement Scheme

WORK on Saughall Massie Road Improvement scheme remains on schedule.

West Kirby Road, which runs from Three Lanes End to Saughall Massie Road, Upton is currently closed to through traffic. The road is being widened and re-routed so that it bypasses Saughall Massie Village to the south. The eight month project is expected to be completed by April 2005.

Dowhigh Ltd has been appointed as the contractor to carry out the scheme on behalf of Wirral Council.

Diversion signs are in place and motorists are advised to allow themselves additional journey time. Traffic travelling towards Upton is being diverted along Pump Lane, Frankby Road, Greasby Road, Upton Bypass and Saughall Massie Road. Traffic travelling towards and is being diverted along Saughall Road, Hoylake Road, Birkenhead Road and Heron Road.

Safe cycling

The Council’s road safety team is turning attention to keeping cyclists safe in Wirral this winter. With the appointment of a dedicated cycling road safety officer, Stephen Corlett, members of the public will see more and more educational initiatives aimed at getting people out and about on their bikes over the coming months.

School Crossing Patrols go orange

Wirral Council is trialling a new uniform for its School Crossing Patrollers in a bid to make them more visible and promote a more responsible attitude from drivers.

Patrollers at six sites across the borough can be seen sporting the new-look fluorescent orange outfit.

The new uniform is being given a ‘test-run’ in Wirral to coincide with national Road Safety Week 2004, organised by the charity Brake. Council officers are trialling the orange outfit to see if it improves safety for school crossing staff and the thousands of pedestrians that they help across the road every day.

14 For some inattentive motorists the local lollipop person alarmingly goes unnoticed. The switch to orange has proven popular elsewhere in the country for increasing visibility and ensuring that motorists stop for the patroller.

Director David Green said: “Any initiatives that improve road safety are given a high priority here at Wirral Council. Thankfully we live in a safety-conscious age, where increasing numbers of people can be seen out on our roads wearing fluorescent yellow. But this means that we need to do more to make our School Crossing Patrollers distinguishable – and we hope to achieve this by switching to orange outfits.” Tranmere Clean Up

A MAJOR Christmas clean up campaign has taken place in Tranmere and Rock Ferry.

‘Together’ Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder is working in partnership with the Council’s Streetscene officers to encourage residents to have a clear out and help rid the streets of rubbish. The move is aimed at raising awareness about litter problems and reducing instances of fly-tipping in alleyways in Tranmere and Rock Ferry over the Christmas period.

In December there is a marked increase in the amount of waste generated in Wirral, as residents clearout their homes for the festive celebrations. ‘Together’ provided the funding for Wirral Council’s dedicated bulky household waste collection service, known as the ERIC service, to operate in different roads in the Tranmere and Rock Ferry area every Mondayin the run up to Christmas. Residents were asked to use the service to get rid of any unwanted furniture and ‘white goods’ such as old fridges, cookers and washing machines. More than 5,500 homes were leafleted with details about the collection service.

The Council’s environmental hit squad has also be working with Onyx during this period to clear back entries of rubbish. The campaign has been made possible thanks to funding for Neighbourhood Management from central government. Litter prosecutions

WIRRAL Council is taking a tough stance with people caught dropping litter in the borough.

Thoughtless residents are being warned that illegal dumping could cost them dearly – as four people were fined up to £100 each for failing to pay on spot litter fines after dropping rubbish.

Lesley Bailie from Price Street in Birkenhead, Leslie Moran from Newling Street in Birkenhead and Claire Unsworth from Bentinck Place in Birkenhead

15 were each fined £100 plus costs of £75 at a hearing at Birkenhead Magistrates last month (Tuesday, December 7, 2004). Natalie Taylor from Mount Grove in Oxton was fined £50 plus costs All four failed to appear at court, but were found guilty of the offence in their absence.

The Council has served some 160 fixed penalties for 'fly tipping' and littering over the last 12 months and people who don’t pay up have been taken to court and given hefty fines ranging from £100 to £1200. These latest cases bring the total number of successful litter and fly-tipping prosecutions in Wirral this year to nine with a further 15 pending.

Dealing with dangerous skips

UNSAFE and poorly lit skips on Wirral roads are being targeted in a Council campaign this winter.

From Monday, December 13 enforcement officers have embarked on drive to remove any skips found on the borough’s roads without an approved Council permit.

When it comes to hiring and paying for a skip, the Council is calling upon members of the public and builders to make sure the company they use is operating within the law. Here are some guidelines to avoid getting caught out:

· The company must have approval from the Council to site each skip – you can ask to see a copy of a skip permit. · The telephone number of the skip hire company must be clearly marked on the sides. · Lamps must be attached to the skip and lit when it is dark. · Each skip must not exceed five metres by two metres in size. · All waste removal companies should be registered with the Environment Agency and hold an official licence to carry waste – you can ask to see a copy of this licence. Skip prosecutions

THE OWNERS of four Wirral skip-hire companies have been fined for illegally placing more than 80 skips on the borough’s roads.

Martin Campbell, owner of A1 Skip Hire, was fined £1,900 including costs for a total of 28 offences at a hearing at Birkenhead Magistrates this week (Tuesday, December 14). And Bernard Campbell, owner of Dial A Skip and Wirral Skips, was fined £2100 including costs for a total of 33 offences.

16 At the same hearing Martin Campbell and Bernard Campbell, who also co- own A2B Skip Hire Ltd – were fined an additional £1,750 including costs, for a further 23 offences by this company.

The four skip operators work out of the same yard in Old Gorsey Lane, Wallasey. The court heard that they had not gained permission from the Council to place a total of 84 skips on roads throughout Wirral between January and June this year. This was in contravention of the Highways Act 1980, Section 139 and both men pleaded guilty to the charges.

This is the largest successful skip prosecution of its kind in Wirral – upping the total number of successful prosecutions for the Council from three to 87 in just one day.

Enforcement officer Lisa Knowles said: “Unsafe skips have become an increasing problem across the borough, posing a risk to both motorists and pedestrians. Many skips are being left poorly lit, creating an obstruction, looking unsightly and causing damage to pavements.

“We would ask people to plan ahead and choose their skip hire company carefully. The company must have an approved permit before a skip can be put on the road. Any skip without a permit could be removed by one of our enforcement officers.” Work begins on Hoylake park and ride scheme

COMMUTERS in Wirral are set to benefit from a £450,000 park and ride scheme being introduced at Hoylake railway station. Work has now begun creating a 137-space car park and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities at the Carr Lane site.

Currently there are a limited number of parking spaces outside the West Wirral station. The scheme, designed by Wirral Council engineers, was given the go-ahead after being identified as part of the Merseyside Local Transport Plan. It is being funded by central government and aims to promote the greater use of rail by motorists and reduce pollution caused by cars.

Some 6,000 square metres of land adjacent to Hoylake Municipal Golf Course, will be transformed to make way for the car park. The existing public footpath, running from Anglesey Road in West Kirby to Carr Lane, is also being revamped to include a designated cycle path that will eventually link with networks elsewhere in the borough. The scheme is particularly unusual in that special design and construction arrangements have been made to protect a rare plant growing in the area – Mackay’s Horsetail. Engineers have been consulting with Wirral Wildlife Trust about the primitive plant, which is only known to exist in two locations in Wirral.

17 Contractors Bethell Construction will be carrying out the work on behalf of the Council. And Kenny Bradshaw from Highway Improvements is the on-site engineer overseeing the project. Work started on November 22 and the scheme is expected to take up to six months to complete. There will be some disruption for motorists using Carr Lane, and drivers are advised to allow themselves additional journey time. Walkers are also advised that the existing footpath will be temporarily closed during construction for safety reasons.

Director David Green said: “Wirral Council is committed to the provision of a good and sustainable transport network. We are working closely with Merseytravel and our neighbouring authorities to meet local transport needs more effectively. This scheme has been more than two years in the planning and we are thrilled to see work now starting on site. The park and ride facilities will hopefully encourage even more commuters and shoppers to think twice before taking their car into the local town centres. Like public transport, cycling is also an effective alternative form of transport, especially for short journeys – and we hope people will also make use of the improved cycling facilities included in the scheme.”

Winter parking

Wirral Council has a legal duty to keep roads and pavements in a safe condition.

We are appealing to car owners not to park on grass verges this winter. The Council has been inundated with complaints about the tyre damage caused to verges because of recent wet weather.

Many residents are surprised to learn that there are legal obligations to keep pavements and grass verges free from obstructions, such as cars. And anyone found responsible for causing damage to the verge could be billed for the cost of repair work.

Our Council enforcement team is currently reviewing how we tackle this problem.

In the meantime, if you are suffering at the hand of inconsiderate parking, you might be interested in adopting a tree for a nearby grass verge. Planting a tree has proven successful elsewhere in the borough in deterring motorists from parking on verges.

If you have any additional queries or want information about the ‘Adopt a Tree’ scheme that Wirral council operates, please call our Streetscene contact centre on 606 2004.

18 Parking attendants prove popular

PARKING attendants have proved they are popular in parts of Wirral – after the Council has received a rush of requests from residents and businesses for enforcement action against dangerous motorists.

Within the last twelve months, more than 500 people have contacted Wirral Council to ask for tougher measures to deal with problem parking. The Parking Services section has responded to concerns by sending out attendants to ‘blitz’ each area. This news comes one year on from the introduction of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement in the borough in late November 2003. Service managers say they receive as many as five requests for help per day – from residents who are frustrated by motorists flouting parking rules. And many of these callers get back in touch with the department to express their appreciation for Council efforts. Areas where parking attendants have helped residents over the last year include:

· Tackling abuse of the resident’s parking scheme in the area surrounding Tranmere Rovers football club on match days. · Addressing a safety issue caused by parents parking on yellow lines outside Allport School in Bromborough. · Easing congestion caused by Sunday car boot sales in Leasowe – after residents complained about people parking on double yellow lines outside their homes in Pasture Road. · Attendants have been working with Birkenhead market and The Grange shopping precinct to address problems caused by shoppers parking in the access road at the back of the market. · Responding to residents of Menai Street in Birkenhead who expressed safety concerns over HGV vehicles parking on yellow lines at night narrowing access for both the road and pavement.

Director David Green said: “Many people are quick to criticise the work of parking attendants – but the reality is that these enforcement measures are vital if we are to keep our roads safe and free from congestion. There are residents out there who fully support the work that our parking services team are doing. In fact we’ve received more than 25 thank you letters from people who are extremely grateful that we have addressed parking problems that have previously made their lives a misery.”

Garden waste update for West Wirral

WIRRAL Council is appealing for West Wirral residents to keep on using the garden waste service throughout the winter months.

The grass may well have stopped growing, but there is plenty more greenery for home-owners to find in their back garden to put in the white recycling bags for kerbside collection.

19 It’s the time of year to get stuck into pruning hedges and clearing away dead leaves. And in the New Year, residents will even be able to recycle their Christmas trees using the service, providing it is chopped down into manageable branches. An estimated 17% of household waste is believed to be from the garden. The garden collection has proved overwhelmingly popular since it started in May this year. More than 2000 tonnes of heavy grass cuttings and clippings have been diverted from landfill and sent to a nearby composting facility.

Residents will be pleased to learn that this compost is now available to ‘buy- back’ for a small charge. Sacks of the high-grade compost are on sale at Warrens Nursery in Thingwall (open weekday mornings and Sunday afternoons).

Shortlisted for awards

THE shortlist for the Merseyside 21 Awards has been announced and once again Wirral has done well. Although the winners of the prestigious environmental awards are not announced until 3rd February, projects from Wirral Council departments and schools are in with a chance as they go forward to the next stage. Within Streetscene related services we have been shortlisted for our work with aggregate recycling, anti-litter roadshows and green garden waste collections.

20 SECTION FIVE

LOCAL UPDATE

21 Local Update

Pride in Our Promenades Update

The first stage is drawing to a close with the completion of a business plan. The purpose of the business plan was to consider a range of projects along the whole length of the promenade. We are now working with members of Wirral Waterfront to identify a short list of desirable projects to take to the next stage, which is detailed design, and costing.

As part of the detail design process the community will be consulted. We aim to do this in the next 2/3 months. The Mersey Basin Campaign is working with Wirral Borough Council on the proposals to pay for the work. We hope to start making improvements in the summer.

For more information about this project, please contact Iain Taylor on 0161 242 8209 or by email at: [email protected]

Are you registered to vote?

6 January 2005

Are you registered to vote?

Wirral Council electoral staff are reminding local adults to check they are registered to vote – as if a general election were called for May, voters would need to have applied for inclusion on the register of electors by 11 March to be eligible.

Anyone who has moved address or moved into the area since December 2004 needs to notify the Town Hall of the change by the March deadline if they want to be included on the register and be eligible to vote.

To check you are on the register, call 691 8046, or call in at Wallasey Town Hall during normal office hours.

22 Tsunami Disaster –How Wirral MBC is supporting the fundraising:

This note is to bring you up to date with developments around fundraising in Wirral for the tsunami disaster.

A meeting of Wirral Council staff fundraisers, chaired by the Chief Executive Steve Maddox, was called late last week to respond to the many approaches from staff, the media and the public, all asking for guidance and a focus to the local effort. The following points were agreed: · Many people have already given very generously, and many council sections are organising their own events. The Chief Executive’s meeting did not seek to ‘control’ any of these activities, but to try to support them and offer an added focus to them. · Wirral has adopted Friday January 21 as a special day of fundraising across the Authority, with staff from all sectors being encouraged to raise more money. (It is emerging as the day many authorities up and down the country are having a special effort). In Wirral, this day has been dubbed “Snowdrop Day’. (Snowdrops, which will be in flower by then, are a symbol of better times to come, and white is the colour of mourning in the east). · All staff are being strongly urged to take advantage of the Gift Aid scheme. This scheme means the charity can add 28p to every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer. For example, Finance Department staff have already collected a fantastic £2,100 which has swollen to £2,614 because of Gift Aid . There are two forms which can be used – a “gift aid form” which is sealed in an envelope with your donation and remains private and Sponsorship Forms which are open for all to see, but is easier for a group of people who don’t mind their colleagues knowing what they have given. Both attract the additional 28p for every £1 given. · We know many of you have already given very generously, but if you can manage a little more, please do. It’s up to you what you do – a ‘non-work clothes’ day, staff collection, coffee morning. All the money being collected from staff until Snowdrop Day is being donated to the DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal. · Collections can be taken to any bank, building society or Post Office, none of which are charging. Money should be counted and bagged, gift aid/sponsorship forms collated, cheques made out to DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal. · Friday Jan 21 is not intended be the end of fundraising, but it will provide a focus for the current activities. · The Council is already being advised of medium-term help, which may be required, such as adopting a village, supporting a school etc. Details will be passed on to staff as soon as the position is clear.

23 Information from questions raised at last area forum.

Minute 6 - Public Question Time

The lack of a bus service from New Brighton to Moreton, and a petition in support of a service. - The Chair asked the Area Co-ordinator to arrange for a representative from Merseytravel to attend a Forum meeting to answer questions and provide more information.

Response from Arthur Picton - Merseytravel

This issue commenced on 26 July 2004 when Arriva changed their commercial services (not controlled by Merseytravel) in the Wallasey area.

In particular, there was objection to the removal of the direct link from New Brighton by the withdrawal of routes 405,406 and 408 plus the curtailment of route 407. The issue has been widely discussed, notably at a major public meeting chaired by Councillor Ron Abbey at the Wallasey Town Hall on 9 October 2004. In fact, Angela Eagle MP in Parliament also raised the issue on 9 November 2004.

Arriva did restore an hourly direct link (service 407) Monday-Saturday daytime from New Brighton - Moreton, commencing 25 October 2004. Subject to further guidance from my PTA Members, I regret that I am minded to decline your invitation to attend the Area Forum on 8 February. The issues have already had a good airing and I personally have very little to add to what has already been said. If I can deal with the request administratively (by letter, short note etc) I would be very grateful.

Post Office Closures

Minute 10 - Future Meetings/Presentations

It was suggested that a presentation be made to the forum concerning the post office closures. I contacted the Post Office to ask them to come to the forum and give a presentation.

I was informed that the Post Office re-invention programme was coming to a close as it had been running now for two years. There has been public consultation and the Council has been included in all correspondence concerning post office closure.

There have been two meetings/presentations held at Wallasey Town Hall on 19th July 2004 and 30 November 2004.

24 The meeting/presentation held on 30 November 2004 concerned closures in Wallasey, Wirral South and Wirral West. The following branches were included.

Wallasey (i) Egremont Branch, 188 Brighton Street (ii) Malpas Road Branch, 215 Seaview Road (iii) The Village Branch, 92 (iv) Town Meadow Lane Branch, 1 Lingham Lane (v) Twickenham Drive Branch, 172 Twickenham Drive (vi) Upper Brighton Branch, 9 Rowson Street (vii) Yew Tree Branch, 47 Hoylake Road

Both of these meetings/presentations comprised of Councillors of the Licensing, Health and Safety, and General Purpose Committee and all relevant Ward Councillors.

The Acting Monitoring Officer and Proper Officer reported that public consultation on the closure proposals had begun on Thursday, 21 October 2004 and would end on Wednesday, 1 December 2004. He also informed the Committee that the Post Office had reviewed all the branches in the three areas against the Indices of Deprivation, and had identified that ten of the twenty-one branches in the Wallasey area, were located in the worst 10% of deprived wards in . He reported that most of the branches concerned relied on the income derived from benefits related transactions, and as there had been changes in the methods of payment of benefits and pensions, there had been a reduction in this type of business. He also reported that the Post Office had identified the branches anticipated to be the ones customers would use if the closure proposals occurred and informed the Committee of the intentions to make improvements to those branches.

Members of the Committee stated that they were also totally opposed to the closures as Post Offices provided a vital resource and closing them would deprive residents, many of who were elderly and/or disabled, of access to a range of key services. They requested that a meeting with the Post Office be arranged to discuss the proposals.

FEEDBACK FORM CONSULTATION OF LICENSING POLICY

Following the Consultation process a Statement of Licensing Policy has been developed. The Council approved this policy on 20 December. This Policy is now available on our web site.

25 As the Licensing Authority under the Licensing Act 2003, we are now able to transfer existing licences into the new system of licensing from 7 February. These licences will not come into effect until after the second appointed date, which is yet to be announced by the Government.

Should there be any applications to vary existing licences the holder of the licence will have to advertise this application and a process of consultation will take place. All applications to vary will be sent to Ward Councillors as well as the Police, Fire Service and other responsible authorities.

UPDATE ON VCH PROPOSED WARD CLOSURE

Proposals to modernise and improve services for older people in Wirral have been the subject of a 12- week public consultation exercise led by Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT and Bebington and West Wirral PCT from 18 October 2004 to 14 January 2005.

The consultation sought views on the proposed improvements, the future of the two elderly care wards at Victoria Central Hospital, Wallasey and the changes to the way in which the Total Care and Relief of Carers teams deliver their services.

The exercise completed on Friday 14th January 2005. Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT and Bebington and West Wirral PCT will be provided with all the responses to the consultation. This will enable the PCT Boards to discuss the responses and to make a decision on the proposals outlined in the consultation document.

Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT board meets on Thursday 27th January 2005 and Bebington and West Wirral board meets on 1st February 2005.

Tricia Maguire - Birkenhead and West Wallasey PCT

The date for the next meeting is

9th June 2005 at, Wallasey Sea Cadet Unit HQ, St James Church Hall, Victoria Road, New Brighton CH45 9LD

26 SECTION SIX

AREA FORUM MINUTES

27 Minutes - Area Forum (New Brighton and Wallasey) Meeting - 28 October 2004

Present Chair PJ Hackett Ward Councillors WA Duffey , A Pritchard , Mrs LA Rennie , Mrs K Wood Community Mrs R Fraser , Ron Jones (President, NBTABA) , I Lewis , Representatives Mark Owen , Major Roy Tipping (Faith Representative) Area Service Co- Tracey Smith ordinator Merseyside Inspector John Holmes Police Council Officers Chris Jones (Area Streetscene Manager) , Margaret O'Donnell (Principal Officer, Licensing) In attendance: Kathy Doran (Chief Executive) , Dr Shymal Mukherjee, Medical Director, Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT Apologies Cllr DJ Hunt

Index to Minutes Minute 1 - Welcome and Introductions Minute 2 - Name of Forum Minute 3 - Area Co-ordinators Report / Area Forum Progress Report Minute 4 - Primary Care Trust Update Minute 5 - Area Plans Minute 6 - Public Question Time Minute 7 - Community Safety Update Minute 8 - Licensing Policy Presentation Minute 9 - Community Initiatives Fund Minute 10 - Future Meetings/Presentations

Minute 1 - Welcome and Introductions The Chair, Councillor Pat Hackett, introduced himself and welcomed 45 members of the public to the first meeting of the newly constituted Area Forum for New Brighton and Wallasey, held in New Brighton. He invited members of the Forum to introduce themselves.

Minute 2 - Name of Forum

Minute Decision : Resolved: That the name of the Forum be NEW BRIGHTON/WALLASEY AREA FORUM.

Minute 3 - Area Co-ordinators Report / Area Forum Progress Report Copies of the Area Co-ordinator's Report had been sent to members of the Forum. Copies of the report on the activities of Area Forums since

28 their inception in 2001 were available at the meeting.

The Area Co-ordinator drew attention to the update, Pride in our Promenades, a joint initiative to improve the promenades at Egremont and Otterspool. A team of consultants had been appointed to produce a business plan to support bids for European and North West Development Association funding.

The 'Proms Team' had been keen to receive ideas and input from local people and would be available at the end of the meeting should anyone wish to speak to them.

Minute Decision : Resolved: That the Area Co-ordinator's report be noted.

Minute 4 - Primary Care Trust Update The Chair changed the order of agenda to accommodate representatives from the Birkenhead and Wallasey Primary Care Trust. He welcomed Mrs Kathy Doran, Chief Executive, and Dr Shymal Mukherjee, Chair of the Medical Directorate responsible for Health Services in Wallasey.

Kathy Doran referred to the interest in the local Press about NHS proposals to modernise and improve services for older people in Wirral, and to some misleading Press coverage about removing the right to free NHS care. It was important to reassure people that there were no proposals to charge people for NHS care; nor to replace hospital care for those who require hospital care; nor to place people in nursing homes; nor to close Victoria Central Hospital as a health-care facility.

The PCTs worked closely with stakeholders and patient groups such as the Patient and Public Involvement Forums, the Older People’s Modernisation Team, Age Concern and local patient forums. Older people say they want to stay in their own homes, with support as necessary, for as long as they safely can. The improvements were designed to provide more community nursing, therapists and GPs to provide better support for those living at home, as well as more nursing and residential home places, including beds for those patients who needed assistance following hospital discharge. This approach would mean that fewer people would experience long periods waiting in a hospital bed until services could be put in place for them and, in turn, free up hospital beds.

On average, each day, between 50 and 60 people who are ready for discharge continue to occupy a hospital bed whilst arrangements are made for the support they need at home to be available, or because they were awaiting a place in a nursing home. To address the issue, a package of improvements had been developed which included additional nursing and residential home places, the provision of beds for patients who needed assistance after hospital discharge and better support for

29 those living in their own or in a residential home. The Council's Social Services Department had commissioned a block of extra beds to help meet the problem. Taken together, the package of improvements meant that people would be able to return home with support packages more quickly whilst those who needed residential and nursing home accommodation would be able to access it sooner than previously - ultimately reducing the number of in-patient hospital beds needed across Wirral hospitals.

The proposal would reduce the number of beds by closing two Wards in Victoria Central Hospital. The two wards represented the poorest physical stock and were least suited to provide the acute care and rehabilitation required by sicker patients who need to be in hospital.

The Victoria Central Hospital would continue to play a key role in maintaining the health of Wallasey residents. Work on a new minor injuries and walk-in centre with additional outpatient facilities was almost complete. Plans were being finalised to relocate four local GP surgeries into modernised facilities at VCH which, together with other enhanced service provision, would provide more 'one stop' services for the local community than was currently possible. There were no plans whatsoever for redundancies amongst health or social care staff. It was important to make it absolutely clear that there was no suggestion whatsoever that members of staff of Wards 6 and 7 did not provide the highest care in the circumstances. It was the fabric of the wards - not the standard of care provided - that was not compatible with modern care.

Dr Shymal Mukherjee gave a presentation on Health in Wallasey, which described the work of local GPs to improve the health and services for Wallasey residents. He described the common goals of the 17 GP practices in Wallasey, outlined recent achievements and described further planned improvements.

Councillor Rennie commented that she had spoken at length at meetings of the Council's Select Committee and Cabinet on the matter of the possible closure of Wards 6 and 7 of VCH. Councillors had given a commitment to oppose the Ward closures. She referred to the yes/no response to the explicit question in the consultation document, 'Do you support closure of the two elderly care wards at Victoria Central Hospital?' She asked Kathy Doran that in the event of an overwhelming response from the public indicating that they did not support the closure, would the NHS honour that response and find the money from within the NHS to keep the wards open?

Kathy Doran replied that the proposals for the improvement of services for older people and the future of the two elderly care wards at Victoria Central Hospital were the subject of a wide-ranging consultation exercise with all interested groups, partnerships and individuals. Public consultation would run for a 12 week period between 18 October 2004 to 14 January 2005. The responses received would be recorded and

30 analysed and presented to the Wirral PCTs at their respective Board meetings on 27 January or 1 February 2005. The PCT Board meetings would be open to the public and the dates of meetings were posted on the PCT websites.

Wirral Hospital NHS Trust Board would consider the responses and recommendations during January 2005, and in February 2005 a report would be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee/Health and Social Care Select Committee.

Councillor Rennie reaffirmed that although Councillors had registered their opposition to the closures, the Wirral Hospital Trust, not Wirral Borough Council, would make the final decision. Councillor Wood endorsed the comments made by Councillor Rennie.

Kathy Doran and Dr Mukherjee responded to questions from the Forum and members of the public. They suggested that local GPs would welcome an invitation to attend an Area Forum meeting to discuss the range of health services that were available to residents of Wallasey.

Minute Decision : Resolved: That Kathy Doran and Shymal Mukherjee be thanked for their informative presentation.

Minute 5 - Area Plans The Area Co-ordinator explained that each Area Forum was charged with the responsibility for preparing a local area plan. Working with elected representatives and members of local communities, considerable progress had been made on the plan for this Area Forum. Community needs and priorities identified in the Wards covered by the former Area Forum had been incorporated into the Area Plan for the New Brighton and Wallasey areas.

Copies of the plans for all Area Forums had been sent for consultation to all the Forum's partners, including Council Departments, the Police, Primary Care Trust and voluntary and community organisations. The feedback received would be incorporated into the report, prior to circulation to members of the public. The final draft report would be presented to this Area Forum’s meeting during February 2005.

Minute 6 - Public Question Time The Chair advised that a special meeting of the Area Forum would be held in the Civic Hall, Wallasey Town Hall, directly after the Planning Application had been heard for the development of New Brighton. Neptune's consultants, Council Officers and their teams would attend

31 and there would be ample scope for people to ask questions and receive informed responses at that meeting.

Members of the Forum/public raised the following questions -

The plans for the Chelsea Reach? - Councillor Pritchard understood the development was going ahead, but the developer wanted to increase the number of apartments by reducing the size of the larger ones. An update would be given at the next meeting.

The Warren Club site. Councillor Rennie advised that the Planning Committee had rejected the planning application for nine flats on the grounds of density and access to Grove Road and Docklands. The Planning Inspectorate was considering an appeal against the decision. Meanwhile, the site was causing problems with young people congregating during the evenings. The issue was being addresssed by the Police.

New Brighton Action Group. A complaint that the group had not received notification of the meeting. Councillor Wood advised on the process to be followed by those who wished to object to the development. There was also an opportunity for objectors to be represented at the special meeting referred to previously.

Traffic management for the additional number of vehicles coming into the area should the New Brighton development go ahead, and provision for additional car parking. Councillor Rennie stated that most of the traffic would approach the development via Bayswater Road, and this was a major concern for residents. She was aware that the developers had undertaken studies on traffic, the environment and retail, and whilst members of the public could examine the documents in the Planning Department they could not take copies away.

David Green advised that his Traffic Officers had access to the traffic impact assessment, a piece of work that was still in progress. The documentation was the property of Neptune Developments and there was no obligation upon them to release information in advance of the planning application. The Planning Committee would scrutinise the assessments as part of their consideration of the planning application. There would be impact on traffic levels if the development goes ahead and Council staff were working with Neptune to find engineering solutions to some of the difficulties envisaged. Negotiations with Neptune were ongoing on the apportionment of costs to upgrade the roads to cope with the extra traffic. Traffic engineers would be present at the special meeting referred to earlier, and they would answer questions from members of the public directly.

In response to a comment, David Green advised that the role of traffic engineers was to test the veracity of the information presented by Neptune; this involvement did not pre-judge or influence the planning

32 application.

The lack of a bus service from New Brighton to Moreton, and a petition in support of a service. - The Chair asked the Area Co-ordinator to arrange for a representative from Merseytravel to attend a Forum meeting to answer questions and provide more information.

Anti-Social Behaviour Order: A Community Representative thanked the Police and the Council's Anti-social Behaviour Team for their endeavours which had resolved a particularly difficult problem in New Brighton. The residents whose lives had been disrupted by the behaviour of the particular family involved were very grateful for the efforts made on their behalf and were relieved and pleased with the outcome.

Inspector Holmes thanked the Forum member for their comments. He would pass on the thanks of the Forum to colleagues in Liscard and New Brighton who had worked very hard to resolve a difficult problem.

Minute 7 - Community Safety Update The Chair welcomed Bob Little from the Community Safety team and Gary Rickwood of Wirral DAAT, [Drug & Alcohol Action Team], They presented statistical information based on issues identified in the Wirral Crime and Disorder Audit for 2001/2004. The findings from the Audit would inform the Crime and Disorder Plan for 2005/2008. The two key priorities would be violence [including domestic violence] and anti-social behaviour [including youth issues]; although other problems, [eg burglary] would not be ignored. In their presentation, they explained that the work of Drugs & Alcohol Team was primarily concerned with - · preventing today's young people from becoming tomorrow's problematic drug users; · reducing the availability of illegal drugs · reducing drug-related crime and its effects on communities; · reducing drug use and drug-related offending through treatment and support. They explained that members of the team had visited all the Area Forums to inform the public about the work of DAAT, and to provide opportunities for Forum members and the general public to air their views on issues that affected their families and neighbourhoods. Comments would be welcome at Forum meetings, or questionnaires could be taken away for completion. Councillor Rennie enquired why there was a strong emphasis on tackling drug abuse, when alcohol was so easily available. The Officers explained that the reasons initially were to do with preventing the spread of HIV infection and because of the link between drug use and crime. The DAAT team were looking at alcohol abuse and developing complementary strategies for alcohol to those for drugs.

Minute Decision :

33 Resolved:That Bob Little and Gary Rickwood be thanked for their presentations.

Minute 8 - Licensing Policy Presentation The Chair introduced Margaret O'Donnell, Principal Licensing Manager, Wirral Borough Council. Margaret O'Donnell explained that she wished to discuss the changes introduced by the Licensing Act 2003 which transferred the role of licensing alcohol sales from local magistrates to the local Councils. Currently, local authorities were responsible for granting licences for public entertainment, [eg public dancing and music, sporting events, or public musical entertainment in the open air or on private land], whilst liquor licences are dealt with by Magistrates' Courts. The Licensing Act 2003, transferred to the Local Authority the responsibility for granting licences to any individual or organisation in Wirral that wished to serve or sell alcohol or provide regulated entertainment and late night refreshments. A transitional period for implementation would start 7 February 2005, when the Council would engage in a process to transfer all existing licences to the new system.

The Act required the Council to produce a Statement of Licensing Policy setting out the principles the Council would generally apply to promote the licensing objectives when making decisions under the Act. The licensing objectives, which were set out by the Government, were to promote public safety, prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance and protect children from harm.

Wirral Borough Council was consulting widely on its Draft Statement of Licensing Policy and would welcome comments from members of the public by 8 November. The draft policy would be considered by the Licensing Committee on 22 November, submitted for approval by full Council on 20 December and implemented in February 2005.

Minute Decision : Resolved:That Margaret O'Donnell be thanked for her presentation.

Minute 9 - Community Initiatives Fund Tracey Smith advised that each Area Forum received an annual allocation from the Community Initiatives Fund [CIF] to enable local groups and organisations to undertake projects of work that would benefit people in the neighbourhood. This year, the CIF allocation for this Area Forum was £10,000, plus £2,496.66 carried forward from balances from the redistributed area forums. A progress report on Wirral Council's Area Forums had been produced which described some of the projects and initiatives that had been supported and developed in the past - some in this Forum's area. Copies

34 of the report were available for members of the public to take away and read. On behalf of Area Forums, the availability of funds would be advertised in the Wirral Globe on 10 and 24 November, and publicity materials would be circulated to groups and organisations and posted in Council buildings accessed by the public. The closing date for applications would be Monday, 20 December, the assessment panel would meet in the week beginning 10 January, and a report with recommendations would be presented to Cabinet on Thursday, 10 February 2005.

Minute Decision : Resolved:

i - That Tracey Smith be thanked for her report; ii - that this Area Forum notes it has an overall CIF allocation of £12,496.66 in 2004/2005; iii - That it be agreed that funding is directed at projects within the New Brighton and Wallasey areas that will benefit all sectors of the community. The forum will consider all applications, but would specifically welcome bids for Young People and Older People. iv - That it be confirmed that the assessment panel will comprise of every member of the Area Forum for New Brighton/Wallasey; v - That the assessment panel be asked when reviewing bids to consider whether community safety funding might be used to supplement grant applications, or as a possible alternative where applications do not meet the criteria for the Community Initiative Fund.

Minute 10 - Future Meetings/Presentations Resolved:That

i - meetings of the Area Forum be held on the following dates – Tuesday, 8 February 2005 Thursday, 9 June 2005

ii - request presentations at future meetings on the following topics:-

· Post Office closure program . Open Golf Championship and impact on Wallasey golf courses · Policy on telephone masts.

The Chair thanked everyone for their attendance and closed the meeting at 9.00 pm.

35 Minutes - Area Forum (New Brighton and Wallasey) Meeting - 7 December 2004

Ward Pat Hackett (Chair) Councillors: Tony Pritchard Bill Duffey David Hunt Lesley Rennie Kate Wood Community Ian Lewis Representatives: Rita Fraser Mark Williams Business Ron Jones Representatives:

Church Major Roy Tipping Representatives:

Area Service Tracey Smith Co-ordinator: Council Officers: Jim Wilkie – Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Corporate Services Derwent Derbyshire - Deputy Director - Technical Services Geoff Bell – Assistant Director Traffic Management Division, Technical Services Paul Barton – Senior Assistant Engineer – Traffic Management Division, Technical Services Ian Ramsden – Senior Group Leader – Traffic Management Division, Technical Services Malcolm Alexander - Assistant Director Drainage Coastal & Parking Services Division, Technical Services Colin Walker Assistant Director – Development Control, Technical Services Alan Ford – Planning Officer - Development Control - Technical Services Richard Lewis – Forward Planning Manager - Strategic Development – Corporate Services Neil Mitchell – Project Manager - Special Initiatives Team - Corporate Services Jim Lester – Head of Branch (Cultural & Leisure Services) Education and Cultural Services Alisdair McNicol – Principal Valuer -Strategic Development Property Management, Corporate Services Toby Nolan – Senior Environmental Health Officer, Pollution Control, Housing & Environmental Protection Carol Sharratt – Community Planning Assistant, Corporate Services

36 Index to Minutes Minute 1 - WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Minute 2 - PRESENTATION BY NEPTUNE DEVELOPMENTS Minute 3 - PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Minute 1 - WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS The Chair welcomed all present to the special meeting of the New Brighton and Wallasey Area Forum to discuss Neptune Development’s plans for New Brighton. Approximately 100 members of the public were in attendance.

He explained that the meeting had been called to hear about the designs for New Brighton by the Council’s preferred developer – Neptune Developments. He emphasised that the meeting was for information only and part of an ongoing consultation with residents that had started in the summer of 2001. A decision on the application would be made by Planning Committee early in the New Year and this would be advertised in the local press.

He explained that plans had been available for viewing during the day with transport provided to ferry people to and from Wallasey Town Hall. Plans were also able to be viewed at New Brighton Community Centre and Wallasey Central Library.

Minute 2 - PRESENTATION BY NEPTUNE DEVELOPMENTS The Chair introduced Steve Parry, Director of Neptune Developments. Mr Parry commented that it was encouraging that so many people had attended the meeting and that there was still a lot of interest in the development, as it was important to get feedback. He introduced his Development Team - Rob Mason - a colleague, Peter Swift from Planet Landscape Design and Adam Hull from Falcon and Chester Architects.

Rob Mason provided information into the background proposals, impact assessments, next steps and clarified any misconceptions on the proposals.

Adam Hull and Peter Swift gave a more detailed information on the seven zones of the development.

Minute 3 - PUBLIC QUESTION TIME The Chair asked if there were any questions from the public:

Jonathan Scott

Q. How does the new marine lake compare to the existing one in surface area? A. Adam Hull - The new lake is 70% larger compared with the existing.

Q. Why was it chosen to make the new marine lake triangular shaped, as

37 this is the most wasteful shape, other shapes gave a better surface area as users have to turn before reaching the three points of the triangle? A. Adam Hull / Steve Parry - This shape was agreed as it is a better shape for a slalom course for canoeing and is ideal for wind blown marine craft, with the sharper end being used as slipway. Also the other shapes shifted towards the housing development. The decision on the shape was reached in consultation with Mike Jones from the Sailing School.

Tony Hurst (Business on Marine Promenade)

Q. Will the application be considered, purely on planning grounds by the Planning Committee, and take the Unitary Development Plan into account? A. Chair / Colin Walker – There will be no party whip on this / There is no party whip on the planning committee – members act individually.

Q. Can we have an assurance that there will be no party whip on this and that no pressure will be put on Council Officers by Members? A. Colin Walker – The scheme will be considered solely on planning issues, as set down in national legislation. The Officers act on their own, without pressure from Members. Other issues may be looked at as part of legal agreements

Q. At the last area forum meeting we were told that we would have at least 14 weeks to consider this application, but we're only given 14 days to look at this. What is the precise date when the planning application is going to be considered and the cut off date when comments are required by? A. Colin Walker – The standard notification for neighbour consultations on applications is 21 days, as set out in national government guidance, and I apologise if anyone has been given different information to this. The determination for the application will be made later in the new Year, and there may still be further consultations if the scheme changes which may be influenced by consultations on the scheme.

Norman Kingham (New Brighton Heritage Action Group)

Q. Why have we not been given an opportunity to see the traffic survey? A. Colin Walker – The traffic impact assessment is valuable for consultation purposes and can be inspected at Lines or at Libraries

Q. If the Council intend to lease or sell the land to a third party then will this have to go to a public inquiry? A. Jim Wilkie – If the Council is mindful to grant planning consent it would be up to Government to decide whether they wish to call this in.

David McCullogh (Local resident)

Q. In what order will the individual components of work be carried out, and what will be their impact on the local area – on foot and by vehicle? A. Rob Mason – Phase 1 will be the new marine lake, filling in of the old marine lake, followed by the supermarket and leisure elements. We are

38 looking to minimise the times where access is stopped to the waterfront promenade. With regards to vehicular access the key area of concern is the bus circulation as the car park area where the bus area is situated will be the site compound. We intend to create a temporary layover site at Kings Parade and move back to the western side later.

David Wooley (New Brighton Model Boating Club)

Q. Do you know if there is adequate access or parking facilities for young people, families and disabled people visiting the lake. Also will the road leading down from Portland Street have double-yellow lines or will it be available for parking? A. Peter Swift – It is proposed to retain parking on Portland Street and the Road 90° to Portland Street. There will be no loss of parking. We would be happy to meet with and discuss this in more detail with local groups if they wish to leave their details after the meeting.

Douggie Darrick (Owner of Fort Perch Rock)

Q. Consider the proposal to be retail based and not leisure based. How does this complement Fort Perch Rock and why haven’t I be consulted directly as the owner of this site. A. Steve Parry – I am disappointed that you feel you have not been involved in the consultations on this development, as we feel that we have engaged with you and have held consultations within your premises. We don’t want the development to end up as just a retail park, like the one in Southport, so retail allowance, required to subsidise the development, has been set at 80,000² ft. There will be 150,000² ft of leisure, not taking into account the open spaces within the scheme.

Leah Fraser

Q. How did the Council arrive at the decision to make Neptune Developments their preferred developers? A. Chair – All previous schemes for this area failed, for various reasons. The site was marketed extensively and nationally over 10 years by the Council, and by the Merseyside Development Corporation prior to that. Neptune did have an interest and developed a relationship with the Council. Steve Parry – The Merseyside Development Corporation got in developers who couldn’t make the scheme work. Partnership is the preferred route from Central Government and Neptune have worked in partnership with Wirral Council. Neptune has spent money on progressing this development proposal. It has been a very open and democratic process.

Q. How did Neptune Developments come to the decision that a retail food development was required? A. Steve Parry - We commissioned a retail impact study, which forms parts of the planning application and is available for inspection by the public. The study includes its impact on Liscard and the local area. It is a leisure-based scheme, and Morrisons focus is on food and not other areas – such as Post

39 Offices and Chemists. It has been shown that people go to a supermarket and then visit smaller shops i.e. Victoria Road. The idea is that the supermarket will encourage people to New Brighton, rather than Liverpool, Birkenhead and Liscard.

Tim Beasley (New Brighton resident)

Q. It will have an impact on the road network as there will be more lorries and there is no direct public transport service from New Brighton to Moreton. Also people do not use public transport to do a weekly shop, they use their cars. A. Dave Schumacher – The area is highly accessible by public transport. There have been discussions with Merseytravel, who are keen to service this area. All parts of the development are within 400 metres of a bus stop and 800/900 metres of New Brighton Rail Station. Dropped kerbs and crossing points will be included in the proposal and there will be a signing strategy. The Green Travel Plan will be used to help people use public transport, and Morrsions have a history of recruiting local people and using local public transport / cycling facilities. Steve Parry – 80% of food shopping is done by car, so enough car parking has been set for this and the highway network can accommodate this. Public transport will be primarily for leisure, at present bus routes are not being used enough, but if there is more demand it will offer more scope to add additional buses.

Q. Is there affordable local housing in this scheme? A. Steve Parry – No, the surplus from capital receipts is going into the infrastructure.

Lucy Richardson

Q. Could the outdoor pool have a retractable roof to make it available for use for more than just a few days a year? A. Steve Parry – This was considered, but the cost of a retractable roof is not cost effective and therefore not viable. Many open-air pools have now been refurbished and are a big attraction and people use them throughout the year. But may be possible to look at ways of heating the outdoor pool.

Q. If the scheme goes over budget do you intend to build more flats and if so where? A. Steve Parry – A development agreement with the Council restricts what housing can be built and there is no intention to increase the number of apartments.

Ian Lewis (New Brighton resident)

Q. What does the traffic impact study show on the impact of Bayswater Road / Seabank Road / Kings Road, from the extra cars expected to use the 550 extra car parking spaces provided within the development, and is the study available on the internet?

40 A. Steve Parry – The study, that has only recently been completed, includes capacity and speed issues. Dave Schumacher – There are no particular accident problems, but it is intended to tackle reinforcing the speed limit of 30mph in Bayswater Road by building traffic calming measures into the scheme, and will probably be covered by a Section 106 Agreement. A 500-vehicle increase on Bayswater Road will result in four vehicles in each direction per minute. We will try and arrange with the Council to make the study available on the internet.

Gill (New Brighton resident)

Q. Why wasn’t Sunday surveyed in the traffic study as from Easter to September this is the busiest day of the week? A. Dave Schumacher – The traffic impact study was done on a Saturday as used a database that showed this day was the worst case scenario and this was agreed with Wirral Council.

Q. Will the housing be for private sale or will they be rented out? Will they be saleable as they are small, and north facing with balconies that will be in permanent shade? A. Steve Parry – The flats will be for sale. North facing-flats are not an issue as the view compensates for the lack of sunshine, and many that sell well in other parts of Merseyside are north facing.

Q. Why isn’t there more leisure facilities for children, it is nearly all for adults? A. Steve Parry – We are looking at upgrading the existing leisure facilities to attract families to the area.

Sherry Hughes (New Brighton resident)

Q. Which survey did you do to get leisure use information, as lots of young people use the area for skateboarding, children go crabbing at the lake, and if the lake is chlorinated it will become a sterile environment and will lose the current wildlife? A. Steve Parry – The area is mostly used on sunny days Rob Mason - The lake will not be chlorinated, and this has never been suggested by the developers. It will be aerated to stop algae blooms and filtered to stop the build up of silt.

Rod Hutchinson

Q. Why did the Council give preferred status to one developer when it’s scheme totally contradicts the Unitary Development Plan which gives protection to the coastal scenery and open views? A. Chair – this was answered following an earlier question raised by Leah Fraser.

Q. Are traffic surveys genuinely acceptable, as a survey was done for the

41 Sainsburys at Upton and traffic there blocks the main road – so what went wrong in that assessment? A. Steve Parry – The scheme is compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act and is designed to allow access to all people.

Q. What about the people who come to look at the views? A. Steve Parry - The benefits of the scheme outweigh the changes to the views.

Ann Connolly (New Brighton resident)

Q. Do you have a target audience for buying the apartments and what is their overall height in metres? A. Steve Parry – There are no specific target groups for the apartments, as a complete mix of people have purchased similar apartments. The total height of the apartments are 16 / 19 metres to the eaves.

Q. How confident are you that the people here are representative of New Brighton? A. Ron Jones – I am the President of New Brighton Trade and Business Association and have a business in New Brighton. Steve Parry – There has been more consultation on this application than for most schemes.

John Lynham (New Brighton resident)

Q. If you knowingly market a site that is more likely to flood in the future and it floods, but the insurance wont pay out will the Council be liable for this? A. Steve Parry – Flooding risk is an important part of the planning process, and this was looked at in the Environmental Impact Assessment, carried out by a specialist company form . We accept that we will never be able to stop water coming over, so need to concentrate on how this will be dealt with. There will be no impact on the Council, it would most probably go back to the developers and the backers want reassurances on this before investing. The buildings have been lifted to take this into account. We have tried to take into account all issues, but if anyone can prove there is still an issue we have overlooked we will investigate this.

Stan Thompson (Wirral Taxpayer)

Q. Can all party members re-commit themselves to maintaining this development if it goes ahead? A. Steve Parry – The developers and investors would not take on such a scheme if they did not think it would be maintained.

Father Leon Ostaszewski

Q. There are no mention of in the proposals, and are there any plans to improve the Bidston and Wallasey railway line to take the pressure off the M53?

42 A. Steve Parry – It is our intention to encourage any improvement in public transport. We did look at demand for a in New Brighton and Wirral, but there was no demand/scope for this. They are mainly situated in places where they are used by business. We are trying to improve the environment for local people of the area, and the catchment for the scheme is people within a 40 minute drive time.

The Chair drew the meeting to a close stating that several questions received prior to the meeting will get a reply in writing. He also informed the meeting that copies of the slides from the presentation were available at this meeting, and that the plans could be viewed at Libraries and New Brighton Community Centre. The Planning Committee that would consider the application and would be advertised in the local press.

Questions raised by e-mail and telephone prior to the meeting with responses by Rob Mason from Neptune Developments.

Sasha Cairns (New Brighton resident)

Q. Can Neptune promise they will provide a new pier that has been Proposed? A. It is Neptune’s intention to deliver a Pier as part of the overall New Brighton Regeneration scheme. The reason it has not been included in the current planning application is because of the complexity of the information required to support such a proposal. The construction of the Pier in the Mersey at this point would involve development in a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a consequently a very detailed Environmental Impact Assessment would be required. Neptune is in the process of commissioning this work. This will include detailed modelling of the river to assess the impact on the structure of the adjoining shoreline and river bed. Delivery of the Pier will also be dependent on the availability of public sector funding support from NWDA and the Objective 1 European programme.

Q. Can Neptune say that the Wirral Show would still continue along with the rally racing, which would obviously continue to close the promenade off to traffic? A. Neptune’s proposals will not affect Wirral Council’s ability to hold the traditional events that take place in New Brighton such as the Wirral Show. Neptune would support the continuation of these events.

Pat Revans (Business representative)

Q. This is a supermarket economy based development with little or no resort attraction which will bring visitors to the area to support the local trade's people. It would appear that the supermarket trading capacity has already fully matured. A. The development contains around 190,000 sq.ft. of leisure based uses such as a cinema, family restaurants, health and fitness club, and the exhibition space associated with the extended theatre. On top of this the open air lido/multi event space and an upgraded waterfront promenade is

43 also being provided . The foodstore element amounts to just over 80,000 sq.ft. When the 141 apartments are also taken into account, it is clear that the proposal is not a “supermarket economy based development”.

The cinema, the lido, the restaurants, the upgraded Promenade and the exhibition space will all encourage new visitors to the resort. The reasons for including the foodstore are twofold. Firstly it provides capital funding that enables the infrastructure improvements to be made. Secondly it will generate visitors to New Brighton all year round that will help support the other uses within the development and in New Brighton. We have carried out a household survey of 1500 local people. This indicates that 47% of Wallasey residents would be likely to use the store and of these 54% would also use other nearby facilities outside of the development as part of their shopping trip. Our retail study also shows there is clear demand for a new foodstore in Wallasey. Over 60% of Wallasey residents do their main food shop at Asda Liscard and the store is trading at twice the Asda company average. If a new foodstore were built in New Brighton it would continue to trade above company average.

Q. The traffic impact report is inadequate, as it does not consider the continuous flow of supermarket service vehicles and the congested conditions that exist from the Bayswater end during events on the promenade. As a suggestion the transport support arrangements could make a vital difference but there seems to be no planning for improved ferry or trolley bus links with other parts of Merseyside. A. The transport study is not inadequate. Its scope and content have been agreed with Wirral Highways department and it follows the methodology for such studies laid down by central government. Morrisons has confirmed that stores of this type generate between 10 and 14 lorry visits per day. This is not considered to be significant and is not a “continuous flow”.

We are in discussions with Mersey Ferries over its use of the proposed pier. Merseytravel who provide public transport facilities on Merseyside would be responsible for any proposed tram or trolley bus service. Its current priority is the tram scheme serving Liverpool City Centre.

Q. There is a lack of resort facilities, lack of an adequate swimming pool, no heating to the swimming pool which is uncovered. No hotel or conference facilities which would attract people. A. The cinema, extended theatre including conference and exhibition space, the new Marine Lake, the lido/event space and the upgraded waterfront promenade are all resort attractions. The heating of the pool is still being explored – potential exists to use it as a heat sink for the cooling equipment employed in the restaurants. Open air pools can be popular. The old lido in New Brighton was popular and we have recent experience of building an open air pool at the David Lloyd leisure facility in Speke which is well used.

With regard to hotel and conference facilities we see our scheme as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of New Brighton. The success of our

44 scheme could well lead to uses of the type you suggest being developed elsewhere in the town.

Q. A tram or trolley service along the promenade would be an attractive resort type feeder transport system. New Brighton only prospers when people visit. A. With reference to the comments above on the tram service. We agree that New Brighton only prospers when people visit- hence the introduction of the foodstore to attract visitors.

45