Wirral Council

Monster news! Plans for the finale to Wirral’s year as Borough of Culture have been revealed, with a family spectacle at New Brighton’s Marine Lake on 1 and 2 November... World-renowned outdoor arts organisation, Walk the Plank, has been commissioned to deliver the event following the visit of Gaia – the huge earth installation – which attracted around 33,000 visitors to Birkenhead Park in May. https://lnkd.in/eJafuijw

⏰ Reminder: there's a Mersey Tidal Power drop-in event at the Delamere Community Centre in Eastham tomorrow (Fri), with a further event at the Floral Pavilion on 17 October. Both are 2pm to 7pm, or you can contribute online at any time until 15 November: https://lnkd.in/eK2M4U-Y

🌍 This World Mental Health Day, we're excited about a new way for Wirral's young people to find mental wellbeing support. Launching next month, Branch is a new website aiming to reduce waiting times and make support easier to access. Branch is powered by a partnership between Wirral Council and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and supported by an alliance of local mental wellbeing providers charities including Action for Children, Open Door Charity, Koala North West, Kooth and Utopia. You can sign up for updates at the link in comments.

To make sure Wirral's electoral wards reflect the size and shape of our communities, a review of ward boundaries is underway. It's not a council consultation, but you can give your views to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) using the link in comments until 18 November. Following an earlier consultation, the Commission concluded Wirral Council needs 66 councillors to operate.

Plans to kick-start the regeneration of a former gasworks in Birkenhead and create an urban village adjacent to the town centre have moved a step closer thanks to a massive new funding approval from Homes England. Hind Street Urban Garden Village, a major transformation project on the Wirral, will see derelict land around Hind Street turned into a new community of over 1,500 homes, a new park, improved transport links, commercial space and leisure facilities.

Wirral Council is taking significant steps in regenerating Birkenhead. Masterplans for Birkenhead Central and St Werburgh’s along with updates on the Waterfront project are being shared with the public and professionals for comment. The masterplan for Birkenhead Central - which covers the Town Centre retail area, Charing Cross and the new Commercial District - alongside an updated masterplan for St Werburgh’s are now available to view. The masterplans form key planning documents for the future development of large swathes of Birkenhead and underpin the council’s Local Plan that focuses on a ‘brownfield first’ approach. A progress update on the multimillion investment into the Birkenhead Waterfront project, which aims to better connect the regeneration at Woodside with the other town centre schemes through Hamilton Square and Argyle Street, will also be available to view and comment on. Through these plans the council is seeking to maximise the prospects for the central Birkenhead area with a focus on attracting more people into the town centre and increasing leisure and residential opportunities, alongside boosting new north / south routes and placing an increased emphasis on high quality walking and cycling infrastructure. Work is already underway to regenerate Birkenhead and locals will be aware of initial public realm and walking / cycling improvements taking place along Europa Boulevard and Conway Street and at Grange Road and Charing Cross. The completion of two new office buildings near the bus station and the strategic acquisition of the Pyramids estate in 2023, present a major opportunity for shaping the town’s future. Design proposals for a new market space have recently been shared and a £10million project to install a new ferry linkspan and pontoon is also underway at Woodside Ferry Terminal. Following a detailed review of the feedback from the consultations the masterplans will be presented back to committee in early 2025 with a recommendation they are endorsed by Councillors and form the basis of planning guidance for future development. Find out more about the proposals and comment at https://lnkd.in/dcYYgWD There are also opportunities to meet the teams and council’s development partners in person and find out more about what is planned and take a walking tour of the area. (See comments for details) Your insights are crucial in shaping a vibrant future for Birkenhead.

Are you a parent or grandparent wanting to better understand your little one’s emotions? Maybe you'd like to learn to navigate tricky childhood situations, or improve communication with your teenager. Good news ♥️ Wirral families can now access free online courses on emotional health and wellbeing. They're designed to support parents at every stage of their journey, from pregnancy to adolescence, and to encourage kindness, nurture confidence, and promote emotional awareness in children. In other words, helping parents or grandparents to help their children to thrive in life. To get access, use the link in the comments below ⬇️

Road maintenance update // 145 roads have now been reconditioned in this year's programme, with another 100+ still to come. The micro-asphalt treatment used on these 100+ roads is mostly used on local, lower traffic areas. It extends the life of the surface for up to 10 years. Next to be completed will be the pavements programme with 70+ sites scheduled. We'll have more on that soon...

“Having the opportunity to be immersed in the resident’s lives gave the researchers a more nuanced understanding of the issues the residents face.” An innovative public health research project to help understand and tackle fuel poverty has been featured by the Local Government Association (LGA), in a blog published to their website. Four residents welcomed Wirral Council researchers into their homes. They spent the day observing and asking about day-to-day things like energy use, mealtimes, and shopping. The residents described how fuel poverty was affecting different aspects of their lives, from health and wellbeing and finances to housing conditions and family relationships. This type of research builds relationships and results in residents opening up more - offering to show parts of their homes and talk about parts of their lives that couldn’t be captured in a one-hour interview in a café. These resident’s stories are now helping us work with local partners and stakeholders to develop a collaborative fuel poverty action plan. If you’re interested in reading the blog, click here: https://lnkd.in/gthJHqNQ

Are you a newly qualified solicitor looking for a new challenge? Are you interested in developing in a new direction or specialism? Are you looking to join an organisation that makes a difference? We’re looking for two Assistant Lawyer/Lawyers to advise on education and employment matters. Whilst the posts are likely to be involved predominantly in education related work, candidates will also have the opportunity to assist on employment law matters. We are looking for candidates with experience of providing sound legal advice, the ability to work well under pressure and to manage a busy workload to tight deadlines. You will have the ability to work effectively as part of a busy team of solicitors and legal assistants and be confident in managing a caseload of tribunal proceedings and advice matters. It is accepted that candidates may not have exposure or experience in these matters, and this does not exclude applications as you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in the relevant specialist areas. So, if your skills, knowledge or experience looks a little different from what we have identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you. The successful candidates will be an admitted Solicitor, CILEX or Barrister of England and Wales with a current practising certificate. So you can find out more about what it’s like working within our Legal department, you can come along to meet some of the team and give you the chance to ask questions about the role at our online event on Tuesday 15th October at 1.00pm. Click here to book your place: https://lnkd.in/ePjtdE76 Or click the link below to apply! #wirraljobs #assistantlawyer #lawyer #education #employment #lovewhereyouwork #localgovernmentlawyer