December 2009 Archives

It must be almost every politician's dream - to be taken for the most generous and popular man of the Christmas season: Santa Claus.

And after the year the ruling coalition of Labour and the Lib-Dems in Wirral have had, some Christmas cheer would no doubt be very welcome.

So it was a bizarre turn of events when a member of Wirral Council was unexpectedly approached while out shopping to be Santa at one of the area's most popular Grottos, Burleydam Garden Centre's Father Christmas by the Fireside, which also raises money for Claire House Children's Hospice.

WHETHER it's a reflection of these difficult economic times or maybe a result of all the publicity Wirral's libraries have received, it's hard to say.

But even Wirral Council was surprised at the response when they advertised for a home reader to work for its library service.

The part-time job, which let's face it is some way off what the chief exec gets in remuneration, attracted an extraordinary response.

EVER heard of Bromborough Hill? No, me neither.

But the Forestry Commission believes that's what we'll all soon be calling the old tip off Dock Road South.

I attended a presentation today on Wirral Council's plans for the coastline stretching from Rock Ferry to Eastham - more on that in another blog post - and among the speakers was Chris Waterfield, Newlands Programme Manager for the Forestry Commission.

Jokes about names aside, he said he's expecting a decision on Monday from the North West Development Agency (NWDA) on whether they will be funding a long-awaited £2.3m project to landscape the site and turn it into a park.

"Unofficially", said Mr Waterfield, the funding has been approved and all it needs now is the signature of a senior figure at the NWDA, who is on holiday until Monday.

Once the trees, grass and benches are in place, there are also plans for an "iconic sculpture" at the park's highest point, which people would be able to climb to take in the views across the waterfront.

Mr Waterfield said it was a long way off: "We have to look into the technicalities of putting a structure on top of a landfill site, so I can't say whether it will..but it should form part of the final project."

The trouble with "iconic sculptures" is that they always make me think of the row another one caused a few years ago elsewhere in the borough.

New Brighton clown, anyone?

WITH THAT story taking all the headlines this week, Hamilton Squared is declaring this blog post a strictly a lib**** free zone.

With just months to the General Election and the spotlight firmly on Steve Foulkes, Jeff Green, Simon Holbrook et all, Wirral's MPs are bound to be feeling a little bit left out by now.

So we thought it was time to redress the balance - here's a little look at what three of our five elected representatives are doing this week.

AFTER the mauling Wirral Council received in the media (including us) yesterday following the criticisms levelled at it by libraries inspector Sue Charteris, the Government has launched a consultation document on the future of libraries.

Headlined "Libraries must move with the times to win back public support and secure their future says Culture Minister Margaret Hodge" it seems to be the document Wirral Council's leaders were hoping for.

None of this negates the criticisms of Sue Charteris, indeed in her comments accompanying the Wirral Libraries report the minister Margaret Hodge said: "The Secretary of State welcomes Wirral MBC's decision to reconsider plans to restructure their library service. We hope that they will take account of the issues raised, alongside the conclusions which emerge from the national libraries review, when considering future decisions."