Wirral News letters – September 9

Sep 9 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Resort will change for the better

I WRITE to express my jubilation now that the Neptune £60m New Brighton scheme has been unanimously approved.

It was no mean feat to go from this scheme being dead in the water after the public enquiry two years ago to the fantastic news that this is now going ahead.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have consistently championed this scheme through its ups and downs over the last eight years.

I would also like to pay tribute to those who were originally opposed but were able to compromise.

The benefits will be there for all to see in terms of an improvement in the quality of life for local people with new accessible and affordable amenities which will create hundreds of local jobs. The scheme itself will also bring in much-needed investment and income for the local economy.

Finally, this shows that after eight years of working together, we can change things for the better.

So well done and now let’s look forward to phase 3, including the return of the much-missed New Brighton Pier!

PAT HACKETT,

Former New Brighton Labour Councillor & Cabinet Member for Regeneration

Fit for purpose?

I THOUGHT I would like to comment on the maggot subject.

My wife and I are 70 years of age and we had our green wheelie bin exchanged for a smaller one as we do not put much in it.

About two months ago we started having maggots (we bag everything up and tie it well). So we rang Streetscene to complain and they said they would send somebody to check our bin. The next day a wagon arrived full of wheelie bins. The driver said he has come to change the bin – we said changing would not solve the problem.

The lids do not seal properly and there is a gap where the hinge is and flies are getting in. The driver said what he did with his bin was put draft excluder around the lid to seal it.

So the way I see it these are cheap wheelie bins not fit for their purpose.

KENNETH RHODES,

Prenton

Waste control

IN reply to G.P Hughes’s advice on maggot control.

I find your advice reasonable if you have snap lids but as for your advice of placing joint bones in your freezer, well if you want to have these in your freezer that is your choice and it would reduce those producing maggots.

But what if you don't have a freezer and what if you don’t want to store waste in your freezer?

I don’t. I would prefer mine to be collected and disposed of regularly.

That is what I pay my council tax for – not to have to purchase snap lid containers and store waste in my freezer. However, G.P. Hughes, it is your choice and all the best to you.

I just hope you don’t have too many big parties or dinners

D ALCOTT,

Wallasey

Site is an eyesore

I AM pleased that the so-called Friends of Arrowe Park have found yet another plan to thwart an attempt by the West Wirral Group Practice to build a super surgery.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had the ability and agility to use unknown and mostly forgotten about footpaths.

Those of us who are able are disgusted by the lurid graffiti on bridges and other parts of the well-known footpaths.

Would it not be possible for the Friends to spend more time cleaning up and looking after the greenbelt, and less scuppering plans to improve what is currently an eyesore? As the population continues to grow and more people are living for longer we need to recognise the need for better healthcare for those who are less able to access the current buildings.

CINDY,

Via e-mail

Market matters

ON Friday, August 14 I went to shop at Neston Market to find:

1. The large car park by Raby Road was cordoned off. Parking elsewhere was a nightmare!

2. A lady with mobility problems was upset when she wanted to use the ladies toilets. The whole area between Brook Street and the back of the Town Hall was cordoned off, so she had to walk up the main street to get to the public conveniences.

The men’s toilets were in use but there was no access to the ladies at the rear (obviously a man’s world).

The other alternative was to use the Town Hall toilets but as this involved stairs for access this was not possible for her.

3. To get access to the fish, fruit & veg in the basement of the Town Hall it involved a long walk AWAY from the market area, up the High Street. People around me were complaining.

At this rate there will not be a Neston Market!

A VERY UNHAPPY NESTON RESIDENT,

Name and address supplied

New force need

NOW that our Chief Constable is about to leave for another job, perhaps it would be a good time to look again at how policing operates on Merseyside.

In my view Wirral should have its own Chief Constable, and a police force made up of Wirral people and directly responsible to the people of Wirral, via perhaps an elected Lord Mayor, or some other elected body.

On the police operational side, unless the system has changed since I last discussed it with a police officer, you can have, say, a police officer who lives in Greasby, whose daily duties are on the other side of Liverpool – and vice versa.

Sounds plain daft doesn’t it ?

It is high time the whole system was put under the spotlight with a view to change.

B.W HALE,

Upton

Responsibilities

I WOULD like to ask for clarification about the upkeep of SS Peter & Paul Church in New Brighton.

In his letter to the Catholic Herald newspaper in September last year, the Catholic Vicar General of Shrewsbury Diocese, Monsignor John McManus, stated that meetings “included the council, which will assume responsibility for the listed building once it was no longer used for worship.”

He went on “The important point is that the Bishop is not entrusted primarily with the responsibility of preserving historic buildings.”

This implies that he is assuming Wirral Council has responsibility for the continued maintenance of this unique Grade 2-l listed church and would pay the maintenance costs after the church closure last August.

Has Monsignor McManus misunderstood the legal requirements and responsibilities demanded of the custodians of such important heritage landmarks?

In the light of the recent Vatican decision to uphold a parishioner’s appeal against this church closure, it would be helpful for all concerned if Wirral Council shed some light on the matter.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED