Councillor calls for centre to be named after Dixie Dean

Nov 12 2008 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Dixie Dean

A COUNCILLOR is calling for a proposed new police command centre in Birkenhead to be named after footballing legend Dixie Dean.

The Rivers Site, near Beaufort Road, has been earmarked to build an area command centre to replace Laird Street and Birkenhead police stations after they were found to be the least “fit for purpose” stations in Merseyside.

Wirral would be the first area in Merseyside to receive the investment as part of a 15-year strategy plan by Merseyside Police Authority.

Bidston and St James councillor Harry Smith has now written to MPA chairman Bill Weightman suggesting the new centre should be named after the former Tranmere Rovers and Everton player, who was born in the North End of Birkenhead.

In the letter he said: “Indeed his parents’ family home was very close to the present police station on Laird Street.

“The housing estate subsequently built on the house site is called Deansway, which was the then-Birkenhead Council’s way of commemorating his birth place.

“If the new centre is built on the River Streets site, it will be merely 200 yards from his family home.

“Dixie’s name and reputation is respected throughout not only Wirral but the entire area of Merseyside and beyond.

“I understand that throughout his entire playing career he was never spoken to by a referee; certainly he was never booked or sent off which is a considerable achievement given that he was a centre forward in an era when football was a very physical game and ‘no prisoners were taken’.”

l What do you think? Would naming a police command centre Dixie Dean be a suitable tribute? Share your views on our forums at www.wirralnews.co.uk or e-mail newsdesk@wirralnews.co.uk