NEW FERRY RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
ORIGINS:
New Ferry Residents Association (NeFRA) was formed by a group of like-minded residents and business people who had ideas on how the town should be improved following decades of neglect. A steering committee was formed in 1999 and the group wrote and published the pioneering document, the “New Ferry Regeneration Action Plan”, in 2000. This document came about after considerable consultation with the residents and businesses of New Ferry at a series of public meetings that were held.
When the Action Plan was published, it was well received by Wirral Borough Council, who took onboard many of the recommendations contained within it. Many of NeFRA’s suggestions and goals have since been incorporated into a variety of Council plans, including the Local Area Plan for our part of the Wirral.
Between 2000 and 2006, senior Wirral Council officers met with NeFRA to progress many of the actions. Together, they set up the Wirral Farmer’s Market, installed CCTV cameras in the shopping centre, and helped to agree the priorities for the A41 Corridor Strategy which resulted in new pavements, railings and lighting columns being installed. The Action Plan was revised and updated in 2008 and will be revised again in 2020 following the many actions now being put into place to regenerate New Ferry since the devastating explosion in the town centre in March 2017.
GET INVOLVED:
New Ferry Residents Association organises public meetings on an occasional basis as and when needed to consult on important local issues. All members of the community are invited to come along, to hear what we are trying to achieve and to tell us what they think needs doing.
The group also organises the annual New Ferry Festival, and works with the New Ferry Community Land Trust and New Ferry Traders Association to organise markets in the precinct and other community events.
The team is also is looking for people with new ideas to help us improve our area, and for those with pots of money to help us achieve our goals. It is a non-political group, but will work with and are willing to receive help from anyone who has the interests of New Ferry and its community at heart.
If you would like to offer your time in helping with community issues, please email us at newferryonline@gmail.com
Founder members of New Ferry Residents Association, Mark Anthony Craig & the late Arthur Waller MBE
NEW FERRY COMMUNITY LAND TRUST
New Ferry Community Land Trust was set up in autumn 2018 by a group of local business people and residents who were concerned that the rebuilding of New Ferry following the 2017 explosion would take too long to protect the remaining businesses in the district centre.
With so many shops in New Ferry in poor condition and owners unwilling to invest in them to make them available for people wanting to set up their new businesses, the CLT aims to change things by purchasing empty retail properties, refurbish and return them to active use. This programme is to be supported by a grant from the Office of the Combined Authority for Merseyside.
The group also organise monthly litter picks in the District Shopping Centre.
Find out more about the CLT, its activities and how you can join as a member to support it.
FRIENDS OF SHOREFIELDS NATURE PARK
Shorefields Nature Park has an informal Friends Group who care about this wonderful stretch of public open space overlooking the River Mersey. Their aim is to work together to protect the piece of parkland, and are seeking to work with Wirral Borough Council on a future programme of tree replacement to replace the existing aging stock which gives the space its unique character. You can join and follow the group on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/537633386972960/
Shorefields Nature Park, Wirral
Consultation on Draft Wirral Local Plan Issues and Options
[Expires Monday 23rd March 2020]
Wirral Borough Council is consulting on its proposals relating to the Borough’s housing and employment needs up to 2035, as set out in the Wirral Local Plan Issues and Options Document. The consultation is running until 5pm on Monday 23 March 2020.
The Issues and Options document also sets out the Council’s preferred approach to dealing with a range of planning matters including affordable housing, Houses in Multiple Occupation, infrastructure, climate change, protection of environment and heritage assets, employment, retailing, transport, minerals, waste and health and wellbeing. See the video at https://youtu.be/_I4gZU4oToE
Copies of this consultation document and supporting evidence are available for viewing and inspection using any of the following options:
- Through the Council’s Local Plan web page: https://www.wirral.gov.uk/localplan
- Through the Council’s Consultation Portal: https://wirral-consult.objective.co.uk;
- Wallasey Town Hall (Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 17:00): www.wirral.gov.uk/counciloffices; and
- Public Libraries across Wirral (during their normal opening hours): www.wirral.gov.uk/libraries.
As part of the consultation a number of public “Drop In” sessions are being held – these are listed on the Council’s website at http://www.wirral.gov.uk/localplanevents. No booking is required. All drop-in sessions are open from 12.30 to 8pm unless otherwise specified.
Paper copies of the Issues and Options Document and response form can be provided if necessary – please contact the Forward Planning Team, PO Box 290, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral CH27 9FQ; or email: localplan@wirral.gov.uk or telephone: 0151 691 8233
The easiest way to submit comments is through the Council’s online consultation portal at www.wirral-consult.objective.co.uk
Please be aware that all comments received will be made publicly available and will be published on the Council's online consultation portal. Personal details will be protected although it may be necessary to disclose these to a Planning Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, at a later date.
LJLA launches consultation on future aircraft flight paths
[Expires Thursday 9th April 2020]
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) is undertaking a 12 week consultation as part of the modernisation of the UK’s airspace, which will involve potential changes to the routes taken by aircraft departing from and arriving at the Airport.
The UK’s airspace is some of the most complex in the world, yet has not undergone significant change since the 1950s. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plan to modernise UK airspace in order to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys by air in and around the UK and to accommodate future aviation growth, with flight paths having to be redrawn in a coordinated way.
As a consequence, airports across the UK will all be consulting with local communities and other airspace users about potential changes to their departure and arrival routes.
In a 12 week consultation that will last until 12 noon on Thursday 9th April 2020, Liverpool John Lennon Airport has set out various options to illustrate how the flight paths of aircraft operating to or from the Airport in the skies above North West England and North Wales, might change in the future as part of this airspace modernisation.
The area covered by possible changes to flight paths of aircraft relating to LJLA, reaches to South Lancashire in the North, Warrington in the East, Mid-Cheshire in the South and across to Flintshire in the West (taking in New Ferry). Consequently, the Airport is keen that members of the public who live within areas that may potentially be affected by such changes to aircraft flight paths, participate in the consultation.
Two open days will be held at the Airport over the coming weeks as part of the consultation; one on Wednesday 12th February and the other on Saturday 7th March with representatives from the Airport on hand to discuss the potential impact of any proposed flight path changes.
Further information regarding how to participate in the consultation is available on the airport’s website.
It includes a link to the CAA’s online airspace change portal that explains the potential changes to LJLA’s departure and arrival routes.
This consultation is the latest stage in a process that started for LJLA over 2 years ago, with the Airport hoping to implement changes if approved within the next 2 years.
