Knowsley Online

Find out more about £1m community pot

Northwood residents are being asked to attend three local events to find out more about a £1m pot of community funds.

The money has been allocated by the Big Lottery Fund’s Big Local Trust to be spent improving community life in Northwood.

Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) is working with partner organisations and the community to organise the engagement events, and wants residents to get involved in preparing for when this funding is available to the community later this year.

Knowsley Active Challenge 2011

Runners of all ages and abilities turned out in full force to show their support for the 16th annual Knowsley Active Challenge which took place at Knowsley Hall on Sunday 15th May.

Despite the rainy weather, over 2,000 runners, walkers and spectators turned out to take part in, and show their support for the 3k/8k walks and the Junior and Adult Active Challenge to help promote health, fitness and teamwork in Knowsley.

The overall winners of the Adult 5k Team Challenge were ‘Airbus Flyers’ with an impressive collective time of 1 hour 25 minutes and 41 seconds; marginally beating 2nd place winners ‘O’Mads’ who finished with a time of 1 hour 32 minutes and 44 seconds whilst 3rd place went to ‘The Inedibles’ with a time of 1 hour 34 minutes and 17 seconds.

Innovative new group structure will benefit communities

Knowsley Housing Trust is the first housing association in the country to undergo a major restructure that will further empower tenants and reduce costs.

KHT and KHT Services, its trading subsidiary and social enterprise that provides repair and maintenance services, now sit under an unregulated and non-charitable parent company First Ark.

The landlord and housing services are now one arm of the First Ark Group, which will be able to move into a range of non-housing activities that will allow the Group to embrace the Government’s change and Big Society agenda.

Prescot plans given funding boost

Plans to revitalise Prescot’s historic buildings and breathe new life into the town centre are a step closer after

Knowsley Council reached the next stage in a bid for national funding.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded the council £50,000 to further develop their plans for the area before a final decision is taken on whether the area will benefit from a £1.89m investment.

As part of the proposals, local people from the area would be trained in traditional construction and restoration techniques as they help revitalise some of the town’s most impressive architecture, dating from Georgian, Victorian and even medieval times.

As well as improving the town centre’s appearance and emphasising Prescot’s rich heritage, the programme would help find new uses for vacant and underused premises. Repairs would include the replacement of rotten windows and doors and other general improvements to make the premises suitable for use.

23% rise in arrests from Crimestoppers information

Over 3,300 members of the public have provided information to Crimestoppers this year which has led to a 23% increase in the number of people arrested and charged on Merseyside as a result of this information.

Ian MacDonald, Chair of Merseyside Crimestoppers said: “A huge thank you must go to the people throughout Merseyside for using the charity to pass on information about crime. We’re extremely proud that Crimestoppers continues to play such a vital role in helping to make our local community a safer place to live.

“I must pay tribute to the great work of Merseyside Police in how they have dealt with the information that we have passed to them. The value of this information is clearly seen by the number of arrests that has resulted.”

New Leisure and Culture Park… coming soon

Building work on Knowsley’s new Leisure and Culture Park is progressing rapidly and is due to open to the public on Monday, 26 September 2011.

It will be open 7 days a week and boast a host of facilities including 2 swimming pools, 6 court sports hall, fitness suite (with up to 120 stations), dance studios, squash court, 400m outdoor cycling velodrome, BMX track, spa facilities (poolside steam, sauna and jacuzzi), range of hot treatment rooms, therapies and beauty treatment, a café and performance, events and conference space.

In addition, there will be an adult activity base, providing a wide range of opportunities and activities for adults with disabilities.

Housing Trust goes ‘green’

Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) staff turned ‘green’ last week as part of an initiative to reduce the impact of offices on the environment.

Throughout the week staff filled out questionnaires to collect ideas on how to save energy and money within KHT, there were prize draws with ‘green’ prizes such as a water butt and compost bin, ‘green’ tips were posted on the staff intranet and staff were given information on how to save energy at home.

The Town Mayor of Whiston 2011 - 2012: Councillor David Williams

Personal
Born in Whiston in 1962, Councillor David Williams still lives in the town today.

The only Son of Len and Margaret Williams, he attended Halsnead Primary School and Higherside Secondary School in the Town.

After finishing school, David worked as a Chef in the Liverpool area, before taking on various roles in management and now works for the Co-operative Group of Companies.
Public Life

Having been first introduced to politics by his parents, he was also a member of the successful ‘SaveOurBurnsUnit’ steering group.  David was first appointed to Whiston Town Council in 2009 and was re-elected in 2011, representing Whitestone Ward.

A ‘Wall of Fame’ celebrating the great and good from Knowsley was unveiled today (Friday 13 May).

Famous sons of the borough, including Knowsley freeman and Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard, renowned chemist Sir Joseph Beecham, producer Phil Redmond and football hero Peter Reid are among those whose names take pride of place on the plaque, which was unveiled at Huyton Library.

The 12 names featured on the Wall of Fame were voted for in a public competition last year as part of a Conservation Skills and Interpretation Project which took place across Knowsley, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Other names to feature include former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, poet Matt Simpson, conductor Sir Thomas Beecham and Oscar winning actor, Sir Rex Harrison.

Fines for litterbugs

Zero tolerance on litter saw four fixed penalty notices issued in Huyton town centre on Wednesday.

As part of a crackdown on the problem of littering, undercover police and council officers patrolled the town centre watching out for litterbugs.

As a result, four people were issued with £50 fixed penalty notices and warned about their behaviour.

The council has decided to take tough action on those offenders due to the cost to the tax payer of over £2.4 million a year to fund litter picking across the borough.

Cllr Ken Keith, Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources, said: “We have to challenge the attitude that it is “ok” to drop litter because somebody else will pick it up.

“There is a very real cost to the taxpayer which could instead be spent on improving services and facilities for all residents, and we hope that by issuing fixed penalty notices to those irresponsible few we will send out a warning that littering will not be tolerated