Knowsley Online

Romanian Paralympic athletes visit Knowsley

As part of their pre-Olympic preparations, the Romanian Paralympic swimming and tennis team are visiting Knowsley this week.

The training camp is also in preparation for them competing in the European Swimming Championships in Berlin next week.

As well as using the borough’s outstanding leisure facilities, the team will be familiarising themselves with the area, and all the attractions both Knowsley and the broader Liverpool City Region has to offer. Such attractions include Knowsley Hall and Knowsley Safari Park.

In addition, the team participated in the commonwealth mini-torch relay, which took place across all the borough’s centres for learning on Tuesday and Wednesday to celebrate national school sport week. The team participated in various sporting events alongside young people from Kirkby Sports College, including athletics and cycling events, as well as boccia.

Wow! What a Festival!

10 days, 15 events, 9 venues and over 3000 people made for one amazing festival.

Audiences at this year’s Prescot Festival were treated to a variety of highly successful events, two of which sold out in advance for the first time in the Festival’s history.

The 7th Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts was the best yet with half the evening events reaching capacity. The Opening Night Barn Dance was a sell out, as was the rare screening of Willy Russell’s ‘Our Day Out’. Prescot Methodist Centre was full for Friday Night is Music Night with L’Orchestra Dell’Arte and bursting at the seams for Bentley Operatic Society in Concert.

Wrong Trousers are right way to raise charity cash!

Staff at Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) donned the ‘Wrong Trousers’ to raise money for charity last week.

They paid £1 to wear wacky trousers or pyjamas to work on Friday and all the money raised will be donated to the Wallace and Gromit's Children's Foundation.

Wrong Trousers Day is an annual event run by the Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Foundation to raise money to help sick children in hospitals and hospices in the UK.

Since 2003, Wrong Trousers’ Day has raised over £1.3 million and has helped to build two new children’s hospitals and a new children’s hospice, provide state of the art equipment, create landscape garden and family accommodation facilities and fund specialist art, play and music therapy projects.

Collette King, Operational Director of Organisational Development at KHT, said: “Wearing the Wrong Trousers was a really fun way of raising money for sick children across the UK.”

Have your say on future development in Knowsley

Plans which set out where future housing and business development may take place in Knowsley are being discussed with residents as part of a 10 week consultation exercise.

The proposals – based on feedback from residents – will form the basis of the Knowsley Local Development Framework (LDF) which will shape the way the borough develops up to 2027 and beyond.

This latest consultation will enable residents to share their views about the kind of development that may take place in their area. The Core Strategy Preferred Options Report outlines the key aims of the Local

Fined for selling illegal goods

A man from Prescot has been fined £8,000 for illegally selling alcohol and counterfeit cigarettes.

Stephen Henry, 61, today on Friday 24th June, pleaded guilty at Knowsley Magistrates’ Court to two offences of selling counterfeit tobacco and one offence of selling alcohol without a licence.

Mr Henry, of Westminster Grove in Prescot, was offering the goods as part of his business selling soft drinks and crisps door to door.

Joint project with nursery children

Liverpool Tate is joining forces with Halewood Children’s Centres and 4Children nurseries for a new and innovative project taking place throughout June.

Nursery children and their parents from Oak Tree and Cherry Tree Children’s Centres are working with artists from the Tate to create pieces for display in the local community as part of a project called “All About Me”.

“All About Me” offers families access to the Tate Collection through in-gallery workshops, introducing them to a diverse range of artistic practices to inspire their own creativity.

Among the participants is Halewood parent Jemma O’Connor and her son Leo. Jemma said:

“It’s been really nice to work with Leo in his nursery and he gets very excited the closer we get to Tuesdays when the session takes place. It’s “our day today” he said to me just this morning”.

An exhibition of the children and parents’ work will be on display at the Tate from Tuesday July 12th to Sunday July 17th.

Jemma O’Connor and son Leo Farrington

Pupils go out of their ‘hay’ in scarecrow challenge

School children really showed off their creative side during an unusual task set them by their head teacher.
Pupils at Evelyn Community Primary School, Prescot, were challenged to make their own scarecrow with the help of their families over the school holidays.

Prince William and Kate Middleton, The Chuckle Brothers and even a martial arts master were just some of the scarecrow creations made during the challenge, which was open to all pupils in the school.

Your views – streetlighting in Prescot West

Knowsley Council has teamed up with Tay Valley Lighting (TVL) to carry out a multi-million pound revamp of the borough’s street lighting assets.

Work will begin in August 2011 to replace street lights in Prescot West.

Representatives from TVL and Knowsley Council will be available on Tuesday, 28 June to inform the local community about improvements in their area, listen to their views and answer any questions they may have.

The event will commence at 5.30 pm with a presentation outlining the scheme, timescales and the benefits. This will last approximately 15 minutes, and then residents will have the opportunity to ask questions until the event closes at 6.30 pm.

The event will be held at Knowsley Village Hall on School Lane (side entrance).

The new lighting will be state of the art and will include the ability to vary the level of lighting and reduce CO² emissions across the borough. Decisions on the levels of lighting will be taken on the basis of the needs of each area of the borough.

More intense light levels on some roads could assist in the reduction of crime and night-time traffic accidents, and will also make CCTV images clearer, improve visibility, and help to ensure that pedestrians, cyclists and drivers feel safer.

Talented Huyton footballer tours Singapore

 A talented young footballer from Huyton has been selected to tour Singapore as part of Everton’s under 15s team.

Joe Williams, a Year 9 pupil at Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning, left for Singapore on Wednesday for the 10 day end of season tour. Joe, who is in the starting line, will be competing in the Lion City Cup, playing against international teams including Spain (Juventus) and Brazil (Brazilian Flemengo)

Joe has been playing for Everton from just the age of 7 and signed for Everton when he was 9. He has recently played in the Premier League Youth Festival and Nike Premier League Cup.

During his time at Everton, Joe has been on many tours such as Holland, Prague and Le Harvre. Whilst the talented youngster is only 14, he has been representing the school’s Year 11 team, playing for a team two years above his age group.

Neighbours share community spirit and sandwiches!

Residents across Knowsley were encouraged to get to know their neighbours as part of two iniaitives to build community links.

Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) residents got together for fun across a whole week, beginning with European Neighbours Day on May 27 and ending with The Big Lunch on Sunday, June 5.

Terry Bonner, KHT Operational Director of Landlord Services, said: “Residents of all ages came along to join in the fun and games and shared their stories and experiences. They really got into the spirit.”

European Neighbours Day is recognised across the continent and gives residents the chance to find out who lives in their neighbourhood and how they can play an active part in the community.

The Big Lunch, an idea from the Eden Project, encourages neighbours and friends to develop their community ties over a spot of lunch.

Events and parties took place within many KHT communities, including Fairview Park Community Centre in Halewood, Halsall, Moss and Eaton Street Supported scheme in Prescot, Highfields scheme in Prescot, Greenwood Close in Whiston and St Martins over 50s Resident group in Kirkby.

Residents showed their continental flair by dressing up in traditional costumes from European countries and other fun costumes.

“These events are a great opportunity to build social links and hopefully grow them in the future,” Terry added.

European Neighbours Day was launched in Paris, in 2000. Now in its 10th year, the day is recognised across Europe with more than 30 countries taking part.