Farr Hall Drive Area

The Society is very concerned about the 'discovery' of the Farr Hall Drive area by developers, and their proposals for developments (largely flats) which are out of character. A number of these are referred to within the Planning - Recent Activity page together with action taken by the Society.

Click Here to view the Society's letter to the Council's Heritage Officer expressing its concerns.
​

Castle Buildings

Thanks to the efforts of Angie Mounsey and her team of volunteers, residents and visitors to Heswall will have enjoyed the summer planting in Castle Buildings - despite the Council's lack of attention to grass cutting!  It'll soon be time to remove the summer bedding and plant out the Winter Pansies.  Once again, Angie Mounsey is leading the charge and we are hoping that volunteers will lend a hand.  

The plants have been ordered and the process of digging over and planting out is earmarked for Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th October (also Friday 18th if necessary), starting at 10:00am.  
 
At the moment, volunteers seem to be rather thin on the ground so, if you can spare a bit of time to help Angie with this, please call her on 0151-342 4514.  You will be most welcome.  Equally, if you know others who might like to be a part of this, please invite them along.  Please bring your own tools!​

Forthcoming Events

​To see our list of  events confirmed for the rest of this year and into 2020, Click Here.

Friends of Dawstone Park

The Heswall Society continues to support the active Friends of Dawstone Park Group, and are delighted that it has, once again, achieved Green Flag Status!​  Click Here for further details.

The Friends Group's annual fundraising event 'Fun in The Park' (including Novelty Dog Show!) is on Saturday 24 August 2019 in Dawstone Park from 12.30pm.  For further details, Click Here.

Friends of Feather Lane Woods
(the woods below Tesco)

An Open Meeting organised by The Heswall Society on 18 February was well attended and resulted in the setting up of a Friends Group.

The Council not having the resources to fully maintain the woods, the purpose of the Friends Group is to help protect and manage them to stop them from becoming an unsightly jungle and so that they can continue to be a much needed haven for wildlife.

We are pleased to report that a committee for the Friends of Feather Lane Woods has been formed and has agreed a draft Constitution to put before a General Meeting, which it is hoped will be held in early September. The committee has also completed a risk assessment which needs to be approved by the Council before any work can start. The meetings have been held in Tesco’s staff canteen, and thanks are due to their manager Gareth Lloyd and their Community Officer Lindsay Kennedy for their help and support.

If you would like to be involved, please contact Heswall Society at parks@heswallsociety.org.uk

Tree Felling, Telegraph Road ​ 

Thank you for bringing our immediate attention to the felling of the tree outside 'Inspired Kitchens and Bathrooms' on Telegraph Road.

This tree had a preservation order on it and the Society should have been alerted to this work which in this case it wasn’t.

Click Here for further details and to see what action the Heswall Society has taken on your behalf. 

Heswall Police Station ​

We have received no further news yet on the future of the Heswall Police Station which was put up for sale last year, possibly with a view to redevelopment.
 
Following the Society’s unsuccessful application to have the building listed, the only option left was to contact the the Police and Crime Commissioner and stress the local importance of maintaining the exterior of this building, one of the few distinctive buildings in Heswall, designed by the respected architect, Harry Beswick. 

Your Green Belt - Latest

We have already drawn attention to the Heswall Society's detailed response to the Council’s recent consultation on the Wirral Local Plan - Development Options Review.   

During that consultation period, the Office of National Statistics published its updated (2016) figures which, compared with the previous (2014) figures used by the Council in their consultation document, significantly reduced the predicted housing need for Wirral using the standard method.  The later figures, if adopted, would help to reduce the pressure on our precious Green Belt.
​
However,the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), has since launched its own consultation on changing the standard method for calculating housing need, effectively reverting to the ONS 2014 figures.  The Heswall Society has now submitted its response. 

Click Here for further comment and to view the Heswall Society's response to both the Council's and the MHCLG's consultations. ​

​​The Church of the Good Shepherd

​The Parish of Heswall continues to keep the Heswall Society informed on its developing plans to replace the existing Good Shepherd building and Parish Hall with a new church and community hall (The Lighthouse Church).  Information on this including a short video can be found on the Parish of Heswall website.

GDPR

Please click on the Society's Privacy Notice to see how your data is collected and used by the Society.
Picture
​
​
Did you know that this logo was developed from a design by a pupil of Heswall Primary School in 1996?​

Join Us!

​The Heswall Society is the local amenity society for Heswall and Gayton, formed just over 60 years ago by some far-sighted residents.  For more information, Click here.
​
 below ​Heswall
New members who share our aim to retain the quality of Heswall and Gayton, without opposing sensitive change, are very welcome. If you would like to join The Heswall Society please click on the red button below.

*November Open Meeting*

Following a record turnout at this year's inaugural September meeting, ​the Society's next open meeting is on 11 November 2019 at Heswall Hall, starting at 8.00pm.

Entitled 'Living with 60 million foreigners', it promises to be an entertaining talk by Christina Spencer about living in a strange country with the strange foreigners she shares her life with!

Click Here for details of all future events. 

Conservation Areas

Eight Conservation Area signs have been erected on lamp posts at the main entrances to Heswall Lower Village Conservation Area, and one sign at the entrance to Gayton Conservation Area

Wirral Local Plan
Sustainability Appraisal

Click Here to see Heswall Society's response to the Council's 'Consultation on the scope of the Wirral Local Plan sustainability appraisal and equalities impact assessment'.
​

Newsletters

The Autumn 2019 Newsletter has now been published and distributed to Members.  Along with earlier editions, it can be accessed within the Members Area.

Non-members are always very welcome to Click Here to see our most recent Newsletter.  If you like what you see and appreciate just how much time and effort the Society invests in protecting Heswall's built environment and public spaces for the benefit of its community, we hope you will consider joining us!  

Lower Village Action Group

The Society was recently approached by shopkeepers, businesses and local residents of the Lower Village, for help in forming a group similar to the Heswall & District Business Association, but exclusively focused on reinvigorating the Lower Village by whatever means.
 
The newly formed Lower Village Action Group committee held its inaugural meeting in early January when ideas/thoughts flowed and from these, a number of possible initiatives are being pursued. It’s a case of ‘watch this space’ for developments. 

Lower Village Telephone Kiosk
​*What Now?*

​Having successfully adopted and renovated the telephone kiosk in the Lower Village, the Society is now considering how best to use it. The simplest option is to just leave the kiosk as it is, providing an important contribution to the street scene. But the Society is keen to look at whether it could provide an additional function. Ideas actively being explored are installing a defibrillator, using it as a mini library, or possibly both. We would be very happy to receive any other  novel ideas that readers might have.​​
Picture
Trees
​The Society now receives notification of all applications for surgery or felling of trees that are subject to Tree Preservation Orders or are within our Conservation Areas.
Between January and August 2019, the Society received notification of six applications for tree works either to trees with Tree Preservation Orders attached, or to trees within our two Conservation Areas, and has objected in part to two of these applications.

Friends of Hill House Gardens

​For the latest update on the excellent work undertaken by the Friends, Click Here to see their Spring 2019 Newsletter.  A noticeboard now erected at the Telegraph Road entrance to Hill House Gardens provides further information about the Friends group.  If you would like to know more or you are interested in joining and/or volunteering, please email Margaret at heswallwildlife@aol.com.  

Friends of Heswall Dales

For the latest news on what has been happening in the Dales, click here for the Spring 2019 Newsletter or visit their website at http://www.heswalldalesfriends.co.uk.​​

​Potholes!

​The  Government has given Wirral an extra £1.4 million to fix pot holes in our roads.  Residents are invited to nominate a road for repair.  To do so, Click Here.  Now's your chance!
​If you would like to help protect and enhance the unique character of Heswall please consider joining The Society.
The Heswall Society is involved in local environmental issues and consulted by the Council on Conservation Areas. The Heswall Society review every planning application. We are the only residents' body which encourages the best designs of houses, retail and commercial properties in order to maintain the character and distinguishing features of Heswall. We are a local amenity society and our site contains local history, Heswall photographs, planning information, conservation area details, Heswall Society history, listed buildings and Friends of Heswall Open Spaces