The future of Dawstone Park is under treat. The Friends of Dawstone Park was set up in April 2015 to ensure the flowers beds in the Park were maintained as the Council was no longer prepared to do this. Over the past 9 years the committee has been largely unchanged. New volunteers are now needed to continue the work.
To find out how you can help and what’s involved please contact Paul Leidecker on 0151 342 8570 or via email [email protected] Heswall Protests at Plans to Close Critical Car ParkingLiverpool Echo extract:
Thousands have signed petitions as they slammed a "nonsense" proposal to close two car parks in a Wirral town. Criticisms were made about the report including the use of data from 2019. Dr Steve Anderson from the Heswall Society said: "This is just nonsense. Most of the consultation study was done in 2019. "This is now 2023 and a lot has happened in Heswall since then. We’ve had the Wetherspoons open and we are going to have another pub opening up at the old police station so it is going to be highly busy." Dr Anderson also criticised the way the council has done its consultation. He said: "The only way you can respond to this consultation is by going on the website. They wouldn’t allow emails or paper comments which does disenfranchise a lot of people even if they are aware of the consultation." He added: "I think they needed to advertise what is going on and what the recommendations were. From my perspective they haven’t done enough to inform the local communities." Jennifer Evans who lives next to the car park said: "The car park is full and my block of flats come with 6 car parking spaces so my visitors have to come and pay here. It's always busy. A council spokesperson has said "The findings of this consultation will be reported to a meeting of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee in December 2023.” The full article is available on the Echo’s website Others raised the points that the study only used data from paid parking ignoring nighttime and Blue Badge holder use which is very significant in Heswall. Questions have been raised with regard to validity of the study given its flawed methodology and whether it represent value for money for rate payers. Local councilors are committed to opposing the plans. Saving Our Green BeltThe Fight Continues (October 2023 Update)
The Leverhulme Estates appeals against the Council’s refusals of their seven planning applications - all for significant sized developments on Green Belt land finished on finished on July 4 In September we heard the good news that the Leverhulme Appeals against the Council’s refusal of their applications have been dismissed by the examiner. We now await to see if Leverhulme Estates wish to challenge this decision in the High Court. The reasons for dismissal are very much in line with those that the Society, as part of the Wirral Green Space Alliance, has been stressing over and over. In particular, Prematurity ie if upheld, the decisions would totally undermine the Local Plan process which was deliberately paused to hear this inquiry. This has been a great Team effort by all those involved and could have great implications not just locally but also much wider. In particular we owe a debt of gratitude to John Heath the WGSA coordinator, Jackie Copley our Planning Consultant and Peter Black our advocate. While we deserve to celebrate winning this notable battle, the war continues as Leverhulme Estates as part of the Developer Consortium, continue to try to destroy the Council’s draft Local Plan contending that the Local Plan is fundamentally flawed. The Consortium continues to use emotive language to support their case claiming incorrectly that there is an acute housing shortage in Wirral and that the Council cannot demonstrate that there is sufficient housing in the first 5 years of the Local Plan that they can fill by building on the Green Belt. Our Green Belt therefore remains at risk! Leverhulme Estates also had a further Appeal regarding a later outline planning application to build up to 240 dwellings on the Green Belt Land East Of Rigby Drive , Greasby – Greenhouse Farm - ORIGINAL APP NUMBER......OUT/22/01821 / APPEAL REF.......APP/W4325/W/23/3327219 The Society forwarded an objection as with the previous applications. The appeal was planned to be heard by government inspector Mr Richard Catchpole on the 5th December at 10am. In view of their loss of the above appeals, this appeal was withdrawn. |
Wirral Council has recently updated its policy on Solar Panels in Conservation Areas - including, of course, Gayton and Lower Heswall Village. See Details
Heswall WalksThe second of four walks in and around Heswall, originally published by Heswall Society in March 1989, is now reproduced on this website along with the first (see below). The series of four walks was initiated by a committee lead by Hugh Roper, Poppy Agnew, a local artist, and Ken Burnley, a well-known Wirral local historian and author. With the involvement of other committee members, publication of the walks happened over the course of ten years, and it's our intention to reproduce all of them via our website in due course.
The second walk starts from the Glegg Arms. It passes through the historic core of Gayton to the meadows alongside the River Dee, returning, via the Lower Village, over the last remnant of the 'black heathland' (The Beacons) to the starting point. There is also a "Treasure Hunt" suitable for primary school children accompanied by an adult. Free Down Loads Heswall DalesWirral Borough Council have recently published a Heswall Dales Management Plan 2020-2022. This plan is intended to provide a framework for the development and improvement of Heswall Dales.
Heswall in Bloom. Planting in the Rain!Undeterred by heavy rain the Heswall in Bloom volunteers do their bit to keep our Wirral home special. To find out more about Heswall in Bloom see their Facebook Page
Castle Buildings Flower BedsThe Heswall Society/Heswall in Bloom are hugely grateful to The Mill Shop, Claire House, Hallmark and Cain of Heswall who have each agreed to 'Adopt a Bed' outside their shops in Castle Buildings. The beds are planted and maintained throughout the year by volunteer members of the Society, lead by Angie Mounsey.
One of the major difficulties we face is keeping the beds adequately watered, particularly during dry spells, without a readily available tap! Because of this, it has been necessary for volunteers to bring large quantities of water with them by car which can be extremely onerous. Now, by adopting the various flower beds, these four businesses have very kindly agreed to share the job of watering between them, for which the Society is immensely grateful and has donated some bright red watering cans! Hopefully all those who enjoy the flower beds will also show these businesses how much their work is valued. Public Footpaths and Bridleways
The Government’s deadline to register historic paths by 2026 (that members were alerted to) was repealed by DEFRA in March 2022 following the Welsh government’s lead. Public rights of way that did not appear on the Council's definitive map by 1 January 2026 had been at risk of being lost forever.
Nonetheless, everyone is encouraged to look at the definitive map and bring attention to any known footpaths and public rights of way that are not shown. Once recorded as rights of way, and added to the definitive map, paths are protected under law for people to use. For more information on this, including a link to the definitive map, and how you can help, Click here. The Outdoor GymThe Outdoor Gym Due to the recent council elections and the Council officers busy dealing with the Local Plan examination and Leverhulme Estates inquiry, there has been no further progress at the time of writing. The design has been agreed with the Council officers (a surfaced pad containing four items of fitness equipment) as has the position on the Puddydale. The next steps are to finalise costs and raise the required 4 amount of money. Our Councillors remain confident that the gym will be in place by the end of the year
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