April 2007 Archives

SOUTHPORT’S unsung heroes were praised on Wednesday at a fabulous gala dinner event at the Floral Hall.
The Ambassador Awards, which is organised with the help of businesses throughout the town, gives the people behind the scenes the chance to shine at the Oscar-style evening.
The competition is in its seventh year now and as compère Debi Jones noted on the night, ‘to be put forward for an Ammie is a huge honour in itself because there were so many nominations’.
Each year, the competition is getting bigger and better and planning has already began for next year’s event on May 14, 2008.
As the Tonight With Trevor McDonald ITV1 demonstrated to the people of Britain, Southport is a boom town at the moment.
Four new hotels are in the process of being built and thousands more visitors are due to flood into our town next year, not least on the back of Liverpool’s 2008 Capital of Culture celebrations, the 2008 Open Golf Championships at Royal Birkdale and the growing success of Sefton’s tourism department in promoting Southport as a fantastic conference venue.
To keep the growing numbers of visitors coming back again though, it is vital they go away with a smile and remember their visit here for all the right reasons.
It takes a small, but hugely under-rated army to do that – such as chefs, bar staff, shop assistants, shop owners, reception staff, cleaners, etc.
Every one of them that goes that extra mile is worth their weight in gold to Southport’s reputation and Southport’s future.
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated this year, everyone who was shortlisted and everyone who won – you all deserve your chance to bask in the spotlight.

SOUTHPORT is booming.
Take a look around the town and you’ll see cranes dotted around the resort, new developments appearing on the skyline and an increasing number of visitors flooding into Chapel Street and Lord Street.
But now it’s been made official, with Southport’s success highlighted for all to see in a Tonight programme for ITV.
Sir Trevor McDonald looks at the town’s boost in an investigation entitled Tonight: the Death of the British Seaside?
Friday’s programme will show Southport as a busy resort which has benefited from huge amounts of investment, which other seaside towns are crying out for.
It seems we are leaving other coastal towns behind and Southport is finally showing the signs of a boom.
But step back in time to 10 years ago and it was a different story. Southport was in desperate need of regeneration. Thankfully people can now see the investment which has been ploughed into the town and the obvious difference the money has made.
Now it is up to others to follow. They not only need the money but the vision and strategy to make sure they have a future.
Southport has demonstrated its confidence to drive forward plans to become the classic resort it long promised. It has taken risks with new boutique hotels and stepped up the game.
It’s right Sir Trevor’s investigation praises the town for bucking the downward trend, we have a long way to go but surely this signals a sunnier future for UK resorts.
That’s not to say we don’t have our fair share of problems.
We are told by police crime in Southport is low compared to other areas of Merseyside, but that doesn’t make the acts of hooliganism this week any easier for the Lakeside Miniature Railway owner who has been forced to take drastic action against mindless arsonists.
Fire crews spent more than an hour tackling the blaze at the tourist attraction last Thursday and Dan Clark is planning to brick up the 96-year-old building where it happened.
Residents were also angered that more than a dozen saplings planted earlier this year on Lulworth Road were snapped in two.
Sefton will now have to find the extra funds to substitute the destroyed trees from taxpayers’ purses.

Watch the ITV1 programme on Friday, April 27 at 8pm.

ANYONE who has children in their lives must have felt a chill go through when they read about little Jordan Pilkington's horrific attack from four Staffordshire bull terriers.
Not surprisingly, the poor lad is still traumatised by the mauling, and the damage to his ear, testicles and stomach could still mean complications in later life. Let's pray that they don't.
But stories like this are not new, and after efforts by so mnay pressure groups, the police, and the government, to keep dangerous dogs under control, surely these attacks should be close to zero by now?
We are known as a nation of animal lovers, as testified by the many dogwalkers who are making the most of the current sunshine in Southport's green open spaces.
But incidents like this could end up giving all dogs a bad reputation, and put future generations off having man's best friend in their home.
Another cause for concern this week is the number of cars parking in and around the disabled bays at the Tulketh Street end of the town centre's new pedestrianised zone.
There has probably never been so much traffic congestion in an area designated for people on foot, whether it be deliveries to local shops, or cars jostling for one of the three available disabled spaces.
People shouldn't expect to be so traffic conscious in an area allegedly free of vehicles, and fingers crossed it won't take an accident to get this problem resolved.

SOUTHPORT Indoor Market is soon to be sold to Geraud.
Plans for the French market operator to take over the market were this week gathering pace as Sefton’s cabinet members met to discuss the sale.
A report from the technical services director will be put before councillors at a meeting on Thursday and, once the legal formalities have been “done and dusted�, Geraud representatives will push ahead with plans to start restoration work.
We first revealed the market would be sold to the Geraud in January after Sefton invited expressions of interest from potential buyers.
Geraud deputy chief executive Tony Fraser said the firm will meet with traders to discuss the improvement works and the project to create “a successful and vibrant market in Southport.�
Sefton Council and Geraud still say the acquisition is “the best possible scenario for traders� but stallholders are not entirely convinced and fear a rent hike.
News welcomed by everyone in the town came was that Sefton has the lowest number of pupils suspended from school for bad behaviour.
So what makes our children the least disruptive in the region?
The figures were released this week by the Department for Education and Skills.
Sefton Council cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Peter Dowd said the success is all down to a clampdown on disruptive pupils from the moment an issue arises.
But what is a concern is the scale of the misdemeanours committed by children throughout Merseyside.
The figure that has shocked teaching unions most is that more children were suspended for attacking or threatening a teacher than for doing the same to a fellow pupil.
More than 3,500 pupils, more than 10 a day, were temporarily excluded from the region’s schools for physical and verbal assaults against their teachers in just one year.
A total of 540 youngsters in Sefton were among 14,760 pupils suspended for bad behaviour.
Teachers have a right to work in a safe environment and children should be able to complete their education in a safe and happy environment.
Pupils must know a threat or assault will be treated seriously and what officials must now ask is why some schools are better than others at addressing the issue.

SEFTON Council has launched a new website/league table which will have some restaurateurs quaking in their boots and some diners reaching for the nearest bucket.
The Scores on the Doors website gives us all access to the conclusions of food standards inspectors when they visit all types of eateries throughout the borough.
Although releasing these reports about restaurants and other food outlets is an admirable piece of democracy, what does the wider picture reveal?
A glance at the rankings of various establishments on the website makes for surprising reading.
The kitchen of a nursing home receives five stars, putting it ahead of some top-class restaurants in the resort.
We are not here to argue with the results – these inspectors know what they are talking about – but there are people’s livelihoods to be considered.
Inspections, rightly so, take place without warning - but even the most impeccably-run restaurant in the world can have an off-moment.
If that blip occurs moments before an inspector calls, a lowly ranking can take months to be updated on the website in question.
That can be damaging both to a reputation and a profit margin.
Southport is about to play host to its first Food and Drink Festival, with the top eateries in the area getting involved.
A lot of hard work has gone into the organisation and preparation, and the Visiter itself has thrown its support behind the culinary celebrations.
Worryingly, a number of restaurant owners were unaware of the site as details were due to be released to members of the public.
Let us hope the Scores on the Doors can be substantially improved before the festival begins.
For a resort which prides itself on welcoming visitors, our restaurants, takeaways and cafes need a cast-iron reputation.
If not, then diners will need a cast-iron stomach.

What do you think?
Is the new website providing vital information for Southport diners, or is it simply damaging for local businesses?
Have your say on our forums.

IT’S been a dramatic, confusing, frustrating fortnight full of smoke and mirrors, to-ing and fro-ing.
But one thing is for certain, 21-year-old Southport marine Paul Barton is back on English soil, back in the arms of his loved ones, and very soon, back in his home town.
Although the family has decided to remain tight-lipped throughout their ordeal, most Sandgrounders would be able to empathize with how their thoughts and feelings must have twisted and turned as reports emerged of the captives and their wellbeing.
First it was just 26-year-old Faye Turney and the publishing of her letters, then the films showing some of the servicemen describing their position live on Iranian TV, next Faye Turney was on the verge of release, and then she wasn’t.
And suddenly the unexpected news in the middle of a sunny Wednesday afternoon from the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The captives would be released as a “gift� to Britain and her people.
Who knows how the family have coped with this rollercoaster of emotions.
And how overjoyed they must be to have Paul within reach, once more at their side, free and no longer being held thousands of miles away from his home.
It’s a joy all of Southport must share.

AINSDALE’S schools face a further shake-up as pupil numbers continue to decline.
This week the Visiter reports St John Stone School is to shut - much to the distress of parents.
The Catholic Archdiocese will close the primary in September 2008, with children moving to Our Lady of Lourdes Primary in Birkdale.
The news that another much-loved school is to be stripped from Ainsdale has left parents demanding answers to why yet another top class establishment is allowed to shut.
It comes less than a month after angry parents criticised the decision to push ahead with the closure of Ainsdale Hope despite the Sandringham Road school, earmarked for closure this summer, recently topping the Government exam table for Sefton.
Education officials say the number of primary school pupils in Sefton has plummeted due to population changes in the area.
They say a “federation� between Our Lady of Lourdes and the Meadow Lane school is the best option.
But it is no comfort to parents who believe in the Catholic faith and question whether the move with jeopardise their children’s Catholic education.
And, once again, what the parents and children ask for falls on deaf ears.
The Liverpool Catholic Archdiocese tells us it will not disrupt the children’s education and only time will tell the true extent of this latest planned closure.
Meanwhile, the Visiter is the first to report that Kingswood College will not share the same fate - the school has been saved.
As headteacher Eric Borowski said to hundreds of pupils: “The term started with bad news and has ended with good news� - it could have been a very different story.
To air your views about St John Stone or send messages of congratulations to Kingswood College just click on our online forums and have your say on the situation of Southport’s schools.
Don’t miss this Friday’s Southport Visiter to find out more big school news.