Town making a big Splash!

Posted by Digital Editor on June 29, 2007 9:51 AM

Swimmers across Southport are getting ready to make waves when Splash World opens to the public tomorrow (Saturday).

And with the final cost coming in at £8.3million, the funding taken to build it was certainly no drop in the ocean.

The first families in Southport have been enjoying preview swims there this week, with the Bailey clan leading the way in testing out the new attraction.
Their verdicts were unanimous – Murtle the Turtle’s new home has huge ‘wow’ factor.
The Lazy River tyre ride, the flume chutes, the play areas and everything else the water park has to offer will fast become a mecca for thrill-seekers across the North West.

It is a timely boost after the closure of nearby Pleasureland last year – and even there there is great news, with operator Norman Wallis announcing that he hopes to bring around 50 rides to the site and open in two weeks.

Along with great events including the best-ever Summer Classics line-up (names include Lulu, Marc Almond, Australian Pink Floyd and Jools Holland), Southport Flower Show and the Woodvale Rally, this summer is guaranteed to put smiles on the faces of thousands of local children.

A huge well done to Sefton Council, Allenbuild, and everyone else concerned.

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Classy Award

Posted by Digital Editor on June 29, 2007 9:47 AM

They say that everyone remembers their favourite teacher.
From the age of three to 18, teachers shape youngsters’ lives in a way that few can.

What better way to say thank-you to some of the greatest unsung heroes in our town than by nominating them for ‘Southport’s Greatest Teacher’?

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Splashing time at resort's newest attraction

Posted by Digital Editor on June 27, 2007 12:37 PM

IT IS the sound the Splash World team have been waiting months to hear.
On Tuesday night, the first invited guests got to try out the resort's brand new £8.3m water park attraction ahead of its official Saturday opening.
Whereas the vast tiled arena had been busy with the sounds of construction this past 18 months, finally it is filled with excited children and families zooming down chutes on inflatable tyres, dodging flumes of water and having a splashing good time.
The smiles on the faces of all involved were clear to see as the VIP swimmers enjoyed themselves.
Splash World is going to attract hundreds of visitors over the summer and its impact on the resort's economy can only be positive.
There is nothing like this less than a two-hour train ride away and it looks set to become one of the North West's top water parks.
After all the hard work and dedication that has gone into its construction, Splash World deserves to ride a wave of early success.

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Quality food for thought

Posted by Digital Editor on June 22, 2007 9:00 AM

THE cost of lettuces has risen by 12 per cent, costing Sefton Council an extra £1,564 in its school meals budget this year.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg...
The cost of potatoes has risen by 27 per cent, melons by 100 per cent and carrots are up by 124 per cent, and all at a time when council officials say they are under more pressure than ever before to provide healthier school meals thanks to the recent campaign by TV chef Jamie Oliver.
If approved by councillors, the cost of a school meal in Sefton will now have to rise from £1.40 to £1.50, with subsequent rises scheduled annually, to plug a £115,000 shortfall.
To many parents – although not necessarily all the pupils, some of whom could happily live on chips! – the drive for better nutrition is hugely welcome, despite the increased costs it may bring.
It is not just pupils who are set to enjoy better quality food however.
Sefton Council’s new ‘scoresonthedoors’ scheme where every food establishment in the borough is inspected for a variety of measures, including food hygiene and confidence in management, should also improve results.
Venues are given a star rating of nought to five, with everyone inspected detailed on the website.
Well done to Jackson’s, on Nevill Street, which is now officially Southport’s first five star chippy!
Last month’s inaugural Southport Food & Drink Festival, now set to become an annual event, is also sure to drive up standards locally. As well as a self-appointed champion for improving school meals, Jamie Oliver is also the face of Sainsbury’s.
With the rising standards of food in our town, as the Sainsbury’s slogan says, it can only encourage more and more people to go out and ‘try something new today’ – and they will now do so having greater confidence in whatever they will be eating.

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Pleasureland's rides have a new home

Posted by Digital Editor on June 20, 2007 9:00 AM

FAIRGROUND rides, which entertained young and old visitors at Pleasureland for decades, have been rescued.
The news will be a huge relief to everyone who was horrified to see the remains of the Cyclone - once a world-famous wooden rollercoaster - in a mammoth heap at the locked-up site.
Other historic rides were destined to the same fate as bulldozers moved in on the site to make way for temporary fairground attractions.
But it is comforting to know the vintage rides, such as the Wild Mouse and the Caterpillar, will take pride of place in a new heritage amusement park proposed for Margate.
Many will ask why it is not Southport which will be home to these attractions, which are some of the last remaining examples of their type in the world. These historic rides - including the Cyclone - could well have been on show at a heritage amusement park on the former Pleasureland site.
However, even though they are no longer on our doorstep, we can celebrate the fact that the remaining rides will be saved from the bulldozer.
Finally there will be a place for Britain’s amusement park heritage.

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Shops have to fight back

Posted by Digital Editor on June 15, 2007 9:00 AM

WHEN it comes to Tesco, the firm likes to say that ‘every little helps’.
Last year group sales increased by 16.7% to £43.1 billion (2005 – £37 billion).
Southport has built its success on the foresight and fortitude of thousands of small shopkeepers and hoteliers, who have built our town’s reputation as a shopping and tourist mecca.
To them, profit margins are often slight, with serious income seasonal. Against such fine lines the burgeoning cash windfalls enjoyed by Tesco seem monstrous.
Now Tesco is due to take over Dobbies Garden World, soon to be built next to Christ The King School.
It would vastly increase Tesco’s influence over Southport. The 24-hour superstore at Kew has recently undergone a significant expansion, while Tesco Metro stores have opened at Birkdale and Churchtown. Another Tesco Metro is currently being built opposite Southport police station.
However, the figures speak for themselves. People from Southport are choosing to use the various Tesco stores in their thousands.
It is up to local shopkeepers to fight back. It is up to them to tell local people ‘Go shopping in Birkdale, or Churchtown, or Ainsdale, or Tarleton, and see what you’ve been missing.
‘You can't beat local shops for real quality, real choice, real people, real communities.’
You can see what Birkdale Village has to offer this weekend, during a festival event organised by traders. Earlier this month, Ainsdale Edwardian Day drew in huge crowds.
Congratulations to traders of both villages, let’s hope their efforts are suitably rewarded.
There’s no use whining about Tesco, traders have to fight their pitch – and with great events such as these, they are doing well.
Let’s hope shoppers are suitably impressed, and here’s to other great local events already being planned for the future.
As the slogan says – every little helps.

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Town's debt to the volunteers

Posted by Digital Editor on June 8, 2007 9:00 AM

THIS week thousands of people around the UK have been celebrating the work that volunteers do as part of Volunteers’ Week (June 1-7).
Events have been held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers who go out of their way to help others on a daily basis.
Whether it be that special someone in the local charity shop, a Scout leader who works around the town helping small children, or a teaching assistant who gives those few precious hours a week to do their bit for Southport.
As a local newspaper, we recognise just how many special people there are in our community and how important it is to honour them for their work.
On Monday more than 130 adults and children attended the Community Heroes Awards 2007 at Formby Hall Golf Club, including individuals, groups and schools.
Stories included a little girl whose quick thinking saved her mum’s life, a man who walks miles and miles for charity even though he is nearly 90 years of age, the woman whose determination has raised thousands of pounds for cancer patients ... the list was endless.
To us, these people are heroes, but to them, they are just doing what they think is right.
If it wasn’t for volunteers and people who love to help their local community, recent events such as Southport’s Charity Fun Fest and Ainsdale’s Edwardian Day wouldn’t have been half the successes that they were.

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What a Fun Fest-filled day

Posted by Digital Editor on June 2, 2007 7:06 PM

The sun came out and the so did the people for the annual Southport Charity Fun Fest.
Princes Park was packed full of fun for the whole family from 11am until 5pm.
To the delight of the hordes of screaming fans, X Factor shy boy 'Shaun' opened the show before belting out some of his signature tunes.
After that there were a plethora of fair-ground rides, test your skill stalls, food and drink, and displays from everything from Morris Dancers to West Lancs Dog Display team.

And the crowds gathered to cheer on the teams who were battling it out in the tug o' war.
There really was something there for everyone - and it was all for charity.

Meanwhile, Ainsdale was transported back in time for the sixth annual Edwardian Day.
The grand parade, led by the Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton, made its way through the village along a route lined by cheering crowds.
Two great events in one fun filled day.

Don't miss next week's Midweek Visiter and Friday's Southport Visiter for the full stories from both fabulous events and some fantastic photographs, and keep an eye out on the Southport Visiter's website for exclusive video reports from both events.

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Gearing up for a great weekend

Posted by Digital Editor on June 1, 2007 10:03 AM

SOUTHPORT has a weekend to look forward to as the 2007 Southport Charity Fun Fest takes centre stage this Saturday (June 2).
Princes Park will be full of good times and giggles once again when thousands of people enjoy five hours of family entertainment.
Between noon and 5pm, get ready for the tug-o-war contest, stalls, giant inflatables and an ice rink.
On the same day, sounds and colours from the Caribbean and South America will burst onto the streets of Ainsdale for the village’s sixth annual Edwardian Day.
Whichever event you choose to go to, we hope it is a memorable, enjoyment-filled day.

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Majority don't make a noise

Posted by Digital Editor on June 1, 2007 9:00 AM

THIS week a holidaymaker from Whitley Bay has suggested that Southport police need to use tougher measures against night-time drunks in the town centre.
The woman in question claimed the group’s sleep was constantly disturbed by drunken revellers on West Street, at the back of the Royal Clifton Hotel.
Every week we hear tales of how people on nights out are arrested for fighting or causing trouble in the town.
Many suggest that longer licensing hours are to blame.
But, what we should remember is that this is only one person’s point of view.
As Inspector Gary Fairbrother, Sefton’s anti-social behaviour coordinator, says people should be ‘realistic: “This is a holiday resort and there are going to be people who get happy after a few drinks.”
There are hundreds of people who come into Southport for a good night out and go home merry, but quietly. Surely they are the overwhelming majority.

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